continental divide trail deaths continental divide trail deaths

In other words, rain falling on the western-facing slopes eventually finds its way to the Pacific Ocean; while the eastern watershed drains into the Atlantic Ocean. When youre assembling a group for an adventure like this one, you must make sure everyone is compatible. The purists hike a "continuous and unbroken footpath between Mexico and Canada," but about 50 percent of the thru-hikers admit to having skipped small sections of road-walking or because the trail was closed, mostly due to forest fires or snow. Forest fires often result in parts of the trail being closed and the hiker must take alternative routes. At any point on the loop, you'll be on one of those two trails. [12][13][14] This seven-month journey spanned over 5,600 miles. Hiking into Grants was a long, hot day. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene (source), FALL | Wayne Paul Pferdehirt | August 26, 2019 | Wayne Paul Pferdehirt (67), died in a fall near Mather Pass (Sierra). Hikers sent sympathy notes to his parents praising Alex as easygoing, strong, cheerful, always willing to lend others a hand. [15] Tapon took the most circuitous, scenic, high, difficult route north and while returning south, took the more expedient route. Water can be scarce and grizzly bears are found near Yellowstone Park. Why? Interstate 15. Avid Thru Hiker Dies on Third Continental Divide Trek. Hikers must decide on a route through the Great Divide Basin as the actual Continental Divide forks, forming an endorheic basin. The Continental Divide Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail both stretch from Mexico to Canada, but the CDT offers up a far more diverse landscape than the PCT. 1.2K. Prior to that, she was a reporter at the Times-Picayune in New Orleans, La., and the Duluth News-Tribune and spent 15 years as a freelance writer for national and regional magazines. Camping alone when Id flipped up to Idaho/Southern Montana away from the bubble because I was trying to finish to go back to school. The average base weight of a thru-hiker's backpack in 2018 was 16.4lb (7.4kg). Sign-up to get our latest reviews and news before everybody else does. [8][9] Permits are required to hike or camp along some sections of the trail and a passport is needed to cross the Canadian border. Founded in 2012 by a passionate group of volunteers and recreationists, CDTC is . He broke one arm, both legs, and suffered a head injury. Most thru-hikers take this alternate route, which is 60 miles (97km) shorter than the official CDT and passes through the town of. The Indian Peaks Wilderness is a wilderness area in north central Colorado managed jointly by the United States Forest Service and the National Park Service within the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and small parts of the southern section of Rocky Mountain National Park.It borders the James Peak Wilderness to the south, and straddles the Continental Divide. Youll get access to exclusive posts, discount codes, live streams, and super extra cool stickers so that everyone will know how cool you are. The trail then moves along the forested mountains of Idaho and Montana before ascending the tall, sharp, rocky peaks of Glacier National Park, with the Canadian border on the horizon. Search and rescue teams on Sept. 7 recovered the body of . "He didn't need a lot of money to do what he did. Print. You've made it this far, you're either into this site or you're still looking for something. ", "Most Remote Spots in U.S. Wilderness Complexes", "Hidden Montana: Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness", "CDT Montana Volunteer Trail Stewardship Program", CDT Montana, Montana Wilderness Association, Continental Divide National Scenic Trail in Rocky Mountain National Park, Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest web site, Hiking Journals from people on The Continental Divide Trail, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Continental_Divide_Trail&oldid=1138673676. With our group it was easy; wed all four wheeled together for years and had traveled with each other on a camping trip or two. Progress in completing the trail was slow and interest in hiking the complete trail was minimal. The CDT is actually a network of small roads and . This scenic trail runs . Trying to get off the ridge was a mix of hiding under trees and running for cover when the lightning would start again. The CDT drops 3,000 feet (910m) from the Continental Divide to the lowest point on the Idaho/Montana trail, 5,764 feet (1,757m). That is readily available via the internet and that we know of. . For the next 358 miles (576km) the trail closely follows the border of Idaho and Montana, which is also the Continental Divide. said man who shot 2 at St. Paul family memorial, Stolen Kia being chased by patrol in Mpls. We use data about you for a number of purposes explained in the links below. The lowest elevation of the trail on the Idaho/Montana border is 5,764 feet (1,757m) along the North Fork of Sheep Creek in Idaho and the highest elevation is 10,091 feet (3,076m) at the summit of Elk Mountain. This blue track begins at the Mexican border where New Mexico SR 81 crosses it, and then flows northward through New Mexico, Colorado, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana (a green line bypasses Idaho and takes you through Yellowstone National Park, which is the route we chose). CDTC policy is to operate on the honor system, assuming that those who submit a request for recognition have completed a journey between the Mexican and Canadian Border along the Continental Divide . So you are interested in hiking the Pacific Crest Trail but you dont know if youre quite ready to drag yourself across a continent for five months and probably die? But also know that youll probably die out there. If youre not into Patreon, thats cool, you can instead Venmo @halfwayanywhere, Cash app $halfwayanywhere, or PayPal [emailprotected]. Trail Ridge Road crests at 3.721m (12,209ft) and climbs up Milner Pass, Trail Ridge , Fall River Pass and Iceberg Pass . Road walking with no shoulder and semi-trucks passing by at 70 mph / 113 km/h less than 2 ft / 0.6 m away was sketchy. Not everyone who begins a Pacific Crest Trail thru-hike will complete their mission of traversing the country-spanning 2,660 mi / 4,280 km trail. Once known as Magic City and Cloud City, and situated nearly two miles in the sky, Leadville enjoyed two gold rushes with a major silver strike in-between. In his 20s, he hiked several trails, including the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail along the West Coast. Several alternate trails shorten the meandering route of the official CDT in Montana. It was super windy and the heavy pack was a struggle. The Continental Divide Trail closely follows the Continental Divide, but has a large number of approved alternate routes, some of which are more utilized than the official trail. The lowest elevation of the trail in Wyoming is 6,522 feet (1,988m) about 12 miles (19km) north of Rawlins. We recognize users regardless of sequence, direction, speed, or whether they carry a pack, or any variation of their hike. Continental Divide Trail. "He apparently died peacefully in his sleep on top of a mountain at over 12,000 feet. Continental Divide. The CDT is now 95 percent complete. Jennifer Coleman, 34, of Richmond, Va., died hiking in the Logan Pass area of Glacier National Park on Aug. 30 or 31, 2021. According to a Google search, "The Great Continental Divide Adventure Route is a motorized route that follows closely along the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail. The shortest route is through the middle where water availability is uncertain in most years. When the storm passed, the fire was still going. Speaking of trailheads, because of various issueshealth and mechanicalwe completed the journey in three stages, much as you readers might do if youre as intrigued as I with exploring the Continental Divide: First stage: Mexican border to Interstate 40, second stage: I40 to I80, and third stage: I80 to the Canadian border. Not interested in any of this and dont know why youre still reading? Be fully prepared for any weather, though, because even in July, some of the higher passes through the Rockies could be clogged with snow, or inundated with vicious storms (hail, rain, and/or snow). A freezing rain and thunderstorm storm in the Winds made the trail entirely sludge. Over the years, there have been a number of deaths on the Pacific Crest Trail. One of our side trips was Leadville, Colorado. We use cookies to improve your experience on this website and so that ads you see online can be tailored to your online browsing interests. In northernmost New Mexico, the CDT crosses into Colorado near Cumbres Pass at an elevation of 10,022 feet (3,055m). We are very excited to offer this new adventure route down the entire length of the west coast of America. I was also behind most of the other hikers going south, I often felt like the last one. Road walking on a highway without a shoulder. Rocky Mountain National Park has the highest paved roads in any National Park in the United States. The Continental Divide Trail is a choose-your-own-adventure Thru-Hike that runs typically between 2500 miles and 3100 miles from the Mexico and New Mexico border to the Montana and Canadian border. Depending on any given year's snow-pack and a hiker's individual schedule, alternative routes are available. Katy Read writes for the Star Tribune's Inspired section. Frequent forest fires in late summer often force closure of sections of the trail and early snowfalls in late September may make the trail in Glacier National Park impassable. "And not just a little bitty fire," Hannah said. For instance, turn north on the Continental Divide Trail near Albuquerque, New Mexico, drive the trail to I-70 near Vale, Colorado, and then head for home until youre ready to revisit the trail. [36], The CDT trail goes east from the Idaho border, circles around the city of Butte, then turns north toward Glacier National Park via the Lewis and Clark National Forest and through three National Wilderness areas. The trail was created by Congress in 1978 and is considered by many to be the best long-distance trail hiking in the world. Perhaps a more accurate description is that 30% of the CDT is on either a dirt or paved road. What's the story behind Minneapolis' smaller houses with huge front yards? Leaving Grand Lake and hiking through thunder from 11 am to 7 pm, hiking through the rain for hours in a rutted burn area. Extra equipment carried might include an ice ax and bear spray. Courtesy photo. (March 2008) "There & Back Again", Bastone, Kelly (August 2008) "Taking the High Way: Thru-hiking the Continental Divide Trail,", Last edited on 10 February 2023, at 23:37, "A Quick and Dirty Guide to the Continental Divide Trail", "The Continental Divide Trail Thru-Hiker Survey (2019)", "Cheating their Way to Fame: The Top 9 Adventure Travel Hoaxes", "The Onion vs. Mr. Magoo - On your mark, get set hike. Starting the Cirque of the Towers alternate in the Wind River Range in Wyoming. The rest is on land managed by the Bureau of Land (12% or 372 miles), National Parks (10% or 310 miles), and state and private lands (8% or 248 miles). We took Mosquito Pass into Leadville and the 13,185-foot pass between Leadville and Fairplay required all the clearance our vehicles had and their transfer cases low ranges, but the history, the relics, the mine shafts, and scenery were well worth the effort. [23], Three southern termini of the trail exist: 1) Crazy Cook Monument, the official CDT southern terminus, east of the Big Hatchet Mountains; 2) Antelope Wells, New Mexico; and 3) near Columbus, New Mexico. They meet at the actual continental divide at Flattop Mountain, an elevation of 12,324 feet (according to the National Park Service's website). Gatewood endured so much trauma in her lifetimewhich may be where she found the fortitude, endurance, and will to be the first woman to hike the ATat 67 years of age! This 13,916-foot peak sits just to the southeast of Longs Peak and can be prominently viewed along Colorado Highway 7. 22 hours and 51 minutes and was set in 2016 by Mike Hall (see Trail Notes for a full list of records). The Senator introduced The Continental Divide Trail Completion Act with Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.). ", Alex's sister, Hannah Benson-Cahoy, traversed the Superior Hiking Trail with him. Ashland Ski Lodge (Oregon), Phillip Crosby was crushed by a tree that fell on his tent in strong wind (source), FALL | 20-year-old male | August 20, 2013 | A man free-climbing a rock face with friends near the PCT in Yakima County (Washington) fell to his death (source), HYPOTHERMIA | Karen Tellez | December 7, 1997 | A woman out hiking became separated from her group and died of suspected hypothermia near the PCT near Pine Canyon Road in Southern California (source), SUICIDE | Douglas Cracker | October 29, 1988 | A hiker on the PCT discovered the body of Douglas Cracker, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot to the head, half a mile north of Highway 62 in Crater Lake National Park (source). He cross-country skied as a small child, joining the Minnesota Youth Ski League when he was 6 or 7. The Route covers 5 states: New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho and Montana and is a . The trail exits west to Idaho. In the yearly Continental Divide Trail Hiker Survey, hikers share both their lowest moments on the trail (physically, mentally, emotionally the literal lowest point of the CDT is Waterton Canyon, Montana at 2,972 ft / 906 m), as well as when, if ever, they found themselves in a situation where they felt they were in danger or where they were legitimately afraid. A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not connected to the open sea.Every continent on earth except Antarctica (which has no known significant, definable free-flowing surface rivers) has at least . [25], Notable points on the CDT from south to north along the Idaho/Montana border include:[25][1], Leaving the Idaho/Montana border, the Montana portion of the CDT is 627 miles (1,009km) in length although several alternate routes shorten or lengthen that distance. By the end of Colorado, I was absolutely worn out and my mental state had deteriorated and I needed to reset and start hiking with other people. Read More. So if you ever see a headline something like, Hiker deaths on the PCT jump 200% in the National Scenic Trails deadliest year ever!, know that this means ten people died doing something inherently dangerous (aka its clickbait). [6][7], Successfully thru-hiking the entire Continental Divide Trail takes an average of five months. Stretching for 3,100 miles from Mexico to Canada, the Continental Divide Trail traverses some of North America's most scenic and remote terrains. I almost camped under some dead trees but decided to keep going through intense blowdowns and got a cut on my leg. At 11,004 feet (3,354m) the last major summit of the Rocky Mountains before descending into the. It hit me hard but I knew that I was not hiking just to hike and if I didnt want to be out here I could go home. Called home crying about, Great Basin (Wyoming), no water at the water cache. Because if youre lucky, you may drive the entire length in sunny warm weather, but thats very unlikely. "Everybody says there was no trauma, no distress," Tom said. The establishment of the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail inspired proposals to create a Continental Divide trail. [9], In 2019, the respondents to a survey of CDT thru-hikers were two-thirds male with a median age of 31. "The Continental Divide Trail provides an unmatched outdoor experience for Montanans and visitors alike," Daines said. Map of North American showing the Continental Divide -- an invisible line that separates the major watersheds flowing to different oceans. Consider all these things while assembling a group and planning your trip. Soon after, she hiked 800 miles of the Continental Divide trail along the Montana and Idaho borders. Pacific Crest Trail Death, PCT Resources, Research, Statistics. Want to know how you can expect to meet your maker should this hike turn out to be your last? He didn't want to be the first to cross the river, he wanted to help everybody else across the river. . On a path as long, high, and remote as the Continental Divide Trail, there is little room for gear errors. Most hikers occasionally take a "zero", a day without hiking, or a "nero", a day with little hiking, to rest and recuperate. These people are in the . [22] Timberline can be as low as 6,000 feet (1,800m) in Glacier National Park at the Canadian border[34] and as high as 9,000 feet (2,700m) in the southern part of Montana. The CDT was originally called the Blue Can Trail, named for the founders who first imagined a trail along the Divide in Colorado, marking their path with blue tuna cans. Although, at least one red road was a single track suitable for a motorcycle only. Sign in. 800-715-HIKE (4453) (9-4:30 Every Day) . Continental Divide Trail. At one point in the Winds I had lost my tent, my wallet, and my flashlight and my phone was dying and I had to bushwack over 10 mi / 16 km of wet blowdowns just to get to a spot where I had a chance of hitching into Pinedale to buy a new tent, flashlight, and phone, and I only had $50 in my pocket. . Road biking on Independence Pass/Highway 82 is a popular route in the summer. The youngest person to thru-hike the trail is Reed Gjonnes, who hiked the trail with her father Eric Gjonnes from April 15, 2013 to September 6, 2013 in one continuous northbound hike at age 13.[18][19].