CDT – Twig Adventures

GDT Day 1: Tagging the Border

July 9, 2024 kaulua26 Great Divide Trail

Wednesday, July 3rd, 2024, 1530-2030Waterton to US/CA border, then back to Waterton town campground, mm 4.29 miles (technically only 4 that count), Gain: 1470′, Loss: 1470′, elevation 4325′ I did a lot of prep work on this blog before I began the hike, and I thought it would be nice to provide a synopsis of each section. The maps and descriptions are borrowed from the GDTA website, giving readers a sneak preview of what’s to come. I added these details to the corresponding posts at the start of each section. Here is the first synopsis, followed by the events of Day 1: Section A – 145km / 90mi, Alternates: Mt Rowe-Sage Pass, Barnaby Ridge -The GDT’s southern terminus is also[…]

2022 Year In Review

I wanted to do recap of all my hiking in 2022, which is something I should’ve been doing since I started this blog in 2017. Maybe I’ll do some back-posts over the next winter season to cover years 2017-2021. I like collecting stats in one tidy place. Call it ego or whatever, really I just want to keep track of everything for personal reflections. 2022 was a pretty busy year! I thru-hiked one specialty route, the Mogollon Rim Trail (MRT, courtesy of Brett Tucker and Melissa Spencer) and also one official National Scenic Trail, the Pacific Northwest Trail (PNT). These 2 thru-hikes were quite different from each other and afforded a very wide array of habitats, conditions, and experiences. They[…]

2022 ALDHA-West Gathering / Triple Crown Awards

February 28, 2023 kaulua26 Appalachian Trail, Continental Divide Trail, Pacific Crest Trail

Saturday, September 24th, 2022, Keystone, Colorado I just wanted to do a quick post about the 2022 ALDHA-West Gathering. This is an annual event where hikers are honored for having completed the Triple Crown of Hiking: the Appalachian Trail, Continental Divide Trail, and Pacific Crest Trail. I actually completed this trilogy the year prior, but given my Aug-Nov southbound hike of the AT, it was too late to submit my accomplishments for that year. I guess it was meant to be, since having the Gathering in CO aligned perfectly a visit to my home state after the PNT. A hiker friend, Tim Sharp (aka Nine Lives), gave me a ride to and from the event. I only attended one day[…]

CDT/CT Bonus 2022: Grays Peak, Argentine Spine, & Searle and Kokomo Passes to Leadville.

February 9, 2023 kaulua26 Colorado Trail, Continental Divide Trail

September 15-20, Thursday- MondayDay 1: Hermit Gulch TH to Grays and Torreys TH, 6.7 miles, 1600′ gain, Elevation 11,245′Day 2: Grays and Torreys TH to Webster Pass, 17.5 miles, 7100′ gain, 6500′ loss, Elevation 11,500′Day 3: Webster Pass to bench near Blair Witch Trail, just before Breckenridge, 24 miles, 3900′ gain, 6300′ lossDay 4: 5 miles into Breckenridge on the road, then 1 mile outside of Copper Mt ski resort.Day 5: Copper Mt to Tennessee Pass, 22 miles, 4000′ gain, 3700′ lossDay 6: Leadville to Denver via car This is trip report of a hike I did with my friend Suvi, who I first met on the PCT in 2018. This year she was hiking the CDT southbound. My pit-stop[…]

MRT (Bonus) Days 28 & 29: Silver City Fin

May 30, 2022 kaulua26 Continental Divide Trail, Mogollon Rim Trail

Friday May 6th, 2022, 0630-1800Sapillo Creek to Little Walnut Picnic Grounds outside Silver City24 miles. I heard some strange noises coming from the nearby cave dwellings in the morning. I wondered if it was from animals or ghosts? Perhaps some early-riser CDT hikers had discovered the caves? This area was also where I first heard a Mexican whippoorwill and again, one first thing this morning. They appear to have a very limited range in the SW of the US, but I’d heard them quite a few times on this hike. I always love the sound they make. I also forgot to mention that we saw a lone javalina by the river 2 days prior…first and only of this hike. The[…]

MRT (Bonus) Day 27: Rollin Down the River

May 14, 2022 kaulua26 Continental Divide Trail, Mogollon Rim Trail

Thursday May 5th, 2022, 1000-1800Gila Hot Springs to Sapillo Creek17.5 miles. I woke and packed early, but not so I could hike. My only priority was getting another soak in the springs. I felt pretty warm in my tent, but found my dress frozen stiff outside…it was only 30 degrees. I had to dunk it in the hot water just to be able to change into it. I decided that I needed to invent a hiking robe for such circumstances. None of the CDT hikers opted for a morning soak… probably because of the cold and also because they had thousands of miles left to hike. I had less than 50 miles and 4 days to get it done. It[…]

MRT (Bonus) Day 26: Gila Hot Springs

May 14, 2022 kaulua26 Continental Divide Trail, Grand Enchantment Trail, Mogollon Rim Trail, Pacific Crest Trail

Wednesday May 4th, 2022, 0640-1000West Fork Gila to Gila Hot springs.11 miles. We had about 6 miles to go until the cliff dwellings, then another 5 miles of road walking to Doc Campbells and the hot springs in the morning. The trail went by fast, especially since I was running to keep warm. The relentless river crossings turned my feet into blocks of ice, so I had to do something to generate heat. We passed a camp where the occupants were dry, sitting in chairs, and sipping coffee. Ahhh, the regular backpacking life. We also passed our camp from the year before, where I spied toilet paper right where I’d cowboy camped…good thing I hadn’t counted on a repeat of[…]

GET Day 40: The Finish on top the Sandias

June 8, 2021 kaulua26 Continental Divide Trail, Grand Enchantment Trail

Thursday Apr 29th, 2021, 1000-1600I 40/Tijeras to Sandia Peak Tram, Segment 38, mm 75715 miles I stuck this one out to the end and it was finally time to call it that…THE END. The past few weeks had certainly dragged on, first because of Norovirus and then so we could align our plans with good weather and a return ride. Jon, trail angel extraordinaire, was on his way from Phoenix to pick us up but wouldn’t be arriving until late afternoon. We had all day to walk the last 15 miles, which was a good thing since we had stayed up late with Blue and Twerk. We slept in a little, ate a small breakfast at Blue’s, then headed straight[…]

#11 of 20: Mt. Yale 14,196′ & Trail Angels on the CT/CDT

August 2, 2020 kaulua26 14ers, Colorado Trail, Continental Divide Trail, Short Hikes

06:30-13:00, Sunday, 8-02-20CO 14ers: 16 of 53Distance RT: 10 milesElevation gain/loss: 5,000′Starting Elevation: 9,400′Summit: 14,196′Rank: 21 of 53Location: Sawatch Range, Collegiate Peaks, west of Buena VistaRoute: Avalanche Trailhead, north on CT, up East Ridge, down Southwest Slopes to Denny Creek Trailhead/HWY 306, Class 2. I was feeling pretty good after my marathon of 5 14ers in 2 days, that is until the 3rd day. Then I felt like this: After Bierstadt and Evans, I decided to head for Buena Vista for the night. The plan was to hike one of the Collegiate Peaks the next day. After dinner and a night tenting at a KOA, I was none too excited about waking up early to hike another mountain. So I[…]

Completing the CO CDT Red Line through RMNP

July 22, 2020 kaulua26 Continental Divide Trail, Short Hikes

Wednesday, 7-22-20Distance RT: 26 milesLocation: Grand Lake, CORoute: Rocky Mountain National Park loop, counterclockwise from Grand Lake A little bit of background: Most thru-hikers use an app called Far Out for navigation and trail intel. For National Scenic Trails, the official trail is notated by a red line. Alternates are depicted with different colors (orange, blue, etc). If you’re a purist, you’re always “on the red line.” I took plenty of alternates while hiking the CDT, especially through New Mexico and Montana. But I tried to be a purist through my home state, dedicated to the red line with the one exception of Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) loop. Many CDT hikers bypass this loop (following the orange line to/from[…]

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