It’s finally here
The trail has begun. What an exciting and crazy time. It’s hard to think it’s actually here and I’m sleeping in my tent on the first night along the Continental Divide. One down, many many more to go.
The day began at the hotel with a 5am alarm. Which doesn’t sound awful, but considering we came from NYC, it’s not that bad. Especially with the anticipation of getting on the trail eagerly waking us up. With our final gear checks done, we packed up and headed downstairs to meet our trail shuttle.
Crazy Cook Shuttle has been running for the last 5-6 years and has been helping hikers safely and quickly get to the start of the trail, which is about two hours down a dirt road, with the end being a little hairy, but was taken fairly lightly with their pickup trucks. Andrea and Dion have done some serious hiking, as well, and their son is the youngest person to ever achieve the Triple Crown (all three major trails), all before turning 10. Needless to say, they are an impressive family, and we are very thankful for their shuttle services!
There were about 5 other people getting down to Crazy Cook Monument (the official southern terminus of the CDT), and once we arrived, there were a few more there ready to start their hikes as well. All in all, there were about 20 people who started hiking today (although half of those got in later in the day, and likely didn’t start much hiking just yet).
As we departed the monument and said our good byes, the realization that we are truly out there set in. Our feet kicked up the dry dust, and the little shrubs were dotted along in every direction as far as the horizon could see. Small hills here and there with a spine of slightly taller peaks along the distance laid out the days to come.
The trail itself is very different than the PCT or AT, as in there’s not really a trail. The more commonly trampled routes seem to be the cow paths. The trail winds itself around along forgotten dirt roads and washes which tell an all to familiar tale of flash flooding from my AZT days. But in general, the terrain was mostly flat and soft and easily trekked across.
I will say, I’ve never carried an umbrella before, but now am completely sold (for at least desert use). Ben and I popped open our reflective umbrellas, and the shade protected and cooled us, instantly. It’s amazing how much heat it keeps away. Later in the day the wind picked up so we put on our hats and folded away our umbrellas, and sheesh, much warmer.
With about 14 miles completed, we reached the first water cache at about 4pm. There’s not a ton of water in the first few hundred miles, and almost (if not completely) no natural water sources. Cow troughs are the main source of water, outside the caches.
We loaded up a bit of water, and pushed on a little further to see how many extra miles we could get in before it started getting dark. Bens first major backpacking day, and he was able to clock in about 17, which is great!
We made it to a water trough just to get some water for cooking, and camped a little bit away from it as there were 30 or so cows hanging around drinking the water as well.
So here we are. The sun has just dipped below the horizon, I’m full of mashed potatoes and tucked in ready to get some solid rest. Bens been asleep for a while now, and I think he’s looking forward to as many hours of sleep as possible, and I’m sure I’ll be fast asleep as soon as I put this down.
