This is an excerpt from my first post for www.thetrek.co on how to prepare for the Continental Divide Trail.
Myself, Click and Cheesebeard are setting off on a southbound hike on the Continental Divide Trail in June 2017 and although the hike is a long way off I’m already starting to prepare. I feel a lot of people can benefit from this information whether you’ve completed a thru-hike in the past or not but bear in mind these are MY preparations, your priorities may differ.
I completed the Appalachian Trail in 2015 and of course, it was a huge learning experience, based on that knowledge here are some things I’m doing to prepare for the Continental Divide Trail.
1 – Research and Reading
I love doing research about topics that interest me, I always have. The wealth of good (and bad) information on long-distance hiking has grown rapidly in the past ten years and with some selective reading, you can find some real nuggets of wisdom. The Continental Divide Trail is the least documented of the three big hikes in the USA so it can be tricky to find solid information, but it is out there. My main areas of research right now are:
- Route Planning, GPS Data, and Ressuply points
- Gear requirements for the trip based on temperatures, terrain, and other factors
- Backpacking food recipes and dehydrating techniques
- Visa Requirements (being a Limey does have some disadvantages)
Researching and Reading is the main thing I’m doing to prepare for the Continental Divide Trail at this point. I think it is THE most important factor in preparing for a thru-hike.
Click here to go the full post on The Trek
You can also check out this more up to date post on Advice for Future CDT Hikers
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