Adventure Logue, which is part of the BootsnAll Travel Network posted a very cool article written by reader Chris Turner, who recently completed the Continental Divide Trail by mountain bike.
The CDT has become one of the epic hikes in the United States, right up their with the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail for it’s length, remoteness, and beauty. However, you can also do the entire CDT on mountain bike, covering some 2711 miles. Along the way you’ll cross the actual Continental Divide 30 times, picking up more than 200,000 feet of vertical gain along the way. The entire trip took Chris 61 days to complete.
The article gives some nice information for others who might want to ride the entire length of the CDT, which begins in Banff, Alberta, Canada, and winds it’s way South to Antelope Wells, New Mexico. While it isn’t highly detailed, Chris does break down sections of the trail to give riders an idea of what to expect, although I suspect he’s probably already working on a guide book to be published later.
If you’ve ever wanted to do a long distance mountain bike ride, this looks like it could be a great ride. It sounds like most of the way is quite remote and very scenic as well. That 200k+ of vertical gain sounds a bit painful, but when you spread it out over 60 days, that’s only like 3300 feet per day. Yeah, that still sounds painful.
- Gear Review: The Xero Scrambler Mid is an Ultralight Hiking Shoe for Spring - March 1, 2023
- Gear Review: Yeti Roadie 48 Wheeled Cooler - August 18, 2022
- Kristin Harila Continues Pursuit of 8000-Meter Speed Record - August 16, 2022
Or you can race it.
http://www.greatdividerace.com/
Yeah, I covered the race when it was happening earlier this year. Pretty cool event.