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Voyageur - Continental Divide Trail Journal - 2014

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Scott "Voyageur / Voyager" Piddington
City: Sanbornton
State: New Hampshire
Country: United States
Begins: Apr 22, 2014
Direction: Northbound

Daily Summary
Date: Sat, Mar 1st, 2014

Journal Stats
Entry Visits: 5,103
Journal Visits: 29,074
Guestbook Views: 1,024
Guestbook Entrys: 12

Gear list

Continental Divide Trail Map

It's decided!

It's time to hike the Continental Divide Trail again!! Already I can't wait. The question has been to return to running the Voyageurs program at Griswold Scout Reservation, rehike the Appalachian Trail or rehike the CDT. After presenting my conundrum to Mark, the camp director, he let me know that my co-leader of the last 2 summers, Matt, would be returning this summer. We worked great together and there may be no one I trust more to keep the program on track and keep it improving. I'll miss working with him but it is time for him, an outdoor ed college student, to take the reigns. Give my regards to the Whites and the Belknaps, Matt!

Then the questions was AT or CDT. Hmmm. My last CDT hike (2010/2011) was, with the exception of about 14 days, a very solitary trek. Then, last summer (2014), in addition to 10 weeks at camp running 8 week long backpacks with older teens, I hiked the Grand Enchantment Trail. That was, if possible, even more solitary. I think I hiked with someone else for about an hour out of the whole 730 miles and that turned out to be after a wrong turn on the wring trail in the wrong direction. The point here is that I wasn't sure I wanted another solitary hike. Surprisingly, all this solitude really hasn't been a problem. Not that I necessarily hiked much with others on my previous AT & PCT hikes but at least I encountered others regularly and had the option to hike or camp with them. OK, so Galahad & I spent 1500 miles together on the PCT in 07 but that left another 1100 solo. Still, on the PCT & AT one frequently encounters folks to talk with. Of course, running program at camp for the last 2 summers there is virtually no alone time which can get a little overwhelming for this life long single guy.

A couple of days ago I was out on a ski tour to Greeley Ponds from the Kancamagus Highway up in the White Mountains. It was a beautiful day with beautiful conditions and solo of course. Perched on the edge of the upper pond, taking in the cliffs of east peak, the ice and spin-drift, it came to me. Yup, it's the CDT this summer. That way the AT in some future summer will cap my double triple crown and local friends who want to help me celebrate can more likely make it to Katahdin, a mere day's drive for most.

Last night I got my airline ticket to El Paso, Texas on Sunday, April 20. The flight gets in to late to catch a bus to Lordsburg so I booked a cheap room in El Paso. To take a bus or train to Lordsburg on Monday, that is the question. Monday will be the day for grocery shopping too.

I also signed up for the brand new shuttle service to Crazy Cook, the official start of the CDNST, offered by the CDTC, Continental Divide Trail Coalition. The shuttle will pick me up in Lordsburg at 6pm and drop me at the Community Center in Hachita for the night. Then at 7am it will leave on the rugged ride out to the Mexican border at Crazy Cook. This is a tremendous service and it just came on line a few days ago and already 28 folks have signed up for spring rides to CC! Maybe it won't be so solitary an adventure after all. Sharing this hike with one or more others would be a blast!


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CDT Thru-Hike 2014

"The road ahead leads ever on
down from my door where it began
to where many paths and errands meet." - JRR Tolkien
Link my earlier journals at www.spiddington.com"

 

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