[Cdt-l] Trail comparison

[Paul Magnanti]

I'm gonna be lazy and again copy from own doc. :)

http://www.pmags.com/joomla/index.php/Backpacking-and-Hiking-documents/cdt_doc.html


APPALACHIAN TRAIL vs. PACIFIC CREST TRAIL vs. CONTINENTAL DIVIDE TRAIL


    * Needless
to say the AT and the CDT are not alike in anyway. They are both long
trails that goes through the mountains… and that is where the
similarity ends
    * A better comparison is between the CDT and the PCT
    * Both are about the same length, go above treeline and      in remote areas
    * As with the PCT, the CDT is open to horses. Currently      parts of the CDT are also mountain bike accessible
    * The
PCT is finished, is well marked and is relatively well used. The CDT is
unfinished, is not well marked in many places and is very unused in
places
    * Take most thru-hikers 4-5 months to hike the CDT
    * Logistics are similar to the PCT; about 5-7 days in      between resupplies
    * A
NoBo will start in late April and typically finish in September. Start
too early and you hit much snow in the San Juans of Colorado. Finish
too late and you hit snow in Montana
    * A SoBo will start in
mid-June and typically finish in November. Start too early and you will
see much snow in Montana. Dawdle too much and you may hit snow in the
San Juans.


...and from my journal:

Asmentioned previously, the CDT for me was the most challenging, difficult
and frustrating of the three trails. The isolation at times, the route
finding, the rough edges.

But, it was indeed the most rewarding of the trails I walked. 
A trail where I saw a grizzly bears in the wild, heard wolves. 

Being on
top of Temple Pass in the Winds one glorious morning. Standing on the
ridge in Montana and Idaho and seeing NOTHING around except the
mountains.

The rawness, intensity and wildness is what makes the trail so rewarding. 

Felt
as if I was forging my own path (even with maps and guide books). Was
misplaced enough where sometimes I did feel like I was forging my own
path. :D Originally, said it was my favorite of the three trails. Now?
Well, hard to really choose a favorite. Think all three had something
that made me like them all for different reasons.

The CDT already mentioned. 

Hiking the AT was like my first serious relationship.
Full
of passion and energy. Every day was something totally new to me. Took
lessons from that experience that I still carry with me. Found the AT
to be the most physically difficult (terrain, heavier pack, worse
overall weather, inexperience[1]). 

The
PCT is where I truly felt comfortable for the first time with
thru-hiking. Knowing that thru-hiking is what I indeed want to do. The
10 days in the High Sierra is still the overall highpoint in my
backpacking "career". The PCT is perhaps the "happy medium" forthe
three trails. 
Wild
in places, easy to get solitude or companionship as needed, easy
tread,over all great weather. A trail made for end to end hikes. Most
importantly, it is where I made friendships still strong over four
years later.



[1] I just hiked the Benton MacKaye Trail in the southern Apps these past two weeks. A bit wilder and remote than the AT and supposedly more
physically difficult as well. Well, 11 yrs after I last hiked in the southern Apps, I gotta say I think part of the perception of why the AT is more physically
difficult is because the average AT hiker DOES have a heavy pack, is inexperienced and frankly, not in the best shape. With my 2009 gear, experience
(and much better shape than in 1998), I was able to do 20-25 MPH day fairly easily (daylight being my biggest restriction). Something I could not/would
not do in 1998.  However, I hiked the Whites this past October and it was still tough as ever. Northern New England has some of the most difficult tread I've ever done. Period. And the BMT? Great little trail....



 ************************************************************
The true harvest of my life is intangible.... a little stardust 
caught, a portion of the rainbow I have clutched
--Thoreau
http://www.pmags.com
http://www.redbubble.com/people/pmags/art