outdoor professional portfolio and thru-hiking blog
And the first post on the road. So, so hard to say goodby to Jules…
And our old man Buddy…
Tonight I’ll be landing inTucson, AZ and staying with Amanda and Andy, my Tucson peeps that were so generous last fall when I stayed with them during Thanksgiving while on the Arizona Trail. Why can’t I live everywhere where all my favorite people live?
Gear for the CDT includes (starting top left, from L to R):
My gear list for the Continental Divide Trail northbound through New Mexico is exactly the same as my southbound thru-hike of the Arizona Trail in fall 2017. I’m preparing a box with an alpine axe, foot spikes, gaiters, and a few other high elevation items like a vest and some mitten shells. That box will be picked up in Chama, NM at the beginning of May just in time for the South San Juans. I have a warmer sleeping bag (a 1997 Western Mountaineering Apache, 10 degree) in a box, ready to ship to Creede, CO just in case in the first few hundred miles over 11,000 feet I find myself freezing my ass off. Although, with my 20 degree bag and clothing I sleep fine in outside temperatures reaching low 20s to the mid teens. If an annoying amount of wind is present that can be a game changer so I’ve got a warmth upgrade I can call on and catch up with in the Western bag.
I would expect to carry the FF Flicker 20 the entire way (or pick up again once leaving CO), only adjusting a layer or two of clothing using a bounce box.
Here’s my core carry for the AZT and the CDT. Pack weight, minus food and water, is normally about 10 and a half pounds. In advance of the CDT I am weighing almost 12 pounds, most of that coming from additional vitamins, contact lenses, a third pair of socks, a SPOT GEN3, and paper maps which I normally do not carry.
Altra Lone Peak 3.5. in a Size 10.5 – one full size larger than I used to wear in the Lone Peak 3.0 model. I’m between sizes on these things and I hear a lot of users mention sizing is weird in the 3.5. While having aggressive looks, The Lone Peak sole is fairly effective over a wide range of terrain. It’s a shoe that will cover a little bit of everything, never excelling in any one specific type of terrain. I’ve worn trail runners with much more effective out soles than the Lone Peak but that often comes with other trade offs. I’m happy with the range of terrain the Lone Peak will cover, and that’s ideal during a thru hike.
The Lone Peak is padded well: soft enough to effectively cushion joints over the repetition of strides over a long hike with weighty pack, but still remain sensitive and nimble underfoot. In a size 10 my big toe will softly touch the end of the shoe when walking on anything graded 5 or 6 percent downhill. In the size 10.5 I have a wee bit too much room in the toe box and my big toe will slap a bit on the top part of the toe box.
After wearing both a size 9.5 and 10 on the trail I’ve decided to settle on a size 10.5. To take away the bit of volume I mentioned, I use the Rockplate which came with a pair of Altra Superiors. It’s basically an 1/8″ dense but flexible piece of plastic. I place the Rockplate insert underneath the foot bed that comes with the Lone Peak. The Rockplate takes away a bit less than 1/8″ of volume from the entire shoe. Not much, but it makes a difference. So I now have shoes that will fit but also have enough room to accommodate the swelling of my feet from hiking 15, 20, 25 miles per day. They’re not perfect shoes but they’re reasonably priced and good enough to make the miles, especially when I take the time to put a good layer of Seamseal or Aquaseal on them before wearing the first time.
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ADDING IN PAGOSA, CO and carrying for 2-3 weeks: