[pct-l] The Great Divide Trail

[CWillett at pierce.ctc.edu (Chris Willett)]

Hi All, 

Sorry for the cross posting, but I wanted to reach everyone.  I've finished my Great Divide Trail page that chronicles my summer spent on the Canadian version of the CDT. From Waterton National Park in the south to Mount Robson in the north, the GDT spans a land that can only be called special.  Or, perhaps Powerful.  Even better, Beautiful.  There is no GDTA. There are no mailing lists. Coming across internet resources or even former thruhikers is difficult.  I encountered a grand total of one GDT sign, and that was in Jasper, supposedly at the end of it all.  There are other signs that I know of but did not see, because I wandered too close to a mine area (cross country hiking!) and got tossed out of it.  The trail is a good length for someone wanting to do a long hike, but not so long as to have to change jobs or put off school for a while.  By my rough calculations, I hiked something between 1000 and 1100 kilometers, or around 650 miles, give or take a few dozen miles.  An exact count is tough, since alot of trail (or, better, route) is cross country or on ATV tracks.  Moreover, there is no official route. I freely diverged from the route spelled out in Dustin Lynx's excellent guidebook (and the only one), ending at Mount Robson rather than Kakwa Lakes, which is what he prefers as a northern terminus.  I hiked for a month and what I thought was a leisurely pace, and even took four (!) zero days.  I met two other thruhikers and know of one more confirmed thruhiker, a 2001 CDT hiker and triple crowner.  So, four thruhikers total, it seems, for the class of 2004.  With the route I took, it is possible to complete the GDT in 3 weeks for those truly inspired and fast, but I think a month to two months is perhaps better.  The route cannot be done on horseback, given the nature of some of the terrain and Parks Canada.

I've put information about the GDT onto my webpage at

http://www.piercc.ctc.edu/faculty/cwillett

Permits seem like a pain, but they can be really simple.  I've got info on them.  Resupply is fairly straightforward, as you have little choice in the matter.  I've got info on that as well.  Pictures, day-by-day journal entries, and a few updates to the guidebook are there, too. My journal entries tend to be rather long winded, but the pics are all there for you to scroll through as well.

I would highly recommend the GDT for anyone with a sense of adventure, a little time, and a little experience.  It made a great follow up to my PCT hike of the summer before and I'll be happy to help those planning a trek on the GDT, thru, section, or otherwise.  It really is a great experience.

Suge



---------------------------
Christopher Willett
cwillett@pierce.ctc.edu
www.pierce.ctc.edu/faculty/cwillett
Pierce College
9401 Farwest Drive SW.
Lakewood, WA. 98498-1999