On this day ... on the Continental Divide Trail in 1985

Squaretop Mountain, Wind River Range, August 9, 1985

On this day thirty-four years ago I was approaching Squaretop Mountains and the Wind River Range on the Continental Divide Trail. It was my seventy-second day and when I set up my tent that evening I'd walked 995 miles from the Canadian border.

Some journal entries from the day:

"A frost. -1C in the tent. Boots frozen! A clear sky ay 6 a.m."

"3 cups of coffee this morning. Where is that sun?!"

"7.45 - sunshine! Time to pack up and move."

"Mislaid route hopelessly".

"Pitched the tent on the edge of the trees and facing up the valley to the steep, rugged edge of the mountains. A grand view, pink with the last rays of the setting sun."

The words bring back memories, the aroma of the trees, the feel of the landscape, the excitement of the trail. Close my eyes and I could still be there.

Next week I will be. The Rocky Mountains.  Not the Wind River Range but Southern Colorado, following the CDT and the Colorado Trail for 400 miles.

Excitement is building.

Planning: I still prefer maps and guidebooks

I'm well into planning my walk in the Colorado Rockies - which basically means finding out where there are resupply points, deciding what gear to take, and gazing at maps wondering about possible summits and variations to interesting sounding places.

I don't do detailed planning. I don't plan on a set mileage each day or where I'll camp each evening. As long as I know how far it is to the next supply point and how much food I need to get there I'm happy. As an average I reckon on 15 miles per day, as that's what it's been on just about every long distance walk for the last forty years, though I did end up doing more than that on the GR5 last autumn and the TGO Challenge this May. That's an average though. I may do 5 miles one day, 25 the next, depending on how I feel.

For me planning is a mix of practicalities and daydreams. I prefer the latter! Just looking at maps and flipping through guidebooks gets me excited about a walk. I love spreading maps out on the floor and tracing routes across them. That's one reason I still prefer physical maps to digitial ones. I also like them on the walk too because I can use them to see what's around me. Yes, you can scroll on a screen but you can't see the overall picture.

I do like digital maps and guides for navigation and information during the walk and I have the Guthook CDT guide and The Continental Divide Trail Coalition Map Set on my phone. I'm sure I'll refer to them frequently but it'll be the printed maps that I spread out on summits and passes to see what's around me. I wouldn't be without them.

Thinking about The Continental Divide Trail and my forthcoming Colorado Rockies walk

At the US/Canada border at the start of the Continental Divide Trail, 1985

"Bear tracks, some grizzly, on the trail". Journal entry, August 5, 1985.

I'd just left Yellowstone National Park for the Teton Wilderness when I saw these tracks. It was the sixty-eigth day since I set off and I'd walked 920 miles south from Canada. I still had over 2,000 miles to go. The Continental Divide Trail was proving a glorious, challenging adventure.

Soon I wouldn't need to worry about watching for grizzly bears and keeping a clean camp - not a good thing as it meant I'd be in places where the bears had been exterminated. There were still black bears though and wild beautiful mountains and forests.

Camp in the Wind River Range

By the time I reached Southern Colorado over a month later thoughts of grizzly bears were long gone. Snow was now my concern and it caused me to miss much of the CDT itself so I'm going back to finally walk that section this month, as I said in this post. 

The last week I've been finalising bookings, deciding what gear to take, and finishing off work and other stuff that must be done before I depart. It's all a rush as usual and makes me wonder how I ever planned a six-month walk back in 1985 when it takes this much effort to plan a month long one.

I'll post a gear list once I've made final decisions. Most will be much lighter than in 1985 when my pack weighed 7lbs (3.17kg) and my tent 6lbs (2.72kg).

Somewhere in the woods on the Continental Divide Trail

One big difference will be communications. Back in 1985 I sent postcards to people. That was it. Most of the time no-one knew where I was or how I was doing. There was no internet, no satellite communicator, no smartphone. I'll have both the last two on this walk and I'll be using the first to post pictures and updates whenever I have a signal. I'm sure the walk, though, will be just as exciting.

Camp in the desert, New Mexico, with replacement pack and water bottle after the first ones broke.

What I've Been Reading Online No.10: Nature

Meadow flowers, Strathspey, July 18

The second part of pieces I've enjoyed reading online recently covers nature. Next will be conservation.

Could we introduce lynx to Scotland?
A persuasive case from the Scottish Wildlife Trust.

The Lost Words: An Illustrated Dictionary of Poetic Spells Reclaiming the Language of Nature
A lovely review of Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris's wonderful The Lost Words by Maria Popova.

Storks are back in Britain - and they're a beacon of hope for us all
Isabella Tree welcomes the return of storks and the message it sends.

Ragwort: friend or foe?
Biologist and nature writer Paul Sterry shows how this common wildflower has a bad name for no good reason.

Fascinating Wolf Pictures Captured By Michigan Photographer Mark Graf
A wonderful set of photos.  

Wildflower Verge or Colourful Eyesore?
Paul Sterry makes the case for leaving roadside verges uncut. 

A Short History of Scotland's Lost Species 1: The Elk
First in a new and fascinating series byDavid Hetherington, author of the excellent 'The Lynx and Us' and Ecology Advisor at the Cairngorms National Park Authority.

Can camera trapping help capture predator ecology?
Studying predators and prey in the Cairngorms National Park.

A Short History of Scotland's Lost Species 2: The Bear
Second in David Hetherington's new series.

Bearded vultures soar again in Alps after breeding scheme
A successful wildlife comeback.

Can I take it home? Nature's collectibles and the law 
Mar Lodge ranger and nature writer Ben Dolphin looks at the complexities of the law regarding taking home bits of nature.

What I've Been Reading Online No. 9: Outdoors

Evening light over the Cairngorms, July 27

I've found so much of interest to read online in recent weeks that I'm dividing it up, somewhat arbitrarily, into sections, starting with outdoor activity topics.

Walkers are middle-aged, hikers are cool
An interesting and encouraging article about how young people are taking up walking (or hiking, or whatever anyone wants to call it).

Digitised Diaries - Gwen Moffat: Storm on La Meije, 1959
A dramatic day in the Alps described by Britain's first female mountain guide 

Adventurer to follow in footsteps of trailblazing nature writer Nan Shepherd 
Elise Wortley is setting off into the Cairngorms following the walks of Nan Shepherd 

How an app made hiking easier - with unintended consequence  
A phone app has made hiking America's long trails much easier

Searching for Russell's caves on the Pyrenean Haute Route 
Researching a new guide book for the Pyrenean Haute Route Tom Martens has an adventure searching for the caves built high in the mountains in the late nineteenth century by pioneer Henry Russell

40 years of Walks and Climbs in the Pyrenees  
Kev Reynolds tells the story of his classic guide to the Pyrenees, which is now is forty years old. 

The Battle for the Cambrian Way
Establishing this route the length of Wales was a big struggle.

New Hampshire Hiker Sets Epic, 576-Summit Speed Record on White Mountains Grid
Story of Philip Garcia summiting 48 peaks over 4,000' every month for a year.

On Reaching the End of the Trail 
Facing up to being unable to hike any more

Wild moment: The playground of giants
A long run in the Cairngorms in the footsteps of Nan Shepherd