Tuesday, June 9, 2026 40.3 miles, 3675′ gain/5141′ loss Max altitude: 11,600′ I was woken up out of a dead sleep by an earth-shattering thunderclap around 5am, accompanied by a short burst of hail and rain. I got out of bed at 6am and was hiking on yet another dirt road by 6:25am. The first … Continue reading NM/CO CDT Day 11
Monday, June 8, 2026 35.7 miles, 3346′ gain/2822′ loss. Max altitude: 10,250′ I was awake by 5am at Cumbres Pass, and started hiking on the paved road by 5:35am after using the privy nearby. The road was windy and a little hilly, but not too bad especially early in the morning before it got sunny … Continue reading NM/CO CDT Day 10
Sunday, June 7, 2026 8.7 miles, 1201′ gain/1015′ loss. Max altitude: 11,000′ I was awake at 6am, and hiking again by 6:30am. I knew I’d be getting to the border soon, and so it felt a little like Christmas. I was excited to get going. There was a bit of climbing to get to the … Continue reading NM/CO CDT Day 9
Saturday, June 6, 2026 36.8 miles, 4767′ gain/3668′ loss. Max altitude: 11,000′ After a later night, I was up at 6:05am and hiking by 6:35am. I soon found myself hiking through the Hopewell Lake campground and then the day-use area around the lake. I did a few small chores, taking advantage of trash and privies, … Continue reading NM/CO CDT Day 8
Friday, June 5, 2026 36.7 miles, 4577′ gain/3333′ loss. Max altitude: 10,600′ I was awake at 5:40am, and hiking again by 6:15am. It was another long day. But there were more consistent water sources, mostly with clear, cold water. I saw a lot of animals, including many prairie dogs, elk, cows, and bunnies. At the … Continue reading NM/CO CDT Day 7
Thursday, June 4, 2026 23.2 miles, 3852′ gain/1037′ loss. Max altitude: 9,125′ I was awake at 5:35am, and packed up and walking on the road by 6am. I made quick miles on the road, though it was a bit more rolling hills than I wanted. The sun rising over the river and the canyon was … Continue reading NM/CO CDT Day 6
Wednesday, June 3, 2026 36.4 miles, 3829′ gain/6581′ loss. Max altitude: 10,560′ I was up at 5:15am and hiking by 5:45am. It was such a relief to be hiking among trees with natural water sources again. At my first water source of the day (a stream flowing into a lake), I saw a hiker tent … Continue reading NM/CO CDT Day 5
Tuesday, June 2, 2026 26.6 miles, 3816′ gain/1424′ loss. Max altitude: 9250′ I was up at 5:45am and hiking by 6:20am. As I hiked the hilly 9 miles to the road, I passed by 3 other CDT hikers – Human, Dad, and Journeyman. It was nice to compare notes about yesterday’s suffering, just to know … Continue reading NM/CO CDT Day 4
Monday, June 1, 2026 34.2 miles, 4380′ gain/4642′ loss. Max altitude: 7800′ I was up at 5:15am and hiking by 5:45am. It didn’t get cool overnight and so I didn’t sleep soundly. I started my morning descending to the floor of the desert, in the shade for part of an hour, for the only time … Continue reading NM/CO CDT Day 3
Sunday, May 31, 2026 32.4 miles, 2090′ gain/2671′ loss. Max altitude: 9000′ Since I got to bed so late, I let myself sleep in a bit this morning. I was up at 6am and hiking by 6:30am. As I packed up, I saw a group of turkeys wandering around nearby. The hot water from yesterday … Continue reading NM/CO CDT Day 2
