I Survived a Flash Flood on the CDT: Here’s How

When I was preparing to thru-hike the Continental Divide Trail, I considered all sorts of variables: the season in which I would be going, the weather, the terrain, etc. Many hikers use such factors to decide whether to hike southbound or northbound along a particular trail.

Yet even after spending countless hours planning and considering all of the possibilities, it’s still almost impossible to be completely prepared for any and all events that might arise. There will always be a “wild card” along your thru-hike. And boy, did my Continental Divide Trail thru-hike have one of those in store for me.

After hiking over 2,000 miles across Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and Colorado, I finally made it to New Mexico — my final state along the CDT. I had been through a lot to get to this point. I had navigated snow in Montana, hiked through some very rugged terrain in Idaho, and experienced some of the most difficult hiking of my life along the Teton Crest Trail and through the Wind River High Route.

So by the time I arrived in the desert, I thought that the hardest stretches of the trail were behind me. It would all be smooth sailing from here on out.

But I was unbelievably wrong.

“In the blink of an eye, a massive wave of dark water crashed into the side of my tent.”

Upon leaving Cuba, NM, there was a lot of rain in the forecast. Many hikers decided to take a few days off of trail. But the rain was expected to linger for days. I was on a time crunch, so it didn’t seem realistic to wait out rain for days at a time. Instead, I hiked out with my tramily and resigned myself to getting wet.

On the first day out, we all got completely soaked. But we managed to make camp for the night and stay relatively warm and dry. The rain continued into the following day, but it finally stopped for a while in the afternoon, and we were able to dry our gear in the sun. I was optimistic that the weather wasn’t going to be as bad as anticipated. But after two days of pretty constant rain in the desert, the inevitable happened.

A day’s worth of rain had caused rivers in New Mexico to rise. Leading to us having to ford water in areas which previously were rock-hop-able.

While I was set up at camp for the night with another hiker, all seemed well. We were comfortable in our tents as the rain came down. Then the rain finally stopped briefly around 9 p.m. Around this time, I began to hear the distant sound of water flowing. This was surprising because there were no rivers or water sources around us.

Then in the blink of an eye, a massive wave of dark water crashed into the side of my tent. Within seconds my tent was filled with water. I was kneeling inside my tent and the water was up to my waist. In those next few moments, I made many critical choices as if in slow motion. I think that these decisions helped to save my life and also the life of the other hiker that I was with.

As soon as the water hit, I could feel my adrenaline spike, and I shifted mentally into a “fight or flight” type state. I felt time slowing down, an experience that many people describe during traumatic events.

My first course of action was to yell out to the other hiker who I was with. They were sleeping, and fortunately, I was able to wake them up before it was too late. Part of my mind was incredibly jumbled, and another part was trying its best to gain control and remain calm and collected. That was the most critical thing that I did during this event. Remain as calm as possible and make quick but thoughtful decisions.

“I was initially concerned about drowning in my tent.”

After hiking over 80+ miles to get to Grant’s, NM, a police vehicle gave us a ride for the last few miles.

Once the wave of water hit my tent, I waited to see if the water level would keep rising. I was initially concerned about drowning in my tent. If the water had risen any further, then my tent could likely have come unstaked and been swept away. But once I realized that the water levels did not appear to be rising, I decided to stay in my tent for a few minutes to pack my belongings.

I grabbed my phone and charging block out of the water first. I was worried that both would be damaged. Then I packed my belongings as quickly as possible into my backpack. Everything was soaked. Rather than putting my contacts in, I chose to wear my glasses instead. I simply did not have the time to worry about contacts. I tried to pack my bag in a way that left the most essential gear up towards the top.

After packing my backpack, I packed my tent last. Then had to cross a very wide and deep river to get back to the trail. At this point in time it was after 9:30 p.m. and I was soaking wet. It was quite cold out, and my adrenaline would be wearing off soon. I was well aware that the only thing that was going to warm me up would be hiking out.

The other hiker I was with was a bit panicked, attempting to pack their belongings. In a kind but stern fashion, I told them to pack up as quickly as possible. They asked what we should do now, and I responded that we needed to begin hiking again, immediately. That would be the only way for us to stay safe and warm.

“I had no choice but to hike 56 more miles.”

It took five hours of walking in the dark for my body heat to dry the clothing that I was wearing. And it took until morning to actually feel completely warm and comfortable again. Because all my gear was completely soaked, I had no choice but to keep hiking another 56 miles to Grant’s, NM. I would not have been able to comfortably sleep through the night with a soaking wet quilt.

After hiking all through the night, eventually the day came again, and we dried our gear in the sun.

If you are put in a situation where you have to hike all through the night due to an emergency, remember to go easy on yourself. Stop periodically to rest your body and mind. Drink water and eat when you can. There is no magical, fast way to hike 56 miles to town in the rain and mud. I knew that it was going to take well over 24 hours. But eventually we made it to a road and were able to get into the next town.

After this event I kept asking myself what we could have done differently to avoid this whole situation. And unfortunately, I’m not sure if we could have. I had not set up my camp in a wash, or even on particularly low ground. But because of the excess rain, a lot of the surrounding area was impacted.

In the future, I would make one clear decision: if it rains for more than a day or so in the desert, only camp on significantly higher ground. I will only be camping on top of hills from now on in New Mexico when the weather is bad. Even if you don’t camp in a wash, you can still get washed away by a wave of water.

“If I had panicked in the moment, it could have been a lot worse.”

Bundling up and preparing for rain the day before the flash flood.

While this event might have been terrifying, it was also eye-opening in many ways. It helped me learn a lot about myself. I didn’t realize how important it was to remain calm and collected under pressure until this. The choices that I made in the heat of the moment helped to save my life and my gear, but also the life of the person I was hiking with.

If I hadn’t acted quickly and woken up my friend, then the outcome could have been a lot worse. If I had panicked in the moment, it could have been a lot worse too. Rather than freaking out and panicking, I tried to slow down and make methodical choices.

Which gear do I attempt to save first? When the water first hit my tent, I quickly unzipped it to grab my shoes and backpack, which I typically leave outside my tent. If I hadn’t grabbed them quickly, they would have washed away. I never would have been able to hike out 56 miles without my shoes or pack.

After I ensured that those critical pieces of gear were safe, I focused on the next two most important items, my phone and charging brick. Those would be essential for planning, maps, and calling for help if necessary.

Next, I focused on packing all of my remaining gear. More than anything, I tried not to leave anything behind. When I took my tent stakes out of the ground, I grabbed them one by one, counting to ensure that I got them all. Because without my tent stakes, I’m unable to set up my trekking pole style tent. I wasn’t sure initially if we would be able to hike the entire 56 additional miles to town. So, keeping my tent stakes ensured I could at least set up my shelter if need be.

“You can’t control what happens. All you can do is control how you react. That is where your true power lies.”

A fortune that I got from a cookie at the Asian buffet in Grant’s, NM. Right after getting to town after the flash flood.

Fortunately, we were able to hike the entire way to Grant’s, NM, without setting up camp for the night again or stopping. But the other hiker whom I was with had lost all of his tent stakes in the chaos of the flood. Which meant he would not have been able to set up his tent if he had had to. At the end of the day, it was really those small, critical choices that seemed the most significant. Luckily, we didn’t need to set up camp prior to town, so none of that mattered.

You never know what will happen in unpredictable circumstances. The best thing to do is to be prepared for whatever might take place.

Out of all of the thru-hiking stories which I have heard over the years, I have never once heard about thru-hikers being caught in a flash flood. This was certainly something I was not expecting!

Warning signs I encountered in the days prior to the flash flood. There were no signs like this around where we had camped. But there were signs within 100 miles of our location. Foreshadowing what was to come.

The major takeaway from the whole experience for me is to expect the unexpected. Try to be cool, calm, and collected during any and all circumstances along the trail. You can’t control what happens. All you can do is control how you react. That is where your true power lies. It’s easy to get freaked out by a chaotic and unexpected event, but that doesn’t make it any easier to deal with.

The more time that you spend out on trail pivoting around unexpected circumstances, the better you will get at this. I’ve come to learn that staying calm is like a muscle that you have to strengthen and train.