Wisdom from 2018 Continental Divide Trail Thru-Hikers (Pt. II)

Rachael “Rabbit” DeLano | April 21st–Sept 1st NOBO

“All of us were so different but had a common goal and that is very bonding.”

Favorite trail town and why?
Leadville. I can’t help it; I am a sucker for Melanzana. You can only buy their hoodies in Leadville, CO, at the store. I took a planned zero (rare for me) just to relax and enjoy the town. It was a really fun time. I normally end up taking zeros on a whim or because I am sick or injured. It was really nice to know a few days in advance that I would be taking a day off.

What did you do to prepare for your hike that you think directly affected the outcome?
Well, I hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2016 and the Pacific Crest Trail in 2017. Both of those thru-hikes prepared me more than anything else I could have done. I had encountered so many different obstacles on those hikes (heat, snow, rain, injuries, illness); I felt more prepared for the CDT than any other hike I’ve done.

Specifically for this hike, I made a detailed resupply spreadsheet that helped me plan for towns. I always knew what was coming up and it helped me make decisions. While making the spreadsheet, I read Yogi’s guidebook, consulted with a friend who had hiked the CDT, and looked at paper maps and Guthook. I had an overall picture of the trail after this research and I knew where I should send snow gear and other gear as needed already laid out. Things change of course, but I had a flexible plan to follow. I also knew what towns it was better to send resupply boxes too and which places it was better to buy supplies in town. I found this to be very useful and it saved me time and stress in the long run.

What were your luxuries on trail?
I started the trail with a pair of flip flops (camp shoes). These were super useful in the desert when I wanted to get out of my salt-soaked socks and trail runners. I used them in camp, town, and on breaks. After the desert section, I sent them home.

What piece of gear did you bring but not need?
The flip-flops I brought. Camp shoes can be really nice, but when I had to pick up my snow gear, they weren’t worth the weight.

What piece of gear did you wish you had?
A lighter rain jacket. I love all of my gear, but I continually fall in love with new UL gear as it comes out.

What do you think changed the most about your personality or outlook on life from this experience?
I appreciated this hike more than the rest I think. Since I was finishing my Triple Crown, this trail felt like an end in a way. It made me think more about what my next moves in life would be as opposed to just what my next hike would be (even though I thought about that a lot too). Overall, I would say thru-hiking has given me more confidence in myself. It has also restored my faith in humanity. Sure there is some bad out there, but overall there is so much good, and I learned to see that again.

Did you hike more in a group or solo?
Both!

What was your trail family like?
The best people you will ever meet. I met ten people on the shuttle to the start of the trail and ended up hiking almost half of the trail with four of those people. Three of us ended up starting and finishing on the same day. We were not always together and my trail family changed over time. I also spent good portions of the trail alone. I would often see people but was not in a proper trail family for the entire trail. This mix works for me. I love being around people and sharing the experience with a trail family, but in general, I like to spend a lot of time alone. I value both experiences.

What was your favorite part of hiking in a group?
Just getting to know the other amazing humans that had also chosen to come to spend their time thru-hiking. All of us were so different but had a common goal and that is very bonding.

Alone?
I like the quiet time to think and appreciate where I am. Alone time lets me work through things in my head.

What did you turn to, on a rough day, to keep yourself motivated and driven?
Music, podcasts, and audiobooks. Pretty much anything that makes noise and takes my focus out of my own head and lets me push through a hard day.

What do you miss most about the trail (life)?
Everything. Probably the people most of all. And the simplicity: hike, eat, sleep, repeat.

What is one piece of advice you would give aspiring thru-hikers?
Don’t overthink it. Do your due diligence to start the trail as a responsible hiker, like learning about Leave No Trace principles, and then get out there! You got this.

Justin “Jupiter” Cummins | May 1st–Sep 14th NOBO.

“the four M’s definitely worked at any low point in morale or before a big climb, Music, Meds (ibuprofen), Mio (caffeine), and Marijuana. It certainly gets you up the mountain at least.”

Favorite trail town and why?
Breckenridge. I took a week off with my girlfriend and had some great mates there from the PCT who made the 4th of July special for us foreigners. However, I wouldn’t take a week off mid trail again as getting back on the trail was harder on the body than the start.

What did you do to prepare for your hike that you think directly affected the outcome?
I put weight on; I got way too skinny the year before on the PCT, which led to some serious issues later on the trail that year. Before the CDT I gained around 13 pounds of extra fat (it was delicious doing so), I seriously believe these extra reserves allowed me to stay a healthier weight longer and also cushioned the impact of an abrupt diet change.

What were your luxuries on trail?
Food. It makes up so much of your morale and comfort on the trail that I never skimped on food when leaving town and I made sure I had more than I needed every time.

What piece of gear did you bring but not need?
A mosquito head net.

What piece of gear did you wish you had?
I carried a beacon for safety but I would rather have had a Garmin inReach or similar SOS system with messaging capability. I’m sure my girlfriend, CJ, would have appreciated it too when she didn’t hear from me for ten days.

What do you think changed the most about your personality or outlook on life from this experience?
The loneliness experienced on parts of the trail affected me more than I thought it would; it definitely showed me how much we need human interaction.

Did you hike more in a group or solo?
One-third alone two-thirds with people

What was your trail family like?
I hiked with Sour Straws and Pinata (some awesome peeps) who I met on the PCT the year before until we got to mid-Colorado. After a week off with my girlfriend in Breckenridge, CO, I didn’t really have a trail family again until I ran into Pony Whisperer (an epic lass) in Yellowstone; from there we finished the trail together. I definitely preferred being with people than without.

What was your favorite part of hiking in a group?
Security, (I’m scared of bears and camping alone in bear country sucks) but also camaraderie; if there isn’t anyone to joke and share the experience with then morale suffers.

Alone?
Not much; speed, solitude maybe.

What did you turn to, on a rough day, to keep yourself motivated and driven?
I didn’t have many down times on the trail. I choose to be out there, so what right do I have to complain was my opinion. However, the four M’s definitely worked at any low point in morale or before a big climb, Music, Meds (ibuprofen), Mio (caffeine), and Marijuana. It certainly gets you up the mountain at least.

What do you miss most about the trail (life)?
The freedom and lack of responsibilities; life boils down to five things pretty much. Water and how far away is it. Food, how much can I eat right now, and how many days is it to resupply. Walking, pooping, sleeping.

What is one piece of advice you would give aspiring thru-hikers?
If you even have a tiny thought that it is something you might enjoy, then give it a go. It isn’t as scary or as hard as you think beforehand as long as you take some time to learn the basics of hiking such as navigation and mountain safety.

Lara “TR” and Mike “Hip” Handwerker | June 15th–October 15th SOBO

“…it’s cliché, but really just take it one day at a time. If you start thinking about the long term and getting to the end of the trail, it can get very overwhelming very quickly.”

Favorite trail town and why?
I loved Steamboat Springs, CO; it’s such a cute ski town that was really fun to be in during the summer months. There were tons of great restaurants, good grocery stores, and stuff to do—plus a great Airbnb selection if you want a break from dingy trail motels. We zeroed here and had an excellent time. Silver City in New Mexico was also super cool. It was full of really historic, beautiful buildings, and it had a great gear shop with friendly people (I passed out outside of it from dehydration and one of the employees drove us to our hotel!).

What did you do to prepare for your hike that you think directly affected the outcome?
We lived in Richmond, VA, before starting and were working and going to school full time, so our training time was pretty limited. My husband did the stair master at the gym most days so that probably helped him out in terms of physical preparation. Otherwise, just picking the eight or so towns we’d be sending resupply boxes to. We were really glad to have our own handpicked supplies when we got to those towns where resupply options were very limited.

What were your luxuries on trail?
Our biggest luxury was definitely carrying one of those backpacking French presses and fresh coffee. It’s what my husband did for the entire AT, too, and he refused to give it up for the CDT. And I just got to reap the benefits! We also each used blow-up sleeping pads; I’m not about that 1/8 inch life.

What piece of gear did you bring but not need?
Not exactly gear, but we brought paper Ley maps, when we would have definitely been fine with the digital files. To be fair, having two of us meant that if one phone died, we’d still have another, so that gave us some leeway.

What piece of gear did you wish you had?
A three-person tent. I love my husband, but it sure would have been nice to have a bit of extra room at the end of each day, especially when it was wet or muddy!

What do you think changed the most about your personality or outlook on life from this experience?
I don’t think anything changed massively; my first thru-hiking experience turned my world upside down, but there’s something about a second one where like, I already have that mental state of craving this life and being changed forever for it. If anything, I’d say it just reinforced my personality of feeling self-sufficient, self-assured, and powerful. I think it also lowered my already very low tolerance for BS upon getting back to my daily, non-trail life, and made me even more comfortable with my ability to cut through it. When you’re in that extreme environment/experience of a thru-hike, you get really good at recognizing the things that matter and having no time or patience for the things that don’t. It’s a way to isolate yourself from the rigors and superficiality of typical society and learn who you can become when all of that is stripped away. There’s literally nothing else like it, and that experience is what has changed me.

Did you hike more in a group or solo?
We were definitely solo most of the time. Going SOBO on the CDT is probably the most solitary thru-hiking experience you can get out of the three long trails.

What was your trail family like?
I would not say we had a true trail family this year. We hiked on and off with another SOBO, Longjohn, for a lot of Montana/Idaho/Wyoming, and stuck pretty close with Blaze for half of Wyoming and Colorado, but other than that, it was just us.

What was your favorite part of hiking in a group?
The change of pace could be nice! We would be able to have different conversations, learning about another person and their life. I always enjoy getting to know someone so quickly through trail life.

Alone?
I mean, neither of us was ever actually alone, but we loved it when it was just the two of us. We’d listen to podcasts together, talk about any random thing under the sun, and just generally revel in the experience of spending an entire thru-hike together as newlyweds.

What did you turn to, on a rough day, to keep yourself motivated and driven?
This answer is probably obvious, but Mike and I would rely on each other. Rarely were both of us down on the same day. If one of us was having a rough day, the other would pick up some of the slack and serve as the cheerleader. For example, I had the most excruciating shin splints in Wyoming, and Mike was incredibly patient and encouraging when I had to take lots of breaks due to pain. He also carried a lot of extra weight from my pack until my shin splints miraculously healed. It was a good practice in teamwork, and it worked well enough to get us through the entire trail!

What do you miss most about the trail (life)?
Oh, so much. Mainly the simplicity of it all. Walk, eat, sleep, repeat. The CDT was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but I fully understood my purpose upon waking each morning. Now, I’m back and working in a job where I do feel like I’m making a difference (and that’s super important to me), but there’s still so much time out of the day spent on commuting, chores, and other menial things. It’s been more than five months since we finished the CDT, but I still feel like I’m adjusting back to the work/life balance. I miss the vastness of the trail and feeling completely immersed in entirely another world.

What is one piece of advice you would give aspiring thru-hikers?
For someone who’s never done a thru-hike before: it’s cliché, but really just take it one day at a time. If you start thinking about the long term and getting to the end of the trail, it can get very overwhelming very quickly. For previous thru-hikers who are weighing the merits of doing the CDT next: just do it. It’s an incredible trail, and now is the time to do it while it’s still so unique and different from the other two long trails.

Check out the rest of the interviews in this series:

Wisdom from 2018 Appalachian Trail Thru-Hikers (Pt. I)

Wisdom from 2018 Appalachian Trail Thru-Hikers (Pt. II)

Wisdom from 2018 Pacific Trail Thru-Hikers (Pt. I)

Wisdom from 2018 Pacific Trail Thru-Hikers (Pt. II)

Wisdom from 2018 Continental Divide Trail Thru-Hikers (Pt. I)

Responses have been edited for brevity and clarity.

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