Forty years ago I was on the Continental Divide Trail

At the border

On May 30 1985, excited and nervous, I was at the US/Canada border ready to begin the Continental Divide Trail, a 3100 mile walk that would take me from the snowbound Northern Rockies to the deserts of New Mexico and a finish at the border with Mexico.

The Chinese Wall, Bob Marshall Wilderness, Montana

En route I encountered deep snow, searing heat, floods, droughts, forest fires, blizzards and thunderstorms. I saw bears, moose, mountain goats, bald eagles, rattlesnakes and much more. I camped out on 149 nights, often in the most spectacular places. It was a wonderful, glorious wilderness walk, the longest I have ever done.

In the Scapegoat Wilderness, Montana

Back then the internet didn’t exist. There were no smartphones or satellite communicators. When I disappeared into the mountains I really did vanish, especially as the CDT was more of an idea than an actual trail. I was often going cross-country or following faint, little-used trails. Few people had heard of the CDT and even fewer hiked it. There were no CDT trail signs.

Lost Trail Pass, Idaho/Montana border, where I sat out a huge forest fire. Photo by my cousin Kris Gravette who visited me from her home in Wyoming. A now-faded colour print.

Except in popular areas like Yellowstone National Park I didn’t meet many people, often seeing no-one for several days at a time.

The Bitteroot Mountains, Montana

I did have companion for the first 500 miles, Scott Steiner who I’d met on the Pacific Crest Trail three years earlier. After that I was on my own.  

In the Bridger-Teton National Forest, Wyoming

The walk was a real immersion in the wilderness, six months living mostly in nature and moving at walking pace. It was tough but immensely fulfilling.

Squaretop Mountain, Wind River Range, Wyoming

When I reached a town I sent postcards home so friends and family knew where I’d got to, though of course by the time they arrived I was many days further along the trail.

Camp on Vista Pass, Bridger Wilderness, Wind River Range, Wyoming

I also sent hand-written reports and my exposed films back to Footloose, the UK outdoor magazine I was writing for (now long-gone). The staff of the magazine saw my photos long before I did.

Lost Ranger Peak, Mount Zirkel Wilderness, Colorado

Camp in the Never Summer Wilderness after a blizzard, Colorado

The Front Range, Colorado

My highest camp at 12,550 feet (3825 metres) on the slopes of James Peak, Colorado

Desert camp, New Mexico

Last day

Photography note: the pictures are scans from Kodachrome 64 transparencies and Ilford FP4 black-and-white film prints. My camera was a Pentax MX SLR with 35-70 and 75-150 zoom lenses with an Olympus 35mm compact camera with 35mm lens as a backup.