How to measure a thruhike? Stats from our 4.5 month CDT adventure!

We completed the Continental Divide Trail from Mexico to Canada! Now we are asking ourselves, how do we measure a thruhike? These are some of the stats that stand out for us:

• It took us 135 days, from May 3 – September 14, 2021.
• We hiked 3,149 total miles according to our GPS.
  • Note: This is according to our GPS watch which was always on while hiking. This includes water stops and fire detours — the official CDT map is only 2,975 miles long.
• We climbed 454,185 feet of total ascent according to our GPS.
• We took 6 million steps each.
• We hiked a continuous footpath on the official CDT from Mexico to Canada!
  • Note: The CDT offers many alternates and shortcuts, but we opted for none of them. We only deviated from the marked trail four times when it was closed due to fires. For the fire closures, we followed the detours recommended by the forest service.

Days, miles, and steps don’t feel like enough to measure a thruhike… What about borders, shoes, and showers?

• 3 countries & 5 states.
• 5 pairs of shoes each.
• 20 resupply shipments which included 100 home-made & dehydrated vegan dinners.
• Our longest stretch between showers was 23 days!
• 127 nights slept outdoors (vs. 8 nights slept indoors)
  • 33 nights cowboy camping (sleeping under the stars without a shelter)
  • 6 nights tarp camping
  • 88 nights tent camping

Maybe it’s the memories we made, the amazing people we met, and the knowledge we gained along the way! But just in case, we’ve included some more stats below…

Miles per Day

Here are some more in-depth mileage stats based on the data from our GPS watches:

• 2 zero-mile days
• Shortest day: 2 miles
• Longest day: 33.1 miles
• Average day: 23.3 miles
• Average day for 1st half of trail: 21.8 miles
• Average day for 2nd half of trail: 25.8 miles
• 9 hours hiked per day on average (moving time)

Animals

The CDT was full of wildlife (and livestock)! Here is a list of animals (probably incomplete) that we were lucky enough to see on the trail:

• 12 bears (3 grizzly & 9 black).
• 3 rattlesnakes.
• 2 coyotes & 2 foxes.
• 1 porcupine.
• 1 bobcat.
• Countless moose, elk, deer, and pronghorn.
• Countless lizards.
• Marmots & pikas.
• Badgers and weasels.
• Bighorn sheep and mountain goats.
• So many beautiful birds, including:
  • Sandhill cranes (most surprising to us).
  • Grouse (most common).
• Livestock, including:
  • Cattle (so many cattle!!).
  • Sheep.
  • Bison.