[cdt-l] Re: southbound, cdt maps, etc...

[cdt-l@mailman.backcountry.net (mike elliott)]

howdy there, this is Mike E. and i am in Chama- arrived yesterday after two
days plus a morning in the South San Juans.  I am waiting here till the
morning of the third to meet up with Tripod and Dawn for NM, only a month o=
r
so to go!
a few thoughts as i caught up on cdt-l musings:  the topozone maps with
jon's notes rock.  they are all i have used and the only time i got "lost"
was in the Helena NF at a confusing road intersection (i think it was in a
gap between map pages, but still my fault, grrrr).  as i've heard said, "a
picture is worth a thousand words" and while trail routing may change or
roads may appear since the last USGS update, the topography doesn't chage.
one other note, the compass i used is a whistle/thermometer/magnifying
glass/compass combo.  i have never needed to take super accurate bearings
(even in a South San Juan whiteout 3 days ago).  on countless occasions i
just needed to know which was was SE, SSW, etc.
on the subject of single track vs roads.  i think in any other situation i
would have been frustrated/disapointed with the amount of jeep rd that
constitutes the cdt.  but surprisingly it hasn't bothered me (perhaps ask m=
e
again after NM).  i agree with the Owens' that at times, especially along
the ID/MT border, the divide is a jeep rd so moving the trail would defeat
the purpose of being on the divide.  i also have encountered motorized user=
s
less than 1/2 dozen times (excepting paved segments)- pretty remarkable
considering the number of motorized access miles i've walked.  i also agree
that the road walk into rawlins from the north is outrageous- that is a bus=
y
rd!   the rabbit ears walk was fine by me, light traffic and beautiful
scenery though a ridge route some day will be nice.  i understand from
talking with FS folks in the steamboat area that they have been in
negotiations for a long time on that one- the landowners keep changing whic=
h
resets the talks:(
i have had a wonderful trip and am overjoyed to get to cumbres pass.  that
whiteout sans cairns in the South San Juans was the wildest (and scariest)
experience of the whole trip (well, maybe the torrential deluge with
lightning in the burned A-P of MT rates a close second), but really i had i=
t
pretty good weather-wise.  Troubadour and Turtle (whom i began this trek
with) aren't getting it so easy.
good luck to prospective 2003 and 2004 hikers, this is an awesome trek, and
may God be with you.  i'll be in touch at the end; looking forward to the
beauties of NM...
mikeE
p.s. maybe now that i'll be hiking with some folks i'll get a cdt trailname=
.
  'farmboy' is from the pct in '96-  looking for something new:)

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