Roughly 3,100 miles From Mexico to Canada.

If I manage to survive, bland food, continuous pain,  a selection of Bears, Crapping in a hole for 6 months, drinking green water, sweaty heat, freezing mornings, and the wrath of mosquito’s then I will have made it

I made the decision  back in October 2019 to hike this trail

After two thru- hikes under my belt  I have all of my kit and so do not have the expense of started from scratch.
I will however buy a new shirt, shorts and trail runners to start  in and a new bladder to drink from , although there is nothing wrong with my old one but after drinking from said article for  more than 5 months it  has done its job .

I’m fairly lucky I have the money saved and have no major expenses  to fund while I am away so only need to bribe one of my sons to live at my house, water my plants and look after my animals easy-peasy

Saying that extra money is always some help
Rule of thumb : It costs approximately $ 1000 a month to thru hike. £ 800 depending on exchange rates , Some can do it for less others a lot more.
It depend on you and what you can put up with or not

This Amount is just your “being on trail” costs
It includes Food, accommodation, laundry  and of course Beer and maybe a little for replacement or damaged kit .
It doesn’t include transportation costs, ie Flights, shuttles etc or your kit (I have that)  Kit can add another £2000- £3000
Also you need Insurance and I make sure it includes  Search & rescue

How to fund a thru-Hike

When I decide to hike the PCT in 2014 I did the following

• Sold all my junk that I no longer needed on eBay to increase funds
• If possible,  can you sublet  or  rent out your flat, apartment house
• Cut down on luxuries, Takeout’s ,
• Researching and buying my kit (made many mistakes here)
  do your homework, visit stores, and look at the gear
• Write to companies (grovelling is allowed) to request free or heavily discounted Kit
  This worked far better than expected , I however request some wrong kit, so again do your homework!
• If you have imported items from America, you will know about import tax!
  Its better to have it delivered to friends in the US or even to your starting Base
• Watching loads of YouTube videos on ex-CDT hikers
• If your  kit is NEW, then test it  out, make  sure  you  can put  up  and take down your  tent , know  how  your stove  works

The Continental Divide Trail is the last of the “Big Three” trails that most thru-hikers tackle as part of the Triple Crown of long-distance hiking. Raw, wild, remote, and unfinished; it is a trail that will make use of all the skills of an experienced backpacker. It is also a trail that is beautiful, stunning, and perhaps the most rewarding of the major long-distance hiking trails.

The water is scarcer (I love to carry water it is so light)
When there is water it is green and shared with Cattle (yummy)

The trail has many mind boggling alternatives.  (I love the lottery)

The Trail sits at altitude (Can my lungs cope)
There seems to be less people hiking the CDT
Fewer Towns (means I may spend less ha)
Sounds like a bloody great adventure to me and hopefully if I do not get eaten by a bear I will come back with a well-toned Body!!

I had planned to fly out in April 2020 to Tucson Arizona and as Christmas came, I began to get excited the airfares were becoming cheaper fantastic

Then the unwelcome visit of Covid-19 arrived, whispers at first, I thought I would be okay in the wilderness for 6 months …….

March 2021

So sadly, I had to Postpone my hike, Hopefully I can go April 2021
Well what a year 2020 was, no one could have foretold the Devastating effect that Covid would have on the world.

It is now March or almost April 2021 Vaccinations in the UK are now in full swing and we are beginning to see a few green shoots of normality returning

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My backpack looks so sad, plonked on a bed in my spare room, But April is now just a few days away,
Sadly it is still too soon for us Brits to travel. As International travel is still banned So once again My CDT adventure looks Very unlikely and so once again will get pushed to the next year   2022

The Uk is hopeful that from July 2021 International travel may start again, (fingers Crossed) although that would be far too late for me
so my pack will just have to wait a little longer