HDMC Adventures

Follow us on our first attempt of a thru hike of the CDT.

***Do you want to buy us dinner in town while we hike for 5 months, because you feel a little bad for us? Click the link below!***

https://gofund.me/7f23cc4b

  • Days 21-25: Helena to Anaconda

    HD: We planned 4 days for this stretch, but motivated by the promise of a surprise zero day, we averaged 26 miles and made it into Anaconda a day early. It made the days long and more difficult, but the steak dinner we had last night (thank you Uncle Robert!) followed by the giant sandwich…

  • Days 14-20: The Lew Part 2

    HD: Our most remote stretch of the entire CDT is at the beginning. Making it to Helena, although very early in the hike from a timeline perspective, was always an important goal. The southern portion of the wilderness area was completely different from the northern stretch. Instead of constantly wet feet and running water everywhere,…

  • Days 7-13: (The Lew)

    MC: I would like to make a correction from the last post, we were not in the Bob Marshall Wilderness for 14 days, we were in the Lewis and Clark National Forest for 14 days, the Bob was like 4 days total. Our time in the Lew can only be described as grit building. Coach…

  • Days 1-6 (Glacier National Park)

    HD: Our first section was terrible — terribly beautiful, terribly frustrating, terribly difficult. The landscape of the ascents and high passes were stunning. The inadequate permitting system to execute a backcountry hike in the park was frustrating and dangerous. The snow and ice of the passes was right at the edge of our abilities. Happy…

  • C-5 to C-1

    HD: The wait for weather and Glacier National Park permits was excruciating. We’re all set now with an early morning start for tomorrow. We met two sets of hikers who began the CDT 4 days ago and already quit; a winter storm over the past two days was debilitating. We have a good weather forecast…

  • Pre-CDT thoughts and musings

    HD: My spirit of adventure was reinforced at a young age through my father. From summertime van vacations out west as a child, to outdoor hiking, canoeing, fishing, and hunting – those early, frequent experiences defined my version of “quality time”. Although my adult life is marked with some notable outdoor adventures, work has constrained…

Be a goldfish…

There are three major long trails in the continental United States, the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail, and the Continental Divide Trail. This summer, we will attempt the newest of the long trails within our country, the Continental Divide Trail, also known as the CDT. The CDT begins in Glacier National Park in Montana and ends at the border of New Mexico and Mexico, making the trail roughly 3000 miles long. The CDT is known as a “choose your own adventure trail” as there are many alternate sections that deviate from the traditional “red line” route, and a typical thru hiker of this trail will walk less than 3000 miles.

This is our first attempt of a thru hike of this magnitude, and many accomplished thru hikers will state that the hardest part of any thru hike are the psychological challenges related to walking in the wilderness for what could amount to 5 months in length. So with that being said, be a goldfish. If you haven’t watched Apple TV’s Ted Lasso, Ted’s advice to his soccer team is always “be a goldfish”, because goldfish have a 10 second memory. “His advice means to move on from mistakes rather than lingering on them. “Be a goldfish” is about more than just sports, however. Lingering over mistakes is all too easy in life, but this memorable saying from Coach Lasso serves as a reminder that people are defined by how they react to mistakes, not their mistakes themselves. It’s important to accept mistakes in any part of life and be able to move on quickly.” (Colin McCormick – Screen Rant).

While mistakes on the soccer pitch may not directly translate to walking thousands of miles in one sitting, the mentality remains the same. If we are to ultimately be successful in this hike/trek/jaunt then we must not linger on mistakes made, weather encountered, or setbacks experienced. Don’t quit on a bad day.

MC

Outdoor Enthusiast

HD

Outdoor Enthusiast

Loki

Outdoor Enthusiast and official Lake Michigan “waterdog” during this hike #NotForPuppies

GoFundMe

Do you want to buy us dinner while we hike for 5 months, because you feel a little bad for us?? Click the link below!

https://gofund.me/7f23cc4b

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