Found out the hard way that the Continental Divide Trail actually gains 90,000 feet of elevation total

Was planning a section hike in Colorado and looked up the full stats on the CDTC website. I knew it was long but 90k feet of climbing is basically doing Everest from sea level ten times over. How do thru hikers even handle that kind of cumulative vert without their knees giving out?

2 comments

2 Comments

drews556d ago

Started doing shorter trips with way less weight to save my knees. I did the Colorado Trail a few years back and packed way too heavy the first time, learned the hard way that every pound adds up over 90k feet. Switched to a frameless pack and cut my base weight down to like 10 pounds, that made a huge difference. Also started doing step ups and lunges at home with a weighted pack a few months before a big trip to build up strength. Honestly though, the real trick is just taking it slow and pacing yourself, nobody is running up those steep sections. Your body adapts over time if you listen to it.

noahwood6d ago

Dropping to a frameless pack saved my back too, that 10 pound base weight is the sweet spot for me.