412. HEY - THAT'S ME ON THE CDT!!! (aka "Got pulaski?")
A pleasant surprise to find out that my past trail work on the Continental Divide Trail is being used as an example to show a way to "Become a part of the project"! ( and maybe find a mini letterbox specially made for me by Mama Wolf of NC, too!;-)

For many years now, seeing the Continental Divide Trail become a reality has been one of my "pet projects". After 5 "thru-hikes" on the 2,150-mile Appalachian Trail, 3 "thru-hikes" on the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail, and dozens of treks on many "shorter" long-distance trails, certainly hiking the CDT, the so-called "King of Trails", 3,150-miles from Mexico to Canada was by far my own most exciting and memorable backpacking adventure of all!

Of course, back when I backpacked the CDT, and even through to recent times, part of what made this Rocky Mountain trek from Mexico to Canada so much more arduous and challenging than the other trails was that so much of it had no trail! Long distances with no established pathway often required "creative route-finding" or dangerous bushwhacking, so it later became my dream to help join CDTA in making one long completely built and well-established trail for future hikers to more safely and easily enjoy this fantastic journey!

Well, after many work trips in New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana over the past dozen or so years, the job is still far from complete. In late summer 2009 we had hoped to continue work on a new connector to link up some sections in central Colorado that we had worked on previously. Back when I first hiked through here in 1989, I had taken a route over the rugged Ten-Mile and Gore Ranges, then cut over to Ptarmigan and Vasquez Peak, but now the CDT is being re-routed to stay somewhat closer to the actual divide, to go from Glacier Peak east of Breckenridge over to 14,000 foot Gray's Peak right on the divide, down to Herman Gulch and then back up to Vasquez Peak and Berthoud Pass more directly.

Anyway, on our way back to Denver at the end of that Glacier Peak work trip in 2009, we had decided to check out the kiosk that we heard had been built at a major new trailhead between our last two Colorado work trips (Mt. Morgan and Mt. Flora). We had a letterbox with us containing a stamp by RTRW of CT that we had hoped to plant at Grand Lake, but we weren't going to have enough time left to get up that way on that trip, so we thought we'd leave it near the new trailhead, and maybe get back the following year to move it to a more appropriate spot.

Well, while I was searching around for a place to leave the letterbox, Pete seemed to be transfixed by the maps, photos and captions over by the kiosk. He was staring at the left side of the signboard, and finally called out, "Wanda, come over here! This actually looks like a picture from our Mt. Flora work trip a few years back, and this looks like -" he hesitated...

I dashed back to where he was standing and started jumping up and down shouting, "That's me, that's me, that's me!!!" Sure enough, a stranger would never have been able to recognize me, what with the big yellow hard hat covering my face, since I was slightly bent over digging my yellow-strapped pulaski into the ground to build the trail. However, the clothing was unmistakable! The same gray zip-turtleneck I wore for years on the CDT, the same gray socks, the same black pants, the same red bandana and the same red Hi-Tec boots, of which I wore out so many pairs during my long backpacking years, but had just dug one out of the garage recently to use as the place in which to put my stuffed rooster mascot for my "Miala Baba Koguta" stamp! Wow - now what kind of a coincidence was that!?!

Needless to say, I was tickled pink to find out that I was the new "CDT poster gal", especially since the caption above couldn't have been better suited to my love of trails and volunteerism in general. It read, "Continue the vision. Become a part of the project." What a terrific feeling to know that I was indeed a small part of this grand CDT project, that I had given back at least a little to these wonderful trails that have meant so much to me, and might perhaps even encourage others to do so, too!

At any rate, the original stamp by RTRW that we left near that kiosk back in 2009 has now been "bumped upstairs", and there is now a sweet little "drive-by" box to be found nearby that was graciously created by Mama Wolf of NC! Once you find the correct kiosk (there does exist the possibility that my photo might have been used at some other new CDT kiosk as well, but I haven't had time yet to check!), simply stand a couple of feet in front of my picture, take 2 big steps at 200*, 3 big steps at 300*, and then 5 or 6 big steps at 50*. Find an upside-down V-shaped crevice at the bottom of the wall not far from the eastern set of double wooden pillars. Note how a couple of small stones are placed inside it, and then carefully remove them and the small flat stone beneath them to reveal a tiny black pulaski holder! Don't forget to put back all your tools properly, and remember that building trails can be even more gratifying than just hiking them!

Happy Trails!

Copyright (c) Wanda and Pete. All Rights Reserved.

BEFORE YOU SET OUT, PLEASE READ THE WAIVER OF RESPONSIBILITY AND DISCLAIMER.