DIVIDEnds

CONTINENTAL DIVIDE TRAIL SOCIETY                     Vol. 19, No. 2                  AUGUST 1998

Milestones

*     1968 — Congress establishes a national trails system and authorizes study of a national scenic trail along the Continental Divide.

*     1976 — Guide to the Continental Divide Trail, vol. 1: Northern Montana published by Mountain Press.

*     1976 — At Oversight Hearings on the National Trails System Act, Jim Wolf describes and urges designation of the Continental Divide Trail.

*     1978 — Congress designates the CDT as a national scenic trail.

*     1978 — Continental Divide Trail Society founded.

*     1979 — Society publishes Southern Montana and Idaho guidebook.

*     1980 — Continental Divide Trail Advisory Committee appointed.

*     1980 — Society publishes Wyoming guidebook.

*     1980 — Society publishes DIVIDEnds and signs up its first members.

*     1982 — Society publishes Northern Colorado guidebook.

*     1983 — Amendments to National Trails  System Act, designating the Florida Trail and several others.

*     1985 — Federal agencies issue Comprehensive Management Plan for the Continental Divide Trail.

*     1986 — Society publishes Southern Colorado guidebook.

*     1989 — The 795-mile Montana-Idaho segment of the Continental Divide Trail is designated, at ceremonies at Chief Joseph Pass, on June 21.

*     1991 — Society publishes new edition of Northern Montana guidebook.

*     1993 — Supplement to Wyoming guidebook.

*     1993 — Publication of Where the Waters Divide, by Society members Karen Berger and Dan Smith.

*     1995 — Supplement to Southern Montana guidebook.

*     1996 — Society goes online with e-mail and website.

*     1998 — Society publishes Northern New Mexico guidebook.

Looking Ahead

CDTS and the Trail Turn 20

     Our twentieth anniversary is a time to look ahead at the challenges that remain — not merely to recall the progress that we have helped to achieve since 1978.  And these challenges reflect two themes:  first, creating a trail environment that will offer the best possible backpacking experience and, second, encouraging the wise use and enjoyment of the Trail by hikers from near and far.

     We choose to emphasize the great accomplishments that have occurred in the first 20 years of the Trail.  Although the pace has been deliberate, there has been important progress.   Don’t believe the myth that the CDT was ever moribund — the history reflects two decades of steady dynamic improvement.  Yes, 20 years seems a long time not to have a complete designated route in place.  But we are more concerned about cases in which planning decisions were made prematurely than we are about the delay, which in some cases still persists, in selecting route segments. An overview of the entire Trail, State by State, will place the achievements, the disappointments, and the remaining issues in perspective.

Montana and Idaho.  CDTS worked closely with the Forest Service (and cooperating agencies) in its 1987-88 route planning activity.  We were especially pleased by the decision to follow the guidebook alignment in the Beaverhead Mountains, as well as the decision to route the Trail to Benchmark, which we considered desirable for resupply opportunities.  Extensive trail improvements have been made since dedication ceremonies in 1989 — notably, north and south of Rogers Pass, near Elk Park, around Gibbons Pass, and all along the Montana-Idaho boundary.  Some projects are still in the planning stages — south of Marias Pass, around Butte, and the Jahnke area near Goldstone Mountain — and we shall continue to follow them closely.  We have been  disturbed, however, by the Forest Service’s failure to keep motorized vehicles off some new sections of the CDT, as required by law;  but the pending EIS (see p.4) does appear to address the issues that we have been raising.  The Park Service has responded to our concerns about hiker convenience in Glacier National Park by establishing needed campsites and setting up a campsite reservation system.

Wyoming.  For several years, hikers complained about the redtape they encountered in Yellowstone National Park.  We are glad that the Park Service, after we raised the issue, now cooperates with distance travelers who wish to pass through along the CDT.

      We have participated in planning the Trail in the Bridger-Teton and Shoshone National Forests on a recurring basis since 1984.  No formal route selections were made, however, until the review that was completed this year.  (See the report in this issue for details.)

     The Society’s correspondence with BLM on the Great Divide Basin goes back to 1984 as well.  BLM is only now formally evaluating alternative routes, and our views are presented below.   

Colorado.  The Forest Service completed its routing activities for Colorado (and the Medicine Bow National Forest of Wyoming) in two pieces — most in 1993, but the section between Rollins Pass and Copper Mountain in 1997.  We had some success in improving the designated location — in the Mt. Zirkel Wilderness and along the Divide near Georgia Pass, for example.  (The supporting letters from our members certainly contributed to our effectiveness.)  Although the official route largely follows the guidebook, we regret that it falls short of its potential in a number of places, including Rocky Mountain National Park as well as the national forests; and we will continue to advise Trail users of interesting options.  Some new sections have been constructed — south of Twin Lakes, and in the vicinity of  Monarch Pass, Marshall Pass, Elwood Pass, and Cumbres Pass, for example; and additional projects will follow on the Rollins Pass to Copper Mountain segment.

      We have filed appeals in several cases where it appears to us that the decisions were short-sighted or simply wrong.  We urged that the Government obtain an easement for the Trail in the Muddy Pass area as a condition of a land exchange there;  although a formal opinion of the Interior Board of Land Appeals rejected our claims, we believe that our arguments were legally sound and that BLM (and the Forest Service) failed to protect the public interest.  We also need to press the Forest Service to reduce conflicts with motorized vehicles — a matter currently at issue in the Rio Grande National Forest and the Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest.  The Forest Service also needs to examine the appropriateness of mountain bike use in backcountry areas, and to impose restrictions where needed to enhance the intended recreational experience for hikers along the Continental Divide Trail.

New Mexico.  The Trail has encountered local opposition in the Carson National Forest, which runs south from the Colorado boundary.  We are content with the situation, however, as there is a viable route (as described in our new guidebook) that can be used with or without formal action.  We endorsed the Santa Fe National Forest’s 1987 identification of a trail corridor and are pleased by the subsequent construction of a needed segment in Ojitos Canyon.  We contributed in 1986 to the selection of a desirable route alignment by BLM’s Rio Puerco Resource Area, though specific details were left for definition later on; some alternatives in the Cabezon area still need to be evaluated before final decisions are made.  We have also been supporting the Cibola National Forest’s plans to locate the CDT off roads, to the extent possible, in the Mt. Taylor area; the first phases of new trail construction have been completed.

      Our efforts in southern New Mexico have met with less success.  The official route, despite our protests, follows far too many roads and fails to visit numerous points of historic and scenic interest.  A number of improvements have been made along the designated route, notably in the Black Range in the Gila National Forest.  We are continuing to explore more attractive options and will make our findings available to members and trail users.

Information Resources.  From the very beginning, the Society has been providing information about the Trail to hikers and to agency planners.  Our guidebooks and newsletters have been primary data sources, and we are gratified by both the widespread use of our materials and the feedback that we receive from the many people whom we have helped to enjoy the Trail.  We continue to expand our role by entering cyberspace with our home page, e-mail, and the Forum.  Our loyal members have provided the reports that have made this possible.  Thanks to all!

WHAT’S WITH WYOMING?

Wind Rivers.  The Forest Service-BLM decision establishing the CDT route between Yellowstone National Park and South Pass provides for many outstanding trail sections, though it is not everything we might have liked.  We appreciate the Forest Service’s recognition of, and responsiveness to, “all the good suggestions” made by the Society during the review.

The route in the Teton Wilderness goes up Soda Fork, but otherwise follows the guidebook; the Forest Service acknowledges the hazards of crossing Soda Fork and South Buffalo Fork when the water is high, and it will develop some safe seasonal alternatives.  The new trail to be constructed to connect Brooks Lake and Pelham Lake will probably be less attractive than our route south to Sheridan Pass.  (The Forest Service found that locating the route west of the Continental Divide in this section would conflict with grizzly bear protection plans.)  Our objection to the unnecessary elevation changes between Pelham Lake and Sheridan Pass was resolved by the selection of a location that follows contour. 

We anticipate that portions of the route between Sheridan Pass and Green River Lakes will receive much-needed maintenance this summer; the alignment will remain close to our description (except that some further field work will be done before fixing on exact locations north of Union Pass); some new segments here will be established for nonmotorized use. The designated route in the Bridger-Teton Wilderness is excellent — via Lester Pass and Hat Pass — all the way to Big Sandy Opening.  We understand the Forest Service’s decision not to construct new tread over Temple Pass.  It has opted, instead, to designate roads from Big Sandy to South Pass for the time being, but eventually to relocate to more attractive locations.  (The guidebook route remains an option for visitors who don’t mind some cross-country hiking.)  Finally, the decision adopts the Pine Creek Trail, eliminating the circuitous alignment that had been proposed between the East Sweetwater River and South Pass.

Great Divide Basin.  Our comments on the Bureau of Land Management’s environmental assessment for the Great Divide Basin focused on the segment between Crooks Gap and Rawlins.  The proposed action, via Bull Springs, crosses unattractive terrain — described in the WPA Wyoming guide as “barren country where patches of alkali alternate … with clumps of sage and greasewood; occasional jutting rocks disturb the monotony of gray salt soil and greenish-gray shrubs.”  We urged BLM to select, instead, its Ferris Mountains alternative route — based upon proximity to the Divide, outstanding scenic attraction, opportunity to view wildlife, resupply considerations, avoidance of paved roads, and accessibility to water.  In preparing our comments, we relied upon the surveys conducted by Keith Howard as well as the reports from several through-hikers who have scouted routes in the Ferris Mountains. (You can still call BLM’s Ray Hanson at 307/332-8420 to request the environmental assessment and then to send your own letter.)

Another significant concern involves the route from South Pass City to Bison Basin Road.  We are advocating that the Trail should include a portion of scenic Sweetwater Canyon.  It might be best, however, to accomplish this by way of a seasonal alternate route, with the establishment of a separate all-season route that would use an existing bridge to provide a safe crossing of the Sweetwater River.  The field investigations carried out by CDTS member Daryl Pennington suggest that a river ford should be feasible for much of the summer.  BLM is also considering a suggestion to move the Trail south to the scenic Oregon Buttes area.

From examination of topo maps, it appears that the proposed high route from Bison Basin Road to Crooks Gap should be very satisfying.  South of Rawlins, we urged that the route be located through Bridger Pass (to minimize conflict with motorized vehicles as well as to appreciate the historic significance), though we proposed a small deviation that would provide a more direct line of travel, off-road, with better access to water.  We appreciated BLM’s adoption of one of our earlier suggestions, to approach the Medicine Bow Forest from the west (via Smiley Meadows) instead of following a roundabout walk along roads to Joes Park.  The thorniest issue relates to crossing the checkerboarded lands that extend 20 miles north and south of Rawlins (originally granted to the Union Pacific Railroad); although we believe that a lawful route could traverse these lands at the corners of the public land sections, BLM has decided to defer the designation of a route there.  We understand that BLM is exploring the possibility of acquiring a right-of-way by exchange or other friendly means.

STATE NOTES

Montana. Several route-selection survey projects are planned for this summer — among them, the vicinity of Cottonwood Lake north of Butte, between Gibbons Pass and Chief Joseph Pass, and in the Berry Creek-Jahnke section of the West Big Hole. 

Wyoming.  We understand that much of the route in the Medicine Bow (Sierra Madre 3-6) has been cleared and marked, but we need on-the-ground confirmation from this year’s hikers — please send us your reports.  The Union Pass area of the Bridger-Teton (north of Green River Lakes) should also show some improvement.

Colorado.  A freak windstorm last October devastated the Mount Zirkel Wilderness. As a result, trail users in 1998 will have to follow the original guidebook roadwalk along the North Fork of the Elk River north of the Seedhouse Campground.  Hikers should also be aware of trail construction this summer that will relocate the route to the south of Vasquez Pass (west of Berthoud Pass).

      We have appealed the Arapaho-Roosevelt forest plan, which lacks standards governing mountain bike use of the CDT and fails to establish alternate routes that will avoid motorized vehicles.  (See February 1998 DIVIDEnds for more details.)  We have also raised these issues with the White River National Forest, which is starting to prepare a new plan as well. And, we have urged the Grand County Commissioners to preserve a public right-of-way that provides an off-highway route in the Muddy Pass area.

New Mexico.  This year the New Mexico Mountain Club plans to establish and mark an excellent route from Ojo Frio to Ojo de los Indios (see guidebook pp. 42-44) in the Ignacio Chavez special management area, south of Cabezon. We have endorsed this proposal in comments to BLM.

WHO WAS ON THE TRAIL?

While our very first newsletter mentioned that Sara Irving and two partners (Norma Polovitz and Ross Nickerson) planned a northbound hike in 1980, we neglected to note that Norma, along with Sara, reached Canada on October 27, some 200 days after they set out.  Though reported geographical data are sparse, we do have Sara’s “memories for a lifetime” (from Wyoming Heritage, 1984):

… the wind dance of clouds and colors in a desert sky, the smell of sage after a rain, the howl of a coyote, the thunderclouds boiling above the divide, the melodic song of an elk, the ocean of yellow prairie, the delicate frost on a limestone cliff, the track of a grizzly, the moonlight on the snow — and more….Above all, the pathway in its present form offers the lure of untraveled places; places reached without a trail; places where no one has been for a long time….I am concerned about the inevitable loss of freedom and solitude that will follow if the route becomes a maintained trail….I am glad that the respective beauties of the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail have been preserved.  However, the existence of these trails has made the heart of their high country over accessible….Isn’t solitude as well worth preserving as is the land?  Isn’t it possible to set aside a corridor of land along the Divide without building a trail, thereby providing the chance for a truly unique experience?

Although our efforts to locate a defined route may disappoint Sara, we have consistently advocated a low-key, low-standard, approach that would respect her values.  We regret that other supporters of the Continental Divide Trail have not always shared this vision.

Chet Fromm (Trailblazer)’s website includes accounts of his CDT adventures.  In 1996, he headed north from Columbus on May 24, but had to interrupt his hike at Gila Cliff Dwellings because of fire hazards and potential forest closures; he then headed up to Leadville and walked south for a couple of weeks.  His 1997 trip began, in July, with Glacier Park (where he was rerouted from Goat Haunt to Many Glacier via the Belly River).  In the Bob Marshall Segment, he cut across the north side of Beaver Lake (rejoining unmarked trail that starts uphill, north, and by bearing right at any junction leads to Badger Pass); and then he enjoyed the Clack Creek option to Switchback Pass.  Departing from the guidebook route, he followed the Divide past Bison Mountain to Champion Pass (but could not find any trail in place between Electric Mountain and “Leadville.”)  He proceeded from there by a bee-line to Anaconda, followed by the route through the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness to Gibbons Pass. 

In addition to 1997 trips mentioned in the last newsletter, we hear that Canary (Benita Brunckhorst) returned to the CDT  in Montana. Bob Wirth covered 700 miles in New Mexico and Colorado.  Bob Ellinwood also did the Trail in New Mexico and much of Wyoming and Colorado. (Some highlights of his report: Moose Creek, below YNP’s Shoshone Lake, is only knee-deep, but the water is swift and very cold; the Gunsight Pass-Roaring Fork section north of the Wind Rivers has “beautiful new trail;” the bridge on the Green River at Beaver Park is gone; and the trail south of Little Sandy Lake was easy to follow.)  Liz Stich enjoyed the South San Juan and will be in the Weminuche this August. Yukio Kachi was in Glacier and briefed us on the permit program.

 On the CDT Forum, you will find that Bryan Shuman set out near Butte on June 19, hiked north to Canada for a month, then flip-flopped southward to the Mexican border, on December 4, at Columbus; he applauded our route from Berthoud Pass to Copper Mountain via Silverthorne, successfully negotiated the late October snow in the San Juans, and found the New Mexico backcountry (including the Gila Cliff Dwellings) to be spectacular.

 WHO WILL BE ON THE TRAIL?

It’s a busy year for the CDT.  A cohort including Fiddlehead (Glenn Fleagle), Let It Be (veteran CDT-hiker Namie Bacile), Squirrel (Doug Jordan), Rainman (Bob Rzewnicki), Shake and Bake (Lori Adkison), Mr. Miserable (Patrick McGowan), Hungry Hiker (Paul Miller), White Root (David Patterson, accompanied by Karen??), and Slow Ride (Christian Timmerman) headed north from Antelope Wells on May 2.  They passed through Grants, where they were hosted by Allen Stibora, about three weeks later.  Sarah and Dennis (YipYap) Dooley were going to join Fiddlehead at Twin Lakes, in mid-June.

Ed Talone, who started April 17 at Antelope Wells, reported from Pie Town on May 4; he was planning some leap-frogging to cover the higher elevations in snow-free months. Nick Williams headed north on April 26, and Wyatt Shudlick and a couple of friends were going to set out on May 1.

Follow Dan and Sara Rufner, southbound from Waterton on June 12, on their charity-fundraising “Mission To Hike”  (on the web at newlander.com/hike). Scott Blanton and Briton Andrew Helliwell were looking forward to Canada-to-Mexico ventures on a similar schedule.  Tom and Jeanne Repas, who set out in April with horses and mules, northbound, report falling behind schedule; but they say that they’re “holdin’ up pretty good.”

Paul Leech proposed to start south from Benchmark in late June, heading all the way to Mexico. Jason and Teresa Fagerness planned to begin, at about the same time, in Glacier and walk south as far as their spirits might take them.  C.W. Banfield has a similar itinerary — from Marias Pass in late June to South Pass.  Chet Fromm  will continue his travels by beginning north of Yellowstone and aiming at least as far as Monarch Pass.  Yukio Kachi would pick up by hiking the Bob Marshall this year (with a cross-country segment from White River Pass to Cliff Mountain).  Denny Fixmer, who left off at Stony Pass in 1996, will spend several weeks northbound from there. Roger Carpenter, though looking forward to a thru-hike in 1999, expects to do southern Montana this year. Bob Ellinwood’s summer plans for the Wind Rivers include a variant route through the Cirque of the Towers and over Texas Pass; he is also going to complete his coverage of Colorado.  Other segment hikers include John Hillis and his wife (in Wyoming), Alan Householder and David Heppe and Yvan Fornes and Stephanie Fox (on separate trips in Colorado), Bill Jennings (southern Wyoming to Copper Mountain), John Wheatley (Yellowstone-RMNP), and Mike Pollard and JoAnne Oliver (locations undetermined). Vi Schweiker checked out Sawatch Section 4 on July 8-9. She found the pass above Lake Ann to be passable; however, as the cornice there could be dangerous, the Lake Pass alternate would be better in years with more snow.

The ALDHA-W Gazette lists Walt Audi (Arctic Tern) and Merylin Traynor (Walkabout) as hoping to hike the CDT.  Jim Oakley has similar goals, but with the trip split over two years.  Bill Gurwell has a 1999 border-to-border trip in mind, as does Kathryn Gayman.  Steve Petty, who is planning to do the CDT next year with Dan Dailey, has posted on the CDT Forum a request for potential hiking partners to contact him.  Jim and Ginny Owen are still on track for their 1999 expedition as well.

We will be checking out new segments in Montana in August, so we will not be able to answer mail or ship any books or maps before Labor Day.

WHITETAIL-PIPESTONE PLANS

Portions of the long-awaited “Recreation Management Strategy” for the Whitetail-Pipestone area northeast of Butte, Montana have been released by the Forest Service.  We are delighted to report that almost the entire length of the CDT (from I‑15 in Elk Park to Pipestone Pass) would be closed to motorized vehicles, as we have been recommending.

Instead of following the guidebook route past Whitetail Reservoir — where you sometimes have to plod through standing water — follow the Continental Divide south from Bison Mountain to Thunderbolt Mountain.  Use the existing trails to Cottonwood Lake (until a scheduled direct connection is constructed).  Reportedly there is new tread from the lake past Leadville, where you can pick up vehicle tracks.  Rather than following the nonexistent CDT route shown on Forest Service maps, head for the four-way road intersection in T5N R7W Section 8 before turning south, almost to Lowland Campground, then walk east to the Nez Perce Trailhead (via the Trask I-15 underpass).  Use Trail No. 92 (which should be newly signed) to Halfway Park.  Pick up the guidebook route.  (We are investigating alternate interim routes east of Legget Hill.)

According to the new draft environmental impact statement, the revised location (which should be a significant improvement) would leave the Nez Perce Trail (No. 92) on the ridge south of Whitetail Peak and proceed southwest to the Lady of the Rockies statue and then follow the Divide to Homestake Pass.  No date is available for this relocation.  South of Homestake Pass, however, the plans call for scouting of the segment to Pipestone Pass in 1999 and the portion from Pipestone Pass to the Limekiln area in 2000, with construction to follow in the next succeeding year.  These would all be nonmotorized trails.

CYBERSPACE NOTES

       We encourage everyone with Internet access to visit the Continental Divide Trail Forum, hosted by Great Outdoor Recreation Pages (GORP). To get there, go to our home page http://www.gorp.com/cdts/ and click the yellow box.

       One of our members, Earl Needham, has set up a Continental Divide Trail mail list at cdt-l@server2.iqsc.com.  To sub­scribe, send a message to cdt-l-request@server2.iqsc.com and in the body place the word SUBSCRIBE.

       Check out the comprehensive backpacking site created by Chet Fromm at http:/www.geocities.com/Yosemite/1140.  You will find all sorts of good information, including accounts of his Continental Divide Trail hikes.

       http://www-wwrc.uwyo.edu/wrds/nws/nws.html provides  detailed meteorological and hydrologic data for Wyoming.

       You will find backcountry reservation information for Glacier National Park at http://www.nps.gov/glac/bcresv.htm.

 

DIVIDEnds (ISSN 1069-6660) is published twice a year. You can receive DIVIDEnds and support the work of the Society as a member ($10.00 per year for U.S. addresses) or by subscribing ($7.50). For more information, please write or phone.

 

CONTINENTAL DIVIDE TRAIL SOCIETY

3704 N. Charles St. (#601)  Baltimore, MD 21218

Jim Wolf, Director        Copyright CDTS 1998    Gary Grey, Editor