The great crossing of the United States from south to north - episode 1

By Olivier, the founder of the EDELI brand

AN EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURE

Episode 1: Departure and New Mexico

An extraordinary adventure, that's what Pierre-Loïc experienced this summer. He crossed the United States on foot from south to north, passing through 5 states: New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho and Montana.

In total, he covered 4,800 kilometers during a 111-day hiking odyssey along the watershed between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. This extraordinary trail is known in the United States as the CDT or Continental Divide Trail.

Why such a challenge?

The first question that comes to mind when thinking about the distance covered and an adventure of almost four months in nature is of course why such a challenge. What were Pierre-Loïc's motivations for embarking on such an adventure?

The first motivation that Pierre-Loïc cites was in fact to take the time and give himself several months to live in the great outdoors and undertake such an adventure.

In the past, Pierre-Loic has participated in many ultra races (including 100-mile races in the United States). For each of these races, he had to organize himself to fit them into a busy professional schedule and this time, he really wanted to take his time, not a few days but several months to complete his project of crossing the United States on foot.

Pierre-Loïc was also attracted by the idea of ​​being immersed in wild nature throughout the journey, of being able to observe and meet the wildlife that lives in these wide open spaces and of crossing regions marked by the long history of Indian tribes that lived there. long before the birth of the United States.

After many years of ultra-trail running, he was also looking to try his hand at a long-distance hike, a different format from the ultra-trail like the 100-mile races he was used to competing in.

How to prepare and how to manage water and food?

For Pierre-Loïc, as he modestly says, 'it's not a superhuman feat' to complete this crossing. You have to train, that's for sure. You have to get used to carrying a backpack for 12 hours a day, for example. But many hikers do the crossing at their own pace and they don't all have the morphology of ultra-trailers. The only real constraint is that there is a weather window to complete this great crossing: roughly between April and September. Due to the high altitude of a large part of the route, you have to start in the spring when the snow from the previous winter has melted enough to clear the path and before the first snowfalls of the following cold season at the very beginning of autumn.

After training and the weather window, equipment is also key to succeeding in this crossing, especially in terms of weight. It's the hunt for grams so as not to have to carry extra kilos every day for almost 4 months. The three main pieces of equipment are the backpack, the tent and the sleeping bag (apart from shoes and clothes). In addition to these large pieces of equipment, you must of course also think about food and water. On certain sections of the CDT, you must be able to be 100% self-sufficient in food without the possibility of resupplying for a week.

For water, fortunately there is now a mobile app that indicates the water points along the route. The app is collaborative, which allows you to exchange and inform, for example, those who will pass by the next day or a few days later. Of course, you have to make sure to filter the water, the biggest risk being contamination by livestock. On certain sections, especially at the beginning, there are even 'trail angels' who come to put water for hikers in caches. Sometimes they even leave a cooler with a nice little note. Pierre-Loïc also met one of these families of 'trail angels'. They were in the process of handing out water and snacks. He was able to thank them. They are part of the legend of the CDT and they simply make the crossing of New Mexico possible, especially on the sections where there is no water source.

For food, the limit to take is the carrying capacity and for Pierre-Loïc, it was in fact the capacity of his bag. For the portions where it was necessary to plan up to 7 days of autonomy, he could not even close his bag because it was so full. And for 7 days of autonomy in food, he had no other choice but to take bags of freeze-dried food. It is indeed not advisable to venture too much into eating berries or fruits if there is any doubt about the type of berries or fruits encountered. This is not really the time to end up with food poisoning in the middle of nature, potentially several days of walking from the next village.

One exception to the freeze-dried food diet that Pierre-Loïc remembers was when he passed through a small town. He had planned to stock up on supplies but apart from two restaurants, there was no grocery store. So he had to ask the restaurant owner to prepare 4 quesadillas for him, which he took with him and which allowed him to reach the next town, a two-day walk away.

The starting point a few meters from Mexico

Pierre-Loïc left on May 12 from the southernmost point of the CDT, a few meters from a fence that marks the border between the United States and Mexico, more than two hours from the nearest city.

At the end of May, in New Mexico, the days are already very hot. And from the first day, he encounters a first difficulty: a sun that beats down very hard and burns... Pierre-Loïc, who doesn't really like putting on sunscreen, has no choice but to put some on his legs right away. Sun protection immediately becomes his first priority in the kingdom of cacti in an arid landscape. For breaks, it's hunting for shade from the slightest little bush. Often, the only option is to stop in the dry bed of a river. The river bed being slightly sunken, there are only small areas of shade to protect yourself from the sun during the break. And sometimes when there was just a bush or a small tree, it was also necessary to dislodge the cows!

On the first half of New Mexico, Pierre-Loïc chose to walk upstream along a river. This is one of the variations of the CDT that is very popular and often chosen by hikers. A 150-kilometer river hike with canyons, beautiful cliffs, and vegetation. The route constantly slaloms from one side of the river to the other. Pierre-Loïc remembers having crossed this river a few hundred times in the space of three days. The first few times, it refreshes your feet, it's nice, but at the end 'you get a little fed up'. On some sections, there was also a current. Pierre-Loïc fell into the river twice on the last day, but fortunately the current was not strong enough to carry him away.

After this river ascent, Pierre-Loïc passed through landscapes of Mesas (tables in Spanish), which are quite typical of this region. The Mesas are like plateaus that rise above the landscape and which have the particularity of being quite flat on top, hence the impression of being in front of a large natural table that emerges above the ground. Superb landscapes with very beautiful rock colors, clouds and sometimes rain in the distance and sublime lights, in particular the low light of the sun in the morning.

On one of the last days in New Mexico, Pierre-Loïc had an unexpected encounter that could have gone badly. At the end of the afternoon, after walking for many hours, he was, as he says, in a somewhat dreamy state, in his rhythm. And a sound suddenly took him out of this somewhat dazed state. This sound is the one that the rattlesnake makes to signal its presence and impress intruders. This sound suddenly took him out of his reverie and he stopped just two meters from the snake. He was walking on a narrow path, a 'single track' where the rattlesnake was and if he had not stopped, he would have gone straight towards it. Everything went well in the end, but it was decided by a few meters and a few seconds. In retrospect, Pierre-Loïc is glad he went to visit a small museum in El Paso before leaving on the CDT. In this museum, there was a small display case with a button and when you press the button, you hear the sound of the rattlesnake. Pierre-Loïc pressed the button several times to memorize the sound. And he confirms: it was indeed the same sound! You should still know that a rattlesnake bite can be fatal. Thanks to the El Paso museum for this very useful sound animation!

During the last week while crossing New Mexico, the landscape began to change. As Pierre-Loïc says, 'we are starting to find some green'. The altitude is higher and higher up to 2500 meters and even more. And in the distance, Pierre-Loic begins to see the first foothills of Colorado and snow-capped peaks. He even experienced on the very last day in New Mexico a sudden change in climate and the appearance of snow. The last campsite before crossing the border between New Mexico and Colorado was freezing. It was even difficult to find a place to pitch a tent because there was so much snow. This is almost a summary of all the diversity of landscapes, climates, and vegetation in the CDT. Even while crossing a single state, in this case New Mexico, Pierre-Loïc went in the space of a few weeks from an environment close to a furnace in full sun at over 40 degrees and without shade to a freezing climate at altitude with lots of snow. And this was only a taste of what awaited him in Colorado.

In total, Pierre-Loïc took 25 days to cross New Mexico. There were no particular difficulties along the way, but he had to deal with two key issues: water and sun, in addition to an encounter with a rattlesnake, fortunately without consequences, and a final freezing night at an altitude of nearly 3,000 meters just before entering Colorado.

Next stop and next article: crossing the (snowy) Colorado.