Volunteers are the absolute heart of the Continental Divide Trail, and we at CDTC are so grateful for all the hard work and stewardship that they provide to the trail. This year’s field programs are off to a fantastic start! We are delighted with the progress of these projects and are eager to keep the ball rolling! Find a snapshot of some of our recent successes and highlights here.

Photos by Gabe Etengoff

MIDDLE FORK OF THE GILA, with New Mexico Volunteers for the Outdoors, the Gila Backcountry Horsemen, and National Forest Foundation

• Highlights
  5 miles of trail maintained
  135 downed logs removed
  30 cairns built
  1 stuck car rescued from Loco Mountain Road
  1 lost dog found and rehomed

This beloved and ecologically sensitive alternate route of the CDT was in great need of care. Volunteers waded through the picturesque Gila River to rework tread, clear logs and otherwise address the maintenance backlog in the Gila Wilderness. In an unexpected twist, volunteers were surprised to find a lost dog wandered into camp in search of help! The dog has since found a new home with one of the project volunteers.

Photos by Nate Cooper

KNIGHT RIDGE, with Headwaters Trail Alliance and Grand County Open Lands, Rivers, and Trails

• Highlights
  1,180 feet of trail maintained
  157 drains maintained
  24 downed trees removed
  16,400 feet of corridor cleared

The CDT meanders through rolling pine forest near the shores of Lake Granby, before entering Rocky Mountain National Park, but pine beetle kill has devastated the area. Our crew worked hard to clear the trail with crosscut saws and handsaws, hiking long miles every day. And it’s not every trail project that you need to access by ferry!

Photos by (left and center) Mary Anne McKown and (right) Sean Burke

HiLo DEVILS THUMB, with Headwaters Trails Alliance and Grand County Open Lands, Rivers, and Trails

• Highlights:
  186 downed trees removed
  75 feet of trail reconstructed
  20 drains installed
  30 feet of new trail constructed
  4,000 feet of trail scouted
  2 rock structures built

In the Fall of 2020 a derecho swept through the Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest causing live and dead trees alike to fall into a giant jackstraw mess leaving the Trail impassable. Volunteers worked alongside Headwaters Trails Alliance and a local youth corps as part of a huge shared-stewardship effort to clear this section of the CDT. Thanks to all for the hard work getting this very heavily impacted trail segment cleared!

Photos by Nate Cooper

PAGOSA SPRINGS CDTC ADOPTER TRAINING, with the San Juan Mountain Association

• Trail Maintenance Accomplishments:
  26 drains installed
  4 drains maintained
  30 feet of corridor cleared
  85 feet of trail maintained

Our CDTC Adopter program allows volunteers to care for a particular segment of the trail over time. We are so grateful to our adopters who undertake stewarding a part of the trail! At this training in the San Juan National Forest, volunteers got hands-on lessons in what it takes to work on a high-quality National Scenic Trail — and did some awesome trail work to boot!

Photo by Scott Kosiba

PINEDALE ADOPTER TRAINING, with Friends of the Bridger-Tetons and Roundup Riders of the Rockies

• Trail Maintenance Accomplishments
  530 feet of corridor cleared
  360 feet of trail maintained
  18 drains installed
  5 drains maintained
  25 feet of trail reconstructed
  2 downed trees removed

At our second CDTC Adopter training of the season, adopters worked on the CDT in the Bridger-Teton National Forest near Pinedale, WY. At the beautiful Green River Lakes Trailhead in the Wind River Range, adopters learned to clear trail, install drains to keep the tread from becoming muddy, and helped remove trees.

Thanks again to all our volunteers and adopters for their stewardship, dedication, and the joy you bring to us at CDTC!