by Amanda Wheelock

Each year, hundreds of people set out from the Crazy Cook Monument in southern New Mexico or Waterton Lakes in Glacier National Park to attempt to thru-hike the Continental Divide Trail. The CDT is the most remote and rugged of America’s 11 National Scenic Trails, traversing the high elevations of the Continental Divide for more than 3,000 miles. Aspiring thru-hikers face challenges that range from long waterless stretches to exposed high-alpine scrambles to persistent snow and ice. As thru-hiking the CDT becomes more popular, there is a need to maintain its unique nature among America’s national scenic trails as a route that challenges even experienced long-distance hikers and requires significant preparation and skill.

Many people who are inspired by the journeys of those attempting to hike the length of the CDT seek to help hikers through providing unscheduled, unexpected assistance, often known in the hiking community as “trail magic.” Most frequently, this takes the form of offering rides, food or water to hikers.

As stewards of the CDT, we here at CDTC understand the magical pull of the Trail and the desire to give back or be a part of the incredible journeys that thru-hikers undertake. However, these acts of generosity often have unintended negative consequences for hikers and for the Trail itself. We hope that people interested in supporting thru-hikers will keep the following in mind when planning or offering “trail magic” along the CDT.

DOs:

—Pack out trash. Hikers often have to carry their trash for days, so one way you can give back to hikers AND the Trail at the same time is by packing out trash. Go on a hike along the CDT or just head to a developed trailhead, bring a bag to pick up any trash you find, and offer to pack out the trash of any hikers you encounter while you’re there. Throw it away in town instead of at a campground or trailhead so as not to overtax the limited resources available for things like trash pickup in these areas.

—Consider your impact on Gateway Communities and other trailside towns. Offering free food and water to hikers is an easy way to take business away from local entrepreneurs who rely on the tourism dollars that the CDT provides. Instead, consider offering rides into town so that hikers can more easily access these businesses, volunteering with your local Gateway Community committee to make your town more friendly to hikers, or buying the supplies you’re offering to hikers at a locally-owned business in a Gateway Community.

—Remember that thru-hikers are on vacation. While thru-hikers certainly appreciate the generosity of those who feed them, it is worthwhile to remember that each of them is someone who can afford to spend 4-6 months away from work. Instead of spending money to give food to hikers, consider donating that money to a food bank or a community center in a Gateway Community, a local land conservancy, or a trail maintenance organization – all organizations that actively contribute to the protection and promotion of the CDT experience.

—Keep it small. If you do decide to offer food or water to hikers, keep it small and stick to developed areas such as trailheads and frontcountry campgrounds near the Trail. Large groups spoil the CDT experience that many hikers desire and can easily trample plant and wildlife habitat on the Trail. Choose an area off-trail that won’t be easily damaged (paved or graveled is best) and allows hikers pursuing a solitary CDT experience to bypass your gathering.

DON’Ts:

—Don’t leave food unattended. Animals may find and eat unattended food and trash, leading them to unnaturally associate that area with food and to seek out other sources of human food. Animals that become habituated to human food pose real danger to CDT hikers and to themselves; bears in particular can become aggressive toward humans after eating human food and often have to be killed by land managers to avoid negative human-bear interactions. Additionally, food left out, even in a cooler, quickly becomes trash left out. This trash may get blown away, be found by an animal, and/or create more work for volunteers.

—Don’t create your own water cache. Finding adequate water is a challenge for CDT hikers, and many people want to help hikers by leaving water for them. CDTC even provides water in metal storage boxes in New Mexico’s bootheel under a Special Use Permit from the Bureau of Land Management. However, there are a variety of reasons why it is not a good idea to leave water out for hikers on your own:

1. Being self-sufficient is part of the journey. There is a reason why the CDT is often referred to as the hardest of America’s National Scenic Trails. It traverses rough terrain, high altitudes, and yes, long waterless stretches. But navigating these obstacles is the exact reason why many people choose to undertake this journey. Providing water caches lowers hikers’ self-sufficiency and inherently changes the nature of the CDT experience.

2. Empty caches can create dangerous situations. Word travels remarkably fast between long-distance hikers, especially in the era of widespread cell coverage and social media. Hikers who have heard about a cache and are depending on it only to find it empty can quickly find themselves in an emergency situation.

3. Unattended water jugs can easily become trash. Empty water bottles and jugs are quite light and can easily be blown away by wind or scattered by curious animals, creating more trash in our wilderness.

4. It’s illegal. Leaving personal property on public land is illegal, no matter how generous the intentions.

—Don’t ask for donations. Not only is it illegal to collect fees or donations on public land without a permit, it’s not really in the spirit of “giving back” to collect money for trail magic.  Helping people is wonderful, but there’s no reason to overextend yourself financially.

Those who often provide “trail magic” are referred to as “trail angels,” and over the years, many of them have had wonderful, positive impacts on the long-distance hiking community by offering rides, places to stay, and encouragement. If your goal is to help hikers or be a part of their journeys, we hope you’ll keep the above information in mind when determining how best to do so.

There would be no trail for the hikers to use without the volunteers who dedicate their time to building, maintaining and restoring the CDT. If you’d like to give back to the Trail, consider volunteering with CDTC or one of our many partner organizations that have adopted sections of the CDT, or becoming a Trail Adopter yourself.

Amanda Wheelock is CDTC’s Marketing & Communications Specialist. Originally hailing from north Georgia, she fell in love with long trails when she worked on an Appalachian Trail maintaining crew in college. Since then, she’s dedicated her career to introducing others to the inspiration and awe she finds every time she visits our public lands.