CONTINENTAL DIVIDE TRAIL DAYS

Join us for our first-ever Hiker Olympics — a fun-filled competition designed to test your backcountry skills and trail knowledge. Open to all experience levels, thru-hikers, and locals. Prizes and swag to be awarded!

CDTC Welcome + Mini-Film Fest

More details are coming soon. Check back again for more information on this session and our films.

Join us to hear from members of the indigenous communities along the Continental Divide Trail and learn about the cultural links between the CDT and these tribal communities and peoples.

Michael Darrow

Michael Darrow is an enrolled member of the Fort Sill-Chiricahua-Warm Springs Apache Tribe and has served as the Tribal Historian since 1986. He is on the board of the Tribe’s Economic Development Authority. He also functions as the Tribe’s contact for issues regarding the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation act as well as working on Section 106 government consultation for protecting historic, cultural, and religious sites. Mr. Darrow is one of the great-great-grandchildren of Mangas Coloradas, the Apache chief who signed the treaty of 1852. Michael Darrow has a background in botany and museum studies. He works with the Tribe’s cultural program to preserve and promote knowledge and activities of significance to the Tribe.

Crucito “Cruz” Concha Jr.

Crucito “Cruz” Concha Jr. is a filmmaker, storyteller, and Continental Divide Trail Coalition Tribal Fellowship recipient from Taos Pueblo, New Mexico — home of the Red Willow People. After overcoming addiction through education, Cruz earned his Associate in Film and Digital Media Arts with honors from UNM-Taos and is now pursuing a bachelor’s in liberal arts at UNM’s main campus. His film work includes a safety series for the Bureau of Land Management, a documentary for the Taos Pueblo Tiwa Language program, and the CDTC’s Native Voices Film Series, which aims to represent all 19 New Mexico pueblos. As a 2024 CDTC Tribal Fellow, Cruz joined four other Native Americans in a fellowship supported by the National Forest Service and the American Indian College Fund, culminating in a presentation to USFS, USDA, and DOI leadership in Washington, D.C. He continues to work with CDTC and the Carson National Forest on projects that center Indigenous voices along the Continental Divide Trail. When he’s not behind the camera or in the classroom, Cruz’s greatest joy is raising his three children with his partner in Taos.

Bryan Jones

Bryan Jones currently serves as the Vice Chairman for the Fort Sill Chiricahua-Warm Springs-Apache Tribe.  Bryan helped establish the Tribe’s Cultural Coordinator Office, where he served as the first Cultural Coordinator. Bryan’s service to the Tribe is rooted in his commitment to promoting and preserving the Tribe’s language and culture, while also encouraging people inside and outside of the community to learn the history of his people.

Bryan is an active member of Gooday Dance of the Mountain Spirits Group, one of the Tribe’s ceremonial dance groups. His grandfather, musician Harry Perico, was the first child born as a prisoner of war after the Tribe was forcibly removed from their homelands in 1886 and held prisoner for 28 years.

Birds and Bats of Southwest New Mexico

From migratory raptors riding thermals along the Continental Divide to bats emerging at dusk over the Gila, southern New Mexico is home to an extraordinary diversity of winged wildlife. Join experts from Bird Alliance of Southwestern New Mexico and Bat Conservation International to explore the birds and bats of the region, their critical roles in local ecosystems, and what you can do to help protect them.

Meet our speakers:

Brianna Mann Restoration Specialist
Much of Brianna’s work at BCI focuses on the agave initiative and acoustic monitoring to support watershed restoration projects in the region. Prior to BCI, Brianna worked in natural history collections, as a spring biologist in the Southwest, and as a wildlife monitor (including acoustic bat monitoring) throughout the western United States. If you get the opportunity, ask Brianna about her coolest nature find.

Bryan Keener Gila Agreements Assistant Project Manager
Bryan’s work with BCI focuses on watershed restoration in the Black Fire burn scar and adjacent affected watersheds. He brings a background in collaborative restoration projects that bring together field crews, landowners, and public agencies. If you get the opportunity, ask Bryan about his interest in urban forestry.

About Bat Conservation International:
Bat Conservation International’s Restoration Team protects the world’s bats and their ecosystems through hands-on habitat work. Focused on the Southwest—home to the nation’s highest bat diversity—the team manages several projects near the CDT, including agave planting in the New Mexico Bootheel and post-fire watershed restoration in the Gila National Forest’s Black Range.

Join CDTC and a panel of CDT section hikers, thru-hikers, community ambassadors, and partners who will share stories of transformation and how their connection to the CDT has helped shape their life stories. Meet our thru-hiker panelists:

Simon Sotelo III

Simon Sotelo III comes from a multigenerational family that has called the Mimbres Valley, the Greater Gila region, and Southern New Mexico home for more than 100 years. Simon has spent much of his adult life and career not only as a working artist, but also as an advocate for his community. Whether advocating for public lands like the Gila National Forest and Wilderness Area, promoting outdoor recreation along the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, organizing around legislation at both the local and state levels, or helping bring people together through community events, Simon has always maintained a grassroots mindset. His work focuses on uplifting his community by strengthening the connection between people and place.

Carolyn “Canyon” Metzler

As Canyon, I am truly in an in-between place. I hiked 2/3rds of the AT in 1983 carrying an external frame Jansport and 40 pounds of gear. With the creation of ultralight gear I have returned to backpacking, my original passion, as a retired person, and mostly on the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail. I have been moving into a deeper wilderness spirituality for the last twenty years, bringing those lessons back into life in community. During the winter I write, weave, and welcome people to our Airbnb Hermitage in Datil, NM. When the spring comes I load the backpack and head out into the wilderness as pilgrim, mostly to listen deeply and be reminded of what is life-giving in the world. It has been such a joy to connect with the Continental Divide Trail Coalition (CDTC) and to give a bit back to the Trail from the gifts I have received from the outdoors.

Karla Amador

Karla Amador is a speaker, entrepreneur, and founder of the 52 Hike Challenge — a global movement that has empowered over 76,000 participants to get outdoors by hiking once a week for a year, building a supportive community visible in nearly a million images shared on Instagram. The 52 Hike Challenge has partnered with organizations like the National Park Service, Latino Outdoors, and Sierra Club, and worked with brands including REI, Outdoor Research, Osprey, and Oboz Footwear. An avid hiker herself, Karla has thru-hiked the John Muir Trail, walked the Camino Portuguese, summited Mt. Kilimanjaro, and led group treks in Patagonia. She holds a BA in Communications from California State University Fullerton, and was named 2020 Woman of the Year in Small Business by the National Hispanic Business Women Association.

Alexa “Highlight” Tubbs

Alexa “Highlight” Tubbs is a creative entrepreneur, community builder, and newest CDTC board member who traded eight years in the New York City art world — including a Master’s in Art Business from the Sotheby’s Institute of Art — for the open trail, thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail southbound in 2018 and the CDT in 2019, where she met her partner, Matt “Brew Hiker” Leef, in Glacier National Park. Together they planted roots in Silver City, NM, and co-founded Open Space Brewing, a craft brewery with a mission to give back to the trail community through partnerships with organizations like New Mexico Wild, the National Forest Foundation, and Gila Back Country Horsemen. A dedicated public lands advocate and community organizer, Alexa is excited to champion the protection, completion, and stewardship of the CDT — and when she’s not at the brewery, you’ll find her volunteering on trail crews and exploring the Gila Wilderness with Matt, their dog Bobby, and their hiking cat, Jerry.

Heather “Anish” Anderson

Heather “Anish” Anderson is a National Geographic Adventurer of the Year who has logged over 50,000 lifetime foot miles. As a trailblazing endurance athlete, she is the only person to concurrently hold Fastest Known Times on Three National Scenic Trails (Pacific Crest, Appalachian, and Arizona Trails).

Her extraordinary hiking resume includes:

• Completing the prestigious “Triple Crown” three times, including the Calendar Year Triple Crown.

• Earning the title of Ultimate Direction Fastest Known Time of the Year Athlete.

Off the trail, Heather is a professional speaker and author who inspires people to live life to the fullest with mindfulness and courage. She shares her message of “Dream Big. Be Courageous.” with audiences, weaving together tales of adventure and the transcendent life lessons a deep connection with the natural world has given her. She has authored several books, including Thirst: 2600 Miles to Home, Mud, Rocks, Blazes: Letting Go on the Appalachian Trail, Farther: 8 Months on America’s Triple Crown Trails, and Adventure Ready: A Hiker’s Guide to Planning Training and Resiliency.

For the second time, Silver City is participating in the City Nature Challenge — a global, four-day community science project with the goal of documenting biodiversity in and around urban areas. This year, the global event runs from Friday, April 24 through Monday, April 27. Anyone can participate by using the free iNaturalist app or website to log photographs or sound recordings of wildlife.

Participants can find, photograph, and identify species while exploring their neighborhoods and natural areas on their own, or join daily guided hikes and tours led by local naturalists.

This year, three partner organizations are hosting Silver City’s City Nature Challenge: Bird Alliance of Southwestern New Mexico, Amphibian and Reptile Conservancy, and Silver City Watershed Keepers.

Visit the iNaturalist project page for updates and to view the latest observations!