Continental Divide Trail 2011 close to 3000 miles through new mexico, colorado, wyoming and montana. May 1 start date.

So, I arrived late last night into a campground just outside of Crested Butte, Colorado, where my hiking partner Trainwreck lives. This morning was like Christmas when I looked out of my tent door and saw the surrounding mountains. One of the most beautiful towns I've ever been to. The three of us hiked from Cuba to Ghost Ranch, a lovely retreat in the colorful new mexican buttes and mesas. We were picked up by a couple of good friend from the PCT and spent a few days enjoying Santa Fe. From there we walked to Chama, New Mexico where we planned to do an overnight resupply and head back on the trail to make it to Pagosa in time for the long-anticipated Folk and Bluegrass Festival. As we were trying to catch a ride up to the pass, however, a former Forest Service ranger gave us a 20-minute talk on how unwise it would be for us to head out on the trail where we would remain close to 12,000 feet for 65 miles in still very deep snow. It was a difficult decision for us, as the draw to continue hiking is very strong but we decided to listen to reason and our gut feeling and came up with a lower alternate route taking Forest Service roads all the way to Pagosa. We spent close to 5 days there, sitting in hot springs and camping out listening to many fabulous Bluegrass bands. Many of our friends met us there so it was a great time of refreshment. Because of the insane snow levels here and in the rest of the mountain west, we are rendesvouing in Crested Butte, planning to either jump up to the Great Basin in Wyoming to hike a couple of weeks or flip up to Canada as originally intended. A good friend of ours from the PCT is planning to hike with us the rest of the way. We'll see where we end up next. This hike has become a game of strategy and trying to avoid the snow. From time to time we have wondered if we will be able to hike the entire trail this season, but things are looking up. We are taking it one day at a time. It feels wonderful to be in Colorado in the mountains. I look forward to hiking it September.