D I S T I N C T L Y M O N T A N A M A G A Z I N E • F A L L 2 0 2 2
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THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE TRAIL, known by its abbrevia-
tion the CDT, spans from Mexico to the Canadian border, tra-
verses five states, and was established by Congress in 1978.
Totaling 3,100 miles, of which 627 lie within Montana, the
trail runs from Idaho to Canada, winding its way through
beautiful and wild wilderness areas, small towns, and nation-
al parks.
I spent time recently on a couple of sections of the CDT,
finding out what makes this trail unique and why thru-hikers
say this trail is by far one of the hardest to hike out of any of
the long-distance trails in the U.S. I decided that thru-hiking a
section I used to work in called the Anaconda-Pintler Wilder-
ness, just outside Anaconda, would be a great place to start.
The CDT meanders through the Anaconda-Pintler Wil-
derness for 45 miles. We decided to do 20 miles of it, which
by thru-hiking standards is not a good mileage day, but with
dogs in tow, 20 miles usually ends up being plenty, given the
amount of time needed to stop and roll and or eat something
only a dog could love. I was also hoping I would find a couple
of hikers to chat with along the way.
Solitude
Seeking
Along
e
Continental
Divide
Trail
story and photos by: HALLIE ZOLYNSKI
