wendy_ross71•2mo agoProlific Poster

I always heard the Pacific Crest Trail was the toughest, but a ranger in Bend told me the Continental Divide Trail has way more elevation gain

Honestly, I was looking at some official trail data from the National Park Service website last week. It says the CDT has over 917,000 feet of total elevation change, which is like climbing Mount Everest 31 times. The PCT is no joke, but that number really surprised me. Has anyone here actually thru-hiked the CDT and felt that difference?

3 comments

3 Comments

juliah232mo ago

Yeah, that 917,000 foot number is the real deal. I met a hiker in Colorado who said the constant up-and-down on the CDT, especially in New Mexico and Montana, just wears you out in a different way than the PCT's longer climbs. It's not just one big mountain, it's a whole trail of endless smaller ones that add up. Your feet feel that total gain by the end.

nancy8241mo ago

Sounds a bit overblown to me.

jennyh552mo ago

Totally, @juliah23. That constant up and down is brutal. Like in the San Juans in Colorado, you'll drop 2000 feet into a valley just to climb right back out. It's not a steady grind, it's a punch in the legs over and over. Your mind gets tired from the constant gear shifts, not just your body. It makes the total gain feel way bigger than the number says.