Bart Smith Photography

​Walking Down a Dream

​Continental Divide Trail

  1. Managing Director
    Before the wall.
    Alamo Hueco Mountains viewed though octillo cactus from the C.D.T. near Big hatchet Mountains. Four miles from the CDT southern terminus. NM.
  2. Managing Director
    Riding the magic crapper
    Infinite Dust relaxing on Porcelain display along road walk section of the C.D.T. south of Silver City, NM.
  3. Managing Director
    Desert Pete
    Aldo Leopold Wilderness.
  4. Managing Director
    Security
    Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, New Mexico.
  5. Managing Director
    Tumbleweed Junction
    Road section of CDT north of Pie Town, New Mexico.
  6. Managing Director
    From Stone
    Broken lava field and La Vieja Sandstone Bluff in evening light, El Malpais National Monument. NM.
  7. Managing Director
    Ghost amongst Ghosts
    Ghost trees along the CDT near the bear mouth overlook, New Mexico.
  8. Managing Director
    Tortured Beauty
    The twin peaks of Cerro Cuate from mesa above Rio Puerco near the CDT. NM.
  9. Managing Director
    My followers
    Local horses in Rio Puerco Valley on the trail following Infinite Dust, New Mexico.
  10. Managing Director
    Goodlands
    Eroded badlands with Hoodoos and distant Cabezon Peak along Mesa San Luis north of Torreon Road Junction. NM.
  11. Managing Director
    Boney Fingers
    Juniper and sheep bones from near the CDT along the Mesa San Luis. NM
  12. Managing Director
    Unspoiled
    Rio Chama Valley viewed from along the CDT, South San Juan Wilderness, Rocky Mtns Co.
  13. Managing Director
    Edge of Somewhere
    Lone Elk above snow field. South San Juan Wilderness, Rocky Mtns Co. June
  14. Managing Director
    Tunnel of Days Gone By
    Abandoned rails along the Creed cut-off. Colorado.
  15. Managing Director
    Sombrero Grande
    Snow Mesa. Colorado.
  16. Managing Director
    August Surprise
    Late August snow squall obscures "The Needles" at Nebo Pass, Weminuche Wilderness, Co.
  17. Managing Director
    Lone Survivor
    Pine forest decimated by Pine Bark Beetle Blight. Weminuche Wilderness, Co.
  18. Managing Director
    Jaws of Once Life
    Elk Skull along Snow Mesa.
  19. Managing Director
    Still Rock
    Balanced rock, eroded area above the CDT near San Luis Peak. La Garita Wilderness, Gunnison National Forest, Co. .
  20. Managing Director
    "Please do not Disturb"
    Morning view of Texas Lake along the CDT. Sawatch Range, San Isabel National Forest, Colorado.
  21. Managing Director
    Mountain Goofs
    Mountain Goat from the Continental Divide Trail along Teller Mountain, Arapaho National Forest. Colorado.
  22. Managing Director
    Prayers in Waiting
    Prayer Flags, Greys and Torreys Peaks from Continental Divide Trail atop Mt Edwards. Morning. Arapaho National Forest. Colorado. Greys Peak is the highest point (14,270') on the CDT and entire National Scenic Trail System,
  23. Managing Director
    Zen o'clock high
    Cloud over Mount Bethel from CDT heading up Herman Gulch. Arapaho National Forest. Colorado.
  24. Managing Director
    Neener Neener
    Bull Moose in willows near Junco Lake. Arapaho National Forest. Colorado.
  25. Managing Director
    Forest on Life Support
    The Pine Bark Beetle is killing vast forests of Lodge Pole Pine. From the CDT above Granby Lake. Arapaho National Forest. Colorado.
  26. Managing Director
    On the Boulevard
    The CDT emblem on the boardwalk guides the way along the mainstreet of Grand Lake, Colorado.
  27. Managing Director
    Monet Ishness
    Trees reflected in unnamed lake from the CDT north of Buffalo Pass. Park Range Routt National Forest, Co.
  28. Managing Director
    Lazy Lightening
    Afternoon lightening storm just south of "The Dome" from the CDT south of Lost Ranger Peak. Park Range Routt National Forest, Co.
  29. Managing Director
    Togetherness
    Elk herd, north of Dome Peak. Routt National Forest, Co.
  30. Managing Director
    Earth to Sky
    Metamorphic rock on the Continental Divide, Medicine Bow National Forest, Wyoming.
  31. Managing Director
    Track n Time
    Antelope track and piece of petrified wood in windblown and baked ground. From the Continental Divide Trail along the Great Divide Basin. Wyoming.
  32. Managing Director
    Evening Strobe
    Sun setting over the distant Wind River Range from near the CDT east of Bare Ring Butte along the Great Divide Basin. Silhouette of Bare Ring Butte seen in foreground.
  33. Managing Director
    Heart Soar
    Juvenile Golden Eagle, overhead along the CDT through the Great Divide, Wyoming.
  34. Managing Director
    Left Behind
    Ghost town of South Pass City, Wyoming.
  35. Managing Director
    Fly on the Horizon
    Tarn and Southern Wind River Range from the Fremont Trail section of the CDT. Sunrise Bridger-Teton National Forest, Wyoming.
  36. Managing Director
    Indian Paint #1
    "Painting" with Indian Paint Brush. Below Hat Pass along the Fremont Trail section of the CDT. Wind River Range. Bridger-Teton National Forest. Wyoming.
  37. Managing Director
    Indian Paint #2
    "Painting" with Indian Paint Brush. Below Hat Pass along the Fremont Trail section of the CDT. Wind River Range. Bridger-Teton National Forest.
  38. Managing Director
    Billows of Grandeur
    Sun setting in forest fire smoke over Senaca Lakes Basin from Lester Pass. Lester Pass is the highest elevation of the CDT in the Wind River Range ( ll, 120 FT) Along the Highline Trail section of the CDT. Wind River Range. Bridger-Teton National Forest.
  39. Managing Director
    Lakes of Smoke
    Senaca Lakes Basin under smoke from forest fire from Lester Pass. Lester Pass is the highest elevation of the CDT in the Wind River Range ( ll, 120 FT) Along the Highline Trail section of the CDT. Wind River Range. Bridger-Teton National Forest.
  40. Managing Director
    Wyoming in the Soles
    Squaretop Mountain reflected in Green River along the Highline Trail section of the CDT. Wind River Range. Bridger-Teton National Forest, Wyoming.
  41. Managing Director
    Head in the Clouds... again
    Infinite Dust with his head in the clouds... again.
  42. Managing Director
    Feathered
    Feather in Shoshone Lake. Yellowstone National Park. Wyoming
  43. Managing Director
    Showtime
    Old Faithful Village and crowds viewing Old Faithful Geyser from observation point. Yellowstone National Park. Wyoming
  44. Managing Director
    One with the Morning
    Wolf. Yellowstone NP, Wyoming. Thank You T.J.!
  45. Managing Director
    Alpha
    Bull Elk in Madison River. Yellowstone NP.
  46. Managing Director
    Yellowstone Still Life
    Lodgepole pine snags on shore of Summit Lake along the Summit Lake. Morning Yellowstone National Park. Wyoming
  47. Managing Director
    A State of Line
    Border rocks designating crossing of The Continental Divide Trail from Wyoming to idaho. Yellowstone National Park. Wyoming
  48. Managing Director
    Crash
    Crashin' at Macks Inn. Idaho.
  49. Managing Director
    "This ain't nothin' buddy"
    Pika from the CDT near Squaw Mountain in the Beaverhead Mountains in the Bitterroot Range, Beaverhead National Forest, Montana.
  50. Managing Director
    Lassoing the Moon
    Full moon rising through Lodgepole pine burned along the CDT. Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness, Montana.
  51. Managing Director
    Locked in Revelry
    Upturned roots on shore of Surprise Lake. Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness, Montana.
  52. Managing Director
    September Morn
    Morning light on Warren Peak from across Warren Lake. Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness, Montana.
  53. Managing Director
    Stone
    Heart shaped stone near shore of Warren Lake. Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness, Montana.
  54. Managing Director
    Get used to It
    September snow falling on CDT along Thunderbolt Mountain. Deerlodge National Forest. Montana.
  55. Managing Director
    Movin On
    Camouflaged into terrain along Bighorn Creek. Scapegoat Wilderness, Montana.
  56. Managing Director
    Misfit Magnet
    Saloon in Elliston Montana. Eliston is a supply pickup point for many thru-hikers as it is close to the CDT.
  57. Managing Director
    Ears to You!
    Whitetail near Landers Fork trail junction along Bighorn Creek. Scapegoat Wilderness, Montana.
  58. Managing Director
    A Prayer from the Great Divide
    Chinese Wall, Bob Marshall Wilderness, Montana.
  59. Managing Director
    High Fiven
    Dragonfly, Bob Marshall Wilderness, Montana.
  60. Managing Director
    Winds
    Weathered Pine on lower slopes of Mount Henry along the CDT north of East Glacier, Glacier National Park, Montana.
  61. Managing Director
    Rock Wood Wind
    Flinsch Peak through weathered Krummholz on Pitamakan Pass. Glacier National Park, Montana.
  62. Managing Director
    Indicator
    Female grizzly bear on the CDT near Swiftcurrent Lake. Glacier National Park. Montana
  63. Managing Director
    Beacon
    Continental Divide Trail symbol. Centennial Mountains. Targhee National forest. Montana/Idaho

Summary of the Trail




1978 - Contintental Divide NST

This challenging trail more than fulfills hikers' dreams of journying along North America's mountain backbone. Extending from Canada to Mexico, the "CDT" crosses many ecosystems from tundra to desert.  It hosts a rich variety of wildlife and links together hundreds of natural, cultural, and historical assets.  Considered one of the great long-distance trails of the world - together with the Pacific Crest and the Appalachian NSTs, one of hiking's "Triple Crown" - it is the most remote of the NSTs.  In the mid 1970s, Baltimore lawyer and Appalachian Trail though-hiker, Jim Wolf, hiked part of this route and became so enamored with it that he published a guidebook and advocated for its establishment as a NST.  In 1976, the BOR completed the feasibility study and noted that the scenic quality of the trail was superlative.  Today the Trail is administered by the USDA Forsest Service in partnership with both the Continiental Divide Trail Coalition and the Continental Divide Trail Society. Both groups catalyze public awareness and voluteer enthusiasm of the Trail in the five states it crosses.

​
Back to NSTs Gallery
To NHTs Gallery