CDT'14 pictures #2

Silver City (05/02) - Grants (05/14)

Happy Trails :-)

CDT'14 pictures #1

Mexico (04/25) - Silver City (05/02)

Happy Trails :-)

3 very different days

Mexico (0) - Lordsburg (84mi/135km)

The first section is done! I´m back in Lordsburg - the small city where the adventure began a little bit more than 4 days ago.

The start has been smooth. The trip from Lordsburg to the famous "Crazy Cook Monument" took us about 2.5 hours. We´ve been 11 hikers in total on this day.

The south of New Mexico is - simply speaking - dry, sandy, windy and very flat. And there is the brutal sun!!! I´ve never experienced such a aridity before. We are drinking about 2 gallons of water a day - not sweating at all! You can actually feel the water being sucked out of you...

But no worries, there are enough water caches (thanks CDT-C) !

And - a big difference to the PCT - there is now "real" trail. You just have to hike through the desert, watching out for the next post mark...

At the momente we are a nice little group of 7 hikers, spreaded out during the day, but camping together in the evening. I enjoy being on my own and the freedom of going whereever I want to, but also the company of others at lunch or dinner.

Weather has been perfect ´till now, but also pretty windy. This means "cowboy-camping"

In conclusion, this desert is definitely too much of one-of-a-kind to be really described - but a good therapy for the soul.

Happy Trails :-)

Desert - a challenge

New Mexico is a gorgeous solitude - I´m just starting my forth day in this steppe-desert!

The picture shows Pyramide-Peak in the background, being my lead for the next hoursa... 20 miles away! Tomorrow morning I should be in Lordsburg again :-)

A new adventure has just begun...

Today, on Friday 25th of April at exactly 9:50 a.m. Robert became "Banana Pants" again ! Let´s take the first steps of the CDT...

I'm still in Graz!

Since yesterday the interactive map "Where is BP?" (www.trackleaders.com) is online. Now you can follow me day by day. 
I already have a first marker... you just need to zoom out a bit and look towards Graz/Austria, I'm still home :) 

The map is still pretty empty, but I hope this will change soon. From now on crazy hikers will leave civilization - always looking north!

Happy Trails :-)

Updated gear-list

Only two weeks left!!!

As one of the final preparations I've checked all my gear.

It has been weighed, it has been measured, and it has been found perfection.

In the category "Gear" you can see everything in detail!

Although I could have easily saved two more pounds with my backpack and tent, I decided against it.

• Regarding my backpack I can only say that with all my back problems I have to take a model with a dense internal frame. The smaller ULA Circuit has replaced its bigger brother Catalyst because the volume is just perfect.

• Regarding my tent I let the comfort win! I have tested the much lighter ZPack solo but decided to go another time with my Tarptent. For me it's easier to set up and gives me just more space. It feels just right!

Unfortunately I've not managed to get under 18 pounds and compared to others this is way too much but getting lighter is a steady process and so I'll have to keep hiking until I reach the 12 pound barrier :-)

Happy Trails :-)