Ithaca College

"In the February 2007 issue of Backpacker [magazine], editor in chief Jonathan Dorn called on the masses to help Backpacker, the Continental Divide Trail Alliance, and federal agencies tackle a massive undertaking: give the trail an official map. As a result, close to 3,000 of you applied, and 300 volunteers where chosen" (source: http://backpackercdtproject.blogspot.com).

Physics professor Michael "Bodhi" Rogers and his wife, Anna Keeton, applied and were selected for the project. They are part of a six-person team -- dryly called Team 19 until the team picked the more ironic name Team Escargot.

Team Escargot will be hiking the approximately 48-mile-long Saguache Park Road to the Marshall Pass section of the Continental Divide Trail from August 12 to August 17. They are planning on hiking a conservative eight miles per day to account for most of the team going from sea level to over 10,000 feet above sea level and, of course, the need to carefully map the trail.

Jonathan Dorn, editor in chief of Backpacker magazine, captures the need for this project in his call for volunteers:

"There's a lot to love about the Continental Divide Trail. It's the most challenging and remote of America's big three long-distance paths, tracing the crest of one wild range after another: the Bitterroots, Wind Rivers, and San Juans, to name just a few. Many hikers swear it trumps the Appalachian and Pacific Crest Trails for raw beauty. No surprise there -- this 3,100-mile roller coaster links no fewer than a dozen iconic destinations, including Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, and the Weminuche and Bob Marshall Wilderness Areas.

"Yet the CDT lacks one basic ingredient of a world-class hiking path: an official map. Bruce Ward, executive director of the Continental Divide Trail Alliance (CDTA), says that more than 1,000 miles remain unsigned, undetermined, or simply unmapped. In some places, multiple trails run from point A to B, leaving hikers puzzled about which option to follow. The CDTA has been working with private landowners and federal agencies to define a single pathway, Ward told me, but obstacles remain in completing a designated, non-motorized route."

You can read more about the project at http://backpackercdtproject.blogspot.com as well as keep track of updates from each team.