Continental Divide Trail thru ride-- ever been attempted?

[Couloirman]

Has anyone ever attempted to bikepack the entire Continental Divide Trail? I am not referring to the Tour Divide/GDMBR that is mainly on dirt roads, but the actual Continental Divide Trail which is more singletrack than roads. I am just looking for some beta, or good stories really and wondered if there were any CDT thru-bike trip reports on the internet you could help point me to, even if the report is of someone who didn't complete it, or if you know of someone who tried and could point me in their direction and/or shoot me their email address.

Thanks!

[JRA]

According to this link:  http://www.continentaldividetrail.org/about-the-trail/cdnst-history/
The CDT traverses 21 Wilderness areas.  Designated Wilderness areas do not allow bicycle travel. 

There is an abundance of other info regarding the trail in the link.

[Veetack]

It's my understanding that the CDT is closed to bikes. It's quite similar to the Appalachian Trail in that aspect. If the terrain is anything like the AT, I'd honestly be scared sh**less to even try large portions of it.

[Couloirman]

Well, the CDT page on here said "most of the trail is open to cyclists outside of wilderness areas" so i assumed otherwise, but thats why i started this thread. Ill probably never actually end up doing it but i can get 2-3 months vacation next year and want to do something epic. I mean, if you get to ride 1600+ miles of singletrack, then 20 some wilderness detours just might be worth it....

[joeydurango]

I've been wondering about the CDT for quite some time... I knew about the wilderness detours, but didn't know anything about the rest of the route outside of it's concurrence with the CT in my neck of the woods.  If you find anything out, Couloirman, keep us updated on this thread.

[wahday]

I rode a section here in New Mexico last fall through what is called the Chain of Craters area. The challenge was that the trail itself disintegrated after a while. Then I was overlanding and following cairns. But at some point, I couldn't locate the next one so I had to double back and jump on the forest road that roughly parallels it. Other sections of the CDT here are actually on forest roads (like up through Bonita Canyon where I have also overnighted). And then there are parts that are single track and not in wilderness areas. So, a lot  of factors in figuring out which sections are ride-able. Get a hold of some good maps, I say, and see what things look like on aerials as well. That's how I plan most of my trips. I find where a trail or road is supposed to be and what is actually there on the ground can be quite different, so it pays to study the aerials before heading out.

Here is link to the Chain of Craters Back Country Byway trip I did last fall (that included some CDT and a not very well work singletrack): http://highaltitudehomestead.blogspot.com/2013/03/bikepacking-chain-of-craters.html

[rippling over canyons]

I'm surprised Scott hasn't chimed in with comments.  Here's his reports of riding a premium chunk of the CDT in Montana, along the Idaho border 5 years ago:  http://www.bikepacking.net/tripreports/cdt-chapter-1-lima-loop/ ; http://www.bikepacking.net/tripreports/cdt-chapter-2-jackson-loop/.

I was going to meet some people up here in 2010, but the weather was too threatening that day, so I continued on to Bozeman to meet other friends.  Some day, I would really like to ride these sections.