Get a tetanus shot. There’s a lot of rusty barbed wire along the way!
Resupply Boxes
The route is divided into segments between logical resupply points. These are suggested points only.
Packing resupply boxes in advance: 1) will save you a lot of money; 2) will save you a lot of time; 3) will allow you to minimize the weight you carry by be selective in advance about the food you pack.
Resupply boxes may be sent to post offices as general delivery. Almost all post offices will hold a general delivery package for two weeks (before returning to sender). Gas canisters can be sent in the resupply boxes so long as the boxes are appropriately marked and declared. Resupply boxes can also be sent to other locations along the route (e.g. Cathedral Ranch and Ghost Ranch) but I recommend sending all of your resupply boxes to US Post Office locations in case you want or need to ship items back home. You will need someone to send your boxes for you, due to the limited post office hold time. I recommend sending each box at least ten days before your expected arrival, as ground shipping times can vary greatly.
Most but not all Post Office locations accept general delivery. If using post offices that are NOT part of this guide, call the post office and confirm that they accept general delivery. Do NOT trust the USPS website (e.g. I learned the hard way that Granby, Colorado’s post office does not accept general delivery, despite what the USPS website says).
Resupplying more frequently means carrying less weight, but also can cause scheduling issues. Most (though not all) post offices are open for at least a few hours on Saturdays. All post offices are closed on Sundays.
Be mentally prepared for the possibility that one or more boxes may not arrive.
My best case scenario for a resupply is to arrive in a resupply town in the evening, typically get a hotel room, and pick up my resupply box first thing in the morning when the post office opens. Spending a night in a hotel room once every 3 – 4 days provided a good opportunity to fully charge my batteries for all my devices, take a shower, and wash my clothes (many hotels even offer coin operated guest laundry). With a few heavily touristed exceptions (Columbia Falls, Victor/Driggs), most of the towns along the route offered reasonably priced hotel rooms, often $100 or less for a night.
When to Go
In my judgement mid-July is the optimal time to begin. At the margin, depending on the snowpack in northern Montana, starting earlier is likely better than starting later. Snow in the Colorado high country is unlikely but not unheard of in September.
Route Information – Other Sources
Kurt Refsnider has provided extensive interviews about his experience. Articles on the Radivist.
Fairly comprehensive information about the route riding and points of interest can be derived from a combination of multiple sources:
While on or near the Continental Divide Trail proper, the FarOut Continental Divide Trail guide app is indispensable. The user comments, in particular, are invaluable (i.e. don’t trust that just because FarOut shows a water source that there’s water – always check the user comments for up to date information).
For the trail itself, Trailforks has nearly the entirety of the CDT mapped out, though details about some of the individual sections can be sparse (and in a few cases incorrect in terms of several trail sections being open or closed to bikes).
For the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route sections, the Adventure Cycling Association provides extensive information about the GDMBR. A more limited description of the GDMBR and points of interest is available on bikepacking.com.