A long-distance hiker pushing north-to-south along the Continental Divide Trail has reached central New Mexico with fewer than 500 miles left before the Mexico border. The latest weekly update from the trail captures what the final stretch of this 3,000-mile route actually feels like: flat, fast, and wildly unpredictable.
The numbers tell the story. Week 18 brought another 13,215 feet of climbing, taking the trip total to over 384,000 feet of elevation gain — the equivalent of climbing Everest more than 13 times. But in central New Mexico the terrain flattens out, and the miles pile up quickly. Days of 25 to 30 miles feel relaxed here, and one recent push set a personal record of 53 miles in a single day.
The landscape itself is the star of this section. The trail crosses El Malpais, a vast field of hardened lava flows that's rough underfoot but fascinating to explore. Ice has carved caves into the lava rock over thousands of years, and hikers can detour to see Pueblo ruins dating from around 1200AD that remain remarkably intact just off the route.
Weather has been the wild card. New Mexico has delivered rain heavy enough to turn trails into streams and dirt roads into mud slides, plus nights cold enough to leave ice on the tent. One afternoon produced all four seasons at once: a hail shower, lightning striking the surrounding hills, sunshine to the west and a rainbow to the east. The wet conditions should make the upcoming stretch along the Gila River especially dramatic.
The desert has its quieter moments too. Butterflies drift between cacti, tarantulas wander the trail (a good reason not to sleep under the stars), and coyotes howl after dark, even if they stay out of sight. Protective town dogs, apparently, are a more reliable encounter.
Road walking is the grind of this section. Long gaps between towns and trailheads force hikers onto quiet highways and dirt tracks, sometimes for hours of straight, flat monotony. The upside: traffic is sparse — a couple of cars an hour — and local drivers slow down and give hikers plenty of room.
For anyone dreaming of a thru-hike, this dispatch is a useful reality check. The CDT isn't a postcard itinerary; it's a rhythm of huge mile days, road trudges, sudden weather and moments of genuine wonder, often in the same afternoon. But the rewards are real: lava-tube caves, ancient ruins and some of the emptiest, quietest walking in the United States. The final 500 miles to the border run through some of New Mexico's most remote country, and this hiker is closing in fast.
