The Continental Divide Trail: Exploring America's Ridgeline Trail

The Continental Divide Trail explores this iconic crown jewel of America's trails with more than 250 spectacular contemporary images, historical photos and documents from the Continental Divide Trail Coalition archives, and detailed maps. Readers can experience the trail as if their boots were on the 3,100-mile path. This beautifully produced volume makes accessible the highest and most remote of the three crown jewel trails--following the Rocky Mountains from Canada to Mexico along the Continental Divide, the backbone of America.

The Continental Divide Trail presents the full glory of this challenging trail in breathtaking images, ephemera, and maps. While untold thousands of day hikers take advantage of the CDT each year, thru-hiking the entire trail is not for the faint-hearted. In 2017, only 250 people will attempt to hike it end to end. The Continental Divide Trail is perfect for anyone interested in conservation, outdoor recreation, or American history, or for those who dream of one day becoming thru-hikers themselves.This is the first large-format book published in conjunction with the Continental Divide Trail Coalition, and the breathtaking photographs make you feel as if you were on the trail. The book includes maps and rarely seen archival images, as well as a written backstory of this great trail. This photo- and information-packed book is a must-have for anyone who has ever caught the magic of the nation's rooftop, the Great Divide. It's an inspirational bucket list for everyone who wants to get outdoors--day hiker, backpacker, fisherman, hunter, and those rare souls--thru-hikers--who dare to attempt hiking it all in one go.With text by Barney Mann, who has thru-hiked all three Triple Crown trails, and a foreword by two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, this book makes the trail come alive for both veteran hikers and armchair travelers alike.

Barney Scout Mann is author of Rizzoli's The Pacific Crest Trail, which Backpacker magazine named Coffee Table Book of the Year. Mann's articles have appeared in Backpacker, The Oregonian, and the New York Times online. The New York Times calls him "the unofficial historian of the trail." He thru-hiked the Continental Divide Trail in 2015. He was the chair of the Pacific Crest Trail Association's board of directors from 2012 to 2015 and now serves on the board of the Continental Divide Trail Coalition.
Nicholas D. Kristof, a columnist for The New York Times since 2001, is a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner who writes op-ed columns that appear twice a week. He is an avid backpacker who is section hiking the Pacific Crest Trail with his family.
The Continental Divide Trail Coalition (CDTC) is the national nonprofit working to protect, promote, and preserve the Continental Divide Trail. The CDTC's mission is to complete, promote, and protect the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail. The CDTC does this by building a strong and diverse trail community, providing up-to-date information to the public, and encouraging conservation and stewardship of the Trail, its corridor, and surrounding landscapes.