German hikers welcomed in South Fork

SOUTH FORK— As Triple Crown acheivers, visiting hikers Diatom and Deep were more than happy to welcome first-time Continental Divide Trail (CDT) hiker, Beans, to their group when they started out from New Mexico a month ago. Walking across the dry, barren peaks of New Mexico before coming into the dense forests of Colorado has been an experience and a half for the small group of hikers. Though their trail names may seem bazaar and their clothes worn, each one comes from a steady background with a desire to rough it in the wilderness for four months out of the year.
Characters like the three hikers mentioned above are coming into South Fork consistently as popularity of the CDT grows. According to trail enthusiast, Deep, who has hiked all three of the main trails in the United States, the CDT didn’t used to be so crowded. “I think people are starting to realize that even though the trail is not complete, it can be traveled from Mexico to Canada. There are spots where you cannot find the trail, but it is getting better and better with each passing day,” said Deep.
Deep and his companions met in New Mexico and decided to travel together for only the fact that they began on the same day. “You don’t plan on having mates on the trail but it does make it easier when you do,” stated Deep. The hikers look for communities like South Fork well in advance when planning their trip and thank everyone who makes the gateway communities a possibility. “We have supplies packed into boxes and mailed strategically throughout our journey to towns like this, and when they are gateway communities, it makes it even better.”
Along their journey so far, the hikers that come from varying backgrounds have found one thing in common and that is the fact that when they return to civilization at the end of their journey, they will miss the silence and ease of trail life. Deep came state side several times to hike the Pacific Crest Trail, Appalachian Trail and now the CDT all the way from southwestern Germany. Diatom hails from sunny California and is spending his summer on the trail to clear his head and prepare for another year of work as a ceramic artist. Beans is on his first journey and comes from New Jersey where he is a marketing analyst.
Though the three were not in town long enough to use all of the resources available to them as CDT hikers, they did state that the fact that the resources are available makes all the difference in the world to the hiking community. “We depend on communities like this to help make the trip that much easier. We hike out on the trail; we get to town, and we don’t want to hike there too,” said Deep in response to how he felt about the bikes that were available for their use.
Next on their journey, the three hikers will take about six days to reach Lake City and from there will head over the Rocky Mountains and into Wyoming.