Thru-hiking the Continental Divide Trail is one of the longest and loneliest undertakings in American long-distance hiking, and every year a small cohort of hikers finishes it and quietly moves on with their lives. Outdoor publication The Trek wants to make sure the class of 2026 gets its moment. The site has opened submissions for its annual CDT Finisher series, inviting anyone who completed the trail in 2026 to send in their finish photos for inclusion in the feature.
The idea is simple: hikers submit photos marking the end of their trek — often taken at a trail terminus, summit sign, or monument — and The Trek compiles them into a gallery celebrating everyone who made it. The series will be updated on a rolling basis through the autumn, so hikers still on the trail as the seasons turn don't need to rush. There's no deadline panic here; finish late, submit when you're ready, and you'll still be counted among the 2026 class.
For context, the CDT runs roughly 3,100 miles along the Rocky Mountains, from the border of Mexico in New Mexico up through Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho and Montana to the Canadian border. It's the least travelled of America's so-called Triple Crown trails — fewer people finish it in a given year than complete the Appalachian Trail or the Pacific Crest Trail — which is exactly why the finisher community is so tight-knit. Completing it typically takes four to six months of walking through desert, alpine passes and grizzly country.
For readers plotting their own long hike, the finisher galleries are more than just congratulation posts. They're a realistic snapshot of who actually completes the trail, what the finish moments look like, and when hikers tend to roll into their final miles — useful intel if you're weighing a start date or trying to picture yourself at the northern terminus.
Whether you've just tagged the last sign of 2026 or you're a few seasons away from your own attempt, it's a good excuse to browse past finisher classes and start dreaming. And if you did finish this year, submit your photo and take the bow — very few people earn it.
Read the original at The Trek.
