Continental Divide Hikers Traveling Through

Over the course of the summer, Whitehall has been inundated with both hikers as well as bicyclists. Last Wednesday two of these hikers stopped into the Ledger office to chat.

Jim "Just Jim" Cline (53) of Springfield, Missouri and Krista "Pockets" Isaacson (30) of Bartlett, Illinois have been hiking, continuously, since April 19th and 20th, respectively. They began at the US/Mexico border, about 85 miles south of Lordsburg, New Mexico. They are traveling the Continental Divide, within a 50 mile corridor, until they reach the Canadian border. Fires and other weather hazards have caused their course to stray a bit, but they are keeping within the 50 mile corridor of the Divide as much as possible. If all goes as planned, they will reach the Canadian border, via Glacier National Park, around October 10th.

Neither began the trek with the other, they became hiking buddies as their hiking partners bowed out due to the strain of the terrain. Cline said that one in five people who begin the trek actually stick with it. Pockets' original partner bowed out three weeks into the hike.

For Pockets, who earned her nickname because of her many placements for carrying equipment, this is a mental journey.

For Jim, whose nickname came because there was already another Jim in his original group, this has been a quest for the Triple Crown (hiking the Appalachian Trail, Continental Divide, and Pacific Crest Trail in their entirety) made possible because of his job hiatus due to COVID-19.

More hikers are on their way, the pair said, and they have let them all know what a great little town Whitehall is!