Passages Magazine | Spring 2024

BOOK | THE GREAT DIVIDE

If you can’t do this, you can’t do grizzlies.

The thought of hiking the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (CDT) was terrifying for author Tim Voors. The planning for his 2022 thru-hike started two years before he actually hit the trail, with rigorous mental exercises. From sleeping in a cemetery to grappling with everyday obstacles, Voors prodded himself through uncomfortable situations and some self-imposed challenges with an inner voice that repeated, “If you can’t handle this, you can’t handle the CDT.”

In his new book, The Great Divide, Voors addressed the mental challenges of hiking the CDT and chronicled the many pathways that one experiences during a thru-hike of one of North America’s most remote and rugged long trails. Despite his early reticence, Voors said that he, “Longed for the endless emptiness… America [is] one of the few places where you can really find that.”

The Great Divide reads like a journal, but the story is steeped in stunning photographs and the author’s original art, some of which he created while on the trail. Voors always hikes with art supplies, and his trademark gesture of gratitude along the journey is to gift trail angels and helpful people with a small sketch– earning him the trail name “Van Go.”

Although the author likes to write about what he calls “the rock and roll edge” of being on the trail, Voors is genuinely appreciative of the communities and the people along the way. The book is his way of paying tribute to the trail, giving back to CDT communities, and conveying the richness that anyone can experience in the outdoors. This book will generate excitement for upcoming adventures for the reader or offer a glimpse of the personal depths and expansive landscapes found while hiking the Divide.

Tim Voors lives near Amsterdam with his family. The Great Divide was released in the spring of 2024, and more information can be found on the publisher’s website or where books are sold.