Adam, I'm pretty sure I went through private land, mostly cross country, following dried creek beds. Here's what I did:Hi Francis,
I have a question. I am hiking the CDT in 2013 and wanted to do like you did and start and Antelope Wells and hike to Crazy Cook. I was wondering if you could tell me your details. Did you go cross country, old jeep trails, is the land private, etc? I have been researching it online and kind of found a route, but wanted to ask you about your route.
Very appreciative of any input
Thanks
Adam
1. From Antelope Wells, you'll walk nearly 15 miles north next to Hwy 81 (stay off the road to be kind to your feet).
2. Somewhere between mile 12-15, when you see an opening that looks doable, get off Hwy 81 and walk east. You'll be "bushwhacking," although "cross-country" is more like it since you'll rarely have a whack a bush.
3. If you look at the satellite view on Google Maps, you'll see 5 green "crop circles" in a row. If the southernmost one is #1, then you may want to walk between #2 and #3. There's a little dirt road there. Even though I'm suggesting you to do this, I did not do this because I preferred hiking south of all those circles so that I didn't attract any unnecessary attention. However, the idea is that you'll eventually connect with that dirt road (which will fade away) and continue going east so that you split (walk between) those two hills east of the crop circles. That's roughly where I camped since it was getting dark when I got there. BTW, this also shows that I was going through that private property after working hours, which probably helped me getting spotted by the folks who work there. Of course, if someone catches you, they will probably be understanding.
4. Keep heading east until you hit the border and Crazy Cook should be 1-5 miles north of you, depending on how you angled in.
There's obviously water to create those crop circles, but I didn't investigate. Instead, I carried 6+ liters of water. You might want to gamble and get water at some water spot by the crop circles (I assume there's one there, but no guarantee), since it's the only place for miles. Or maybe cache some water off of Hwy 81 on your way down to Antelope Wells. That's probably your smartest bet, assuming whoever gives you a ride there is willing to make a quick pit stop for you.
The friendly US Border Guards let me fill up my water bottles in their restroom at Antelope Wells.
If crossing private property freaks you out (it shouldn't), then start heading east around 5-7 miles north of Antelope Wells and follow the natural path between the hills.
Navigating there isn't hard, mainly because there's no water to miss and if you keep heading east you will run into the obvious border.
The terrain is flat all the way (and beyond) Crazy Cook, so you'll make some quick miles. The downside is the lack of water. Good luck and let me know how it goes!