Great Eastern Trail Links 1,800 Miles of Trails From Alabama to New York

According to the Great Eastern Trail Association, who is working with the American Hiking Society and local trail partners in the United States, the next long distance hiking trail is under construction.  The route, which lies west of the Appalachian Trail, will run through the states of Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and New York, in the more remote parts of Appalachia.  The Great Eastern Trail (GET) will be 1,800 miles long.  Experts hope the trail will take stress off of the much-used Appalachian Trail (AT), which receives over 4 million section and thru-hikers annually.

The GET will be compiled of a series of already-existing trails that are being linked together.  According to the Great Eastern Trail Association, while sections of the trail are still gapped, efforts are underway to find suitable routes.  Like the AT, this trail will be closed to motorized vehicles and will be maintained by the volunteers of the various organizations.  However, sections of the trail currently used by horseback riders and mountain bikers will remain open to those activities.

Here are a list of a few of the various volunteer organizations geared towards the completion of the Great Eastern Trail.  Join today and GET hiking!

• Great Eastern Trail Association (www.greateasterntrail.net)
• Alabama Hiking Trail Society (www.hikealabama.org)
• Alabama Trails Association (www.alabamatrailsasso.org)
• Georgia Pinhoti Trails Association (www.georgiapinhoti.org)
• Cumberland Trail Conference (www.cumberlandtrail.org)
• Pine Mountain Trail Conference (www.pinemountaintrail.org)
• West Virginia Scenic Trails Association (www.wvscenictrail.org)
• Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (www.patc.net)
• Standing Stone Trail Club (www.hike-sst.org)
• Mid-State Trail Association (www.hike-mst.org)
• Finger Lakes Trail Conference (www.fltconference.org/trails)

Josh Wolfe

It didn’t take long for me, following in my father’s footsteps (literally), to develop a deep appreciation for the outdoors. Because it’s there in the wind, in the rain and a cool summer sunrise where I’ve learned more than in all the classrooms combined. My journalistic work is the sum of all I’ve taken from the outdoors and all I want to give back.

It was during a long, grueling two-year stint working as a banker in Huntsville, Alabama, I finally realized I needed to follow my dreams. After sojourning several places across the country, I now call Asheville, North Carolina, home, where I am the co-founder, publisher and editor of The Golf Sport (www.golfsportmag.com) magazine and editor of Sporting Classics Daily (www.sportingclassicsdaily.com). I am also a contributor to OutdoorHub and Global Outfitters, and hope to really inflate that balloon over the next couple years.

For me, it’s the power of the pen that makes the outdoor adventure live forever – as it is resurrected on the page in front of me. I am so fortunate to be a part of the outdoor community and make my passion a career.