I have to admit that I spend a good amount of time thinking about which trail (or section of a trail) is next. I recently discovered and thought I should share this thorough list of long-distance trails in the U.S. If you’re like me, this list makes your eyes get bigger and your heart beat faster.

U.S. Long-Distance Trails Page on Wikipedia

 

 LDB 02 | Interview with Susan Alcorn (Part 1 of 2): Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This episode includes the first half of an interview with Susan Alcorn, author of Camino Chronicle: Walking to Santiago. The book tells the story of her adventure on the Camino de Santiago, a 500-mile trek across northern Spain, and gives tips to those who are planning a Camino hike.  It was published in 2006 and was one of three finalists for the 2007 Benjamin Franklin Award for Best Travel Essay.

In the interview, we discuss Susan’s backpacking career and review the content of her book.  For more information about the Camino de Santiago and Susan, visit her website at www.backpack45.com.

While reviewing the 2009 PCTA Trail Fest schedule today, I noticed the name of a hiking trail that I’d never seen before.  The Great Baikal Trail will be Russia’s first long-distance trail at 1,200 miles and will wrap around Lake Baikal in Siberia.

One PCTA article claimed that “The GBT would include beach walks, views of the surrounding mountains that rival those of the Grand Tetons, vast treeless steppe land, taiga mountain forests, riparian watersheds and wetlands, and chances to view rare wildlife such as the only freshwater seals in the world, sable, elk, and bear.”

The Great Baikal Trail Association has been formed to develop the trail.  I found their mission statement at their website: The Great Baikal Trail Association is an international, volunteer-driven, non-profit organization that works to develop, maintain, promote, and protect Russia’s first network of hiking trails, and thereby advocate for the sustainable development of Lake Baikal.

Visit the GBTA site at www.greatbaikaltrail.org for more information and details regarding trail crew volunteer opportunites in Russia.

Suzanne Wilson, a PCTA regional representative who traveled to Lake Baikal as a trail consultant, will be speaking about the GBT project at this year’s PCTA Trail Fest in Portland, OR.