If you were going to look into building a long distance trail in your state...

[BigCheddar]

I interested in starting a committee to look into building a long distance trail in my home state of Alaska. Where should I start? I thought of contacting local hiking groups, long distance hikers and other such groups but am not really sure if that’s a good place to start. Anyone have any ideas/thought on where to begin or how to proceed. I can tell you now that I would not be the one to head such a large project but I’d love to be directly involved. I apologize if this is not posted in the right area.

[Hooch]

I interested in starting a committee to look into building a long distance trail in my home state of Alaska. Where should I start?. . . .

I'd try starting in Alaska.

[couscous]

I would start by looking at the 4,680 mile loop Andrew Skurka did this year.
http://andrewskurka.com/AK10/index.php - National Geographic Magazine is planning a feature story about the trip in the March 2011 issue

[fiddlehead]

I'm doing a similar thing in Thailand.
Fortunately for me, people don't care if you go on their property, especially up above 80 meters above sea level (They're not allowed to build up there)

Anyway, except for the issues you are going to possibly have with private landowners, here's what I do to actually design a route:

I use Google Earth to plan my hopeful route. (if you hold down the shift key in GE and turn your mouse wheel, you'll tilt the earth to see the profile.
I like to go up the ridges and get to the top and basically try to stay there or a little on the leeward side of the mtn. (top is like the AT, 100 meters down from the top is like the PCT)
I spend a lot of time doing this and put in a lot of waypoints and create (draw) a route which i transfer that route to my GPS.
Then i go out and try to follow that route and use the waypoints for access.
I track my walking and then go back to GE and put this route in there in red. (the first one i do in white)

You can then upload it all to google maps and anyone can then walk your route.

Anyway, after a lot of trial, error, and bushwhacking, i have no completed 75 miles of a hiking trail in Phuket Thailand over a 3 year period. I expect my trail to be about 100 miles when i finish.
At that time i will give it all to the dept of tourism there and maybe they'll even build a trail through all that jungle.

Have fun. i sure have.

[TheChop]

Anyway, after a lot of trial, error, and bushwhacking, i have no completed 75 miles of a hiking trail in Phuket Thailand over a 3 year period. I expect my trail to be about 100 miles when i finish.
At that time i will give it all to the dept of tourism there and maybe they'll even build a trail through all that jungle.

So you'll finish your trail and then say, "Phuket. You guys take over!"

[4eyedbuzzard]

So you'll finish your trail and then say, "Phuket. You guys take over!"

Or, *****et, I'm phinished - I'm goin' phishin' . . .

[4eyedbuzzard]

Or, *****et, I'm phinished - I'm goin' phishin' . . .

Phrickin' ********** spell checkin' censors - I spelled Phuket wrong.

[4eyedbuzzard]

Hiking groups would be a great place to start, as would fishing / hunting groups. Contact state park / forest authorities and federal agencies as well for their input. Get some local politicians involved - not the kind who get big paychecks, at least in the beginning - rather the ones who do it to make a difference. Find a politically active champion.

I'd look into seeing what is already there trail wise in the hope of incorporating at least some existing trails into a longer trail (similar to how the AT was originally "assembled" through much of VT/NH/ME)

Good luck - and just don't name it "Sarah Palin's Alaska Trail" - PLEASE!

[Trailbender]

Yeah, I have definitely noticed people are way too uptight about personal property in the US. Yeah, it's land, you can never really own it, get over it. The earth belongs to all of us.

[garlic08]

Look at these links for the type of person it takes to do it:

http://www.aztrail.org/dale.html

http://www.coloradotrail.org/gudy.html

[ki0eh]

I've been involved in extending the longest footpath in PA and on into NY.

GIS is extremely helpful at a conceptual stage, looking at all of topography, soils, wetlands, land ownership patterns, drainage. If you don't have GIS resources Google Earth is a good start. Never totally believe what a GIS or Google Earth tell you, use these resources critically. If you don't believe me, ask the Nicaraguan army.

Although the land tenure is completely different in AK vs. PA and NY, the "Prime Directive" is likely the same. ALWAYS have permission from the land owner or land manager to consider your project BEFORE you even SCOUT on the ground looking for a path, or if public land setting any flags, clearing/marking anything, or doing anything outside the normal regulations on that tract. Show respect by your words and your actions. Gradually, not immediately, you and your project will get respect, if you deserve it by showing respect first. Have patience.

Don't ask the land managers immediately to change all their regulations for your trail. Work within them. Have patience. They won't believe you, the outsider that things like "no camping" rules are counterproductive. They may have to see that for themselves over years of cooperative effort.

Even with all that you may very well have some power mad manager who will say no or impose some idiotic restriction. Have patience. A few months after they retire have a talk with their successor. Use that time to be up and working on the next more pliable segment, hopefully on both sides of the guy who says "it's not in my ten-year plan" or similar bureaucratic inaction. Don't be afraid to work the middle from both ends if you have to.

Work with a top-down vision and ground-up work. Deal first and foremost with the front-line managers and work your way up from there.

Develop relationships with your users, often they know the front-line managers and the front-line managers know them.

With patience and determination, you can build a legacy with little money. Grant-funded headquarters directives aren't lasting. Ground-up grassroots initiatives, with time, can. Just look at the A.T., and PCT, not necessarily as they currently are, but find out how they came to be.

[fiddlehead]

So you'll finish your trail and then say, "Phuket. You guys take over!"

Or, I'll go thru-hike it.
Of course there is still no trail, only a route.
I must get better at sharpening up that machete though.

[skinewmexico]

Impossible in my state, almost all private land.

[weary]

Impossible in my state, almost all private land.

The route MacKaye proposed for the AT was "almost all private land." But the trail got built, and at least a narrow corridor stretching 2,175 miles became public land, showing what private individuals with the cooperation of wise government can accomplish.

[Mags]

Impossible in my state, almost all private land.

Depends on what you consider a long trail, but there is this trail:

http://www.lshtclub.com/Default.htm

(128 miles...a bit short for a long trail..but it is a start. Could see where the private land could be an issue for anything longer! This thread has interesting info on the issues.)

[Bear Bag]

I don't know how helpful this will be, but it may be an arrow for your quiver:


Trail Effects on Neighborhoods: Home Value, Safety, Quality of Life

http://www.americantrails.org/resour...madjacent.html

[Ladytrekker]

I interested in starting a committee to look into building a long distance trail in my home state of Alaska. Where should I start? I thought of contacting local hiking groups, long distance hikers and other such groups but am not really sure if that’s a good place to start. Anyone have any ideas/thought on where to begin or how to proceed. I can tell you now that I would not be the one to head such a large project but I’d love to be directly involved. I apologize if this is not posted in the right area.

I would talk to the AT Conservancy and Florida Trail Assoc and see what there first out of the gate grass roots efforts were. I know that the Florida Trail gets most of their money thru grants from the FWC (Florida Wildlife Management) and federal money for forest conservation.

The biggest issues are acquisition of lands. You must acquire the lands to place the trail and if the property is privately owned you must get permission from the home owner. The other obstacles are liability of persons using the land. I don't want to talk you out of it because it can be done. By adapting the trail in Florida many acres of land have been acquired by the state for the Trail which will preserve this land hopefully forever.

I would however think that a good majority of the land in Alaska especially wilderness land is owned by the state, which could solve many of the issues.

Don't think this sounds stupid but I would approach or write Sarah Palin her interest in Alaska and its conservation along with promoting hikers to come hike for tourism she may answer you and point you in the direction of who to approach.

Just my thoughts.

[ki0eh]

Land "acquisition" for a trail means very different things to different people in different contexts.

In PA and NY, as in many other states, clearing and minimal marking of a natural surface trail through the woods with the permission of the landowner is an activity protected from liability of the landowner to the user by statute. Such laws are referred to as Recreational Use Statutes, and are said to exist in every state though the terms vary.

In many cases, it is not necessary to purchase land in fee simple to "acquire" it for a trail. The organizations I'm most involved with use many at-will or handshake agreements where the landowner gives up no rights, the trail pays nothing, the liability is relieved as described above.

With such agreements the trail is not protected from a change of heart by the landowner. It also has minimum involvement by the "gummint".

[Ladytrekker]

Ki0eh thanks for the legal info, I know that in Florida we do both acquire and private land use. In Florida it is very hard to find open/free land. The State of Florida started a Forever Florida campaign and have been acquiring as much land as possible on river fronts, non passable lands anything that could be used in conservation and trail building. Florida has been exploding in the last few years of persons now getting out into the inner environments with kayaking, hiking and backpacking. Most people think of Florida for the beaches but we are a whole lot more than that.

[Alaskanhkr23]

Hey where -in The valley you ,live? i used to live in Palmer and wassilla,then moved Outside of the Fairbanks