Your ideal fantasy long distance trail...

[Jay H]

Well heck, might as well link the long distance hiking trails, canoe/kayak trails to the ACA bike trails that crisscross the entire nation...

Jay

 

[Snowflea]

I'd settle for short side trails every few day's hiking time leading to the backyard of congenial pubs with good burgers and microbrews...

Great Britain perhaps? The Economist (I know, last place you'd expect to find a hiking-related article) had a good piece last month, the emphasis being on balancing "walkers' rights with property rights." (The last sentence was a bit weird though.) Do like the idea of a Rambler's Association, and I found the online comment section interesting!
http://www.economist.com/node/21541720

"The Mighty N" trail. "What the heck" you say? Connect the Pacific Crest Trail's northern end with the AT's Southern end. What you get would be a huge (albeit irregular) "N" across the USA. Now, how many thru hikers you think THAT thing would see in a year (I mean, it would take someone with A LOT of drive to spend all that time hiking across the dead flat areas of the Midwest!

Looking at a map of the Lower 48, it actually might not be that bad: Across the Cascades of Washington on the Pacific Northwest Trail... then the northern US Rockies in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, hitting the Divide and perhaps following it south for a bit... then the plains of eastern Colorado, Kansas (Flint Hills maybe?), and northeastern Oklahoma... but then the Ozarks and possibly Ouachitas (Ozark Highlands Trail/Ouachita Trail - both nice trails and definitely not flat!) in Arkansas... then a bit more flat land in either southern Tennessee or northern Mississippi before hitting the northern section of Pinhoti Trail in Georgia, which would bring you to the Benton MacKaye Trail... which in 70 miles more would get you pretty close to Springer Mtn. in Georgia. Not a perfect diagonal but connects the two points.

 

[woodstrider]

My ideal long distance trail would include;

lots of great scenery
great camp sites every evening next to a lake
remote wilderness

it would not include;

towns along the route
easy access
assholes

 

[Pat T]

My ideal long distance trail

The Resurrection Pass Trail, from Cooper Landing to Hope, Alaska, is my ideal--and I've already done it. A beautiful, above-tree-line trail of almost 40 miles, it has US Forest Service cabins that can be rented ahead of time. There are countless opportunities for bushwacking, a lake at almost every cabin, a row boat on every lake, snow on the surrounding mountains, gold in the creeks, wildlife all over the place, etc., etc., etc.

Pat T