The Quadruple Crown

               One of the first trails of its kind, the Appalachian Trail (AT) is one of three complete National Scenic Trails (along with the Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide Trail) that makes up the Triple Crown of long distance hiking.  This iconic 2,000+ mile trail, first proposed in 1921 by Benton Mackaye, was cleared and completed a mere seven years after construction began in 1930 (Gambino 2009).  While this trail follows the Appalachian Mountains from Georgia to Maine, it does not intersect the Adirondacks, a geologically isolated and unique region in northern New York.  Inspired by the success of the Appalachian Trail, Congress in the 1980s passed legislation to allow construction of a new National Scenic Trail, the North Country National Scenic Trail (NCNST), which would follow a 4,600 mile track through the diverse landscapes of the northern United States, including the Adirondacks. 

               The NCNST has not experienced the swift, uninterrupted construction enjoyed by the Appalachian Trail.  Only about half of the trail has been completed since its proposal more than thirty years ago because of disputes over proposed routes and trail building costs (ecological and economic).  One highly contentious region along the NCNST is the Adirondacks.  Three proposals for possible routes through the Adirondack Park have been suggested: the Northern Route, the Southern Route, and the Central Route.  The APA ultimately rejected the Northern Route in the 1990s because of its traverse of the High Peaks region, an area already barely supporting the high volume of tourism is experiences without an influx of thru-hikers.  The Southern Route is also unlikely to be approved—its long detour through the southern Adirondacks requires extensive trail construction and includes several dangerous road and river crossings.  The most likely candidate as of 2014 is the Central Route, which passes in between the proposed Northern and Southern routes, avoiding high traffic areas and requiring the least new trail construction (NCNST 2014).

               While the Central Route appears the most promising, the language is deceptive: while it “mostly” follows existing trails (51%, or 81 miles), the remaining 49% requires 38.3 miles of new trails and 39.1 miles of road-side walking (Ingersoll 2014).  Because of limited land-use along the proposed Central Route, building the required trails imposes little ecological cost to the land, but the 39.1 miles of road-side hiking endangers the hikers and strains park traffic (Ingersoll 2014).  Further, walking along a road is not attractive and will discourage hikers from attempting the thru-hike in the Adirondacks.

               The Adirondacks represent one of the most exciting landscapes along this new National Scenic Trail, and unless a decent trail traversing the park can be agreed upon, the Adirondack section may never join the rest of the NCNST.  The North Country National Scenic Trail offers a wide array of landscape diversity across the Northern and Mid-Western United States, and the Adirondacks should take advantage of the opportunity join this route and boast its forests… not its roads.

Thank you to Jenna Crawford for her editorial comments.

References:

Ingersoll, Bill.  14 July 2014.  “Routing a National Trail through the Adirondacks.”  Adirondack Almanack.  URL: < http://www.adirondackalmanack.com/2014/07/bill-ingersoll-routing-a-national-trail-through-the-adirondacks.html>.

Gambino, Megan.  13 July 2009.  “Tales from the Appalachian Trail.”  Smithsonian.com.  URL: <http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/tales-from-the-appalachian-trail-34902244/?no-ist>.

North Country National Scenic Trail: Revised Draft Adirondack Park Trail Plan.  June 2014.  Department of Environmental Conservation.  URL: < http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/39658.html>.