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Trail Dirt: The 2003 North American Long Trails List

by "Camper Dave" Cobb

After last year's trail list I welcomed you to submit additional trails for the list or correct any errors; I received a number of emails and letters providing me with updates, corrections and long trails for the list. Thanks for the helpful input. You are again welcome to provide me with helpful input this year. My email address is traildirt@msn.com.

As with last year's list, some of the distances are debatable, so I've used mileage given by the trail organizations. For the National Scenic Trails, I've used mileage provided by Kathleen Ann Cordes in her book "America's National Scenic Trails."

I've also ignored National Historic Trails again since they're not really defined as hiking trails. The same goes for many of the Millennium Trails and Rails to Trails, which are more conducive to bicycles. I've also omitted tracks that are more of a dream than a reality such as the Hayduke Trail, the Washington Coast Trail or the Everett Ruess Trail. These three trails may someday be defined paths with association backing, but not today. Some trails such as the Chilkoot and West Coast Trail are omitted because they just aren't long enough for me to classify them as long distance paths.

The North American Long Trails List

Updated Spring 2003