Why aren't people interested in Great Eastern Trail?

[Ktaadn]

I much prefer less crowded trails, but is the GET finished? Are there road walks? Is there easy access to the TH's and are decent, affordable, trail guides available?

Yes, these questions come from a position of ignorance and are somewhat rhetorical...

[handlebar]

I can tell you for certain one of the weirdest and most unpleasant shelter experiences I ever had was on the Finger Lakes Trail.

I assume that the "weird and unpleasant experience" was the result of interaction with another hiker. I found all the shelters on the FLT where it coincides with the NCT to be really nice with the exception of one (Kimmie's Shelter) which had a leaky roof and a floor that was collapsing. When it started the predicted rain, I simply relocated to a dry portion of the floor that still was intact. Otherwise, all the FLT shelters I stayed in and passed by were really nice.

[handlebar]

... One of the problems I worry about is the occasional town stop. Along the AT corridor, ragged hikers are a common sight and probably don't elicit all that much response from the locals. Along the GET, or similar lesser-known trail, you don't have that advantage. Folks may react with alarm. I suppose it was like that in '76 along the AT as well. ...

No one ever reacted with alarm on the lesser known trails that I've hiked. In fact, everyone was really kind. I had the experience of being offered money 3 times on the Florida Trail and once on the FLT when I took an alternate through Hornell NY to get a town breakfast. These offers (which I declined with the explanation that I was a long distance hiker and voluntarily homeless) came from people who appeared to be living from paycheck to paycheck. I found this helped me maintain my faith in the fundamental goodness of the fast majority of people. Along the FLT, I had numerous offers of water (there had been a drought and many of the springs and streams were dry), places to camp in people's yards, showers in their house. Most of these "trail angels" weren't aware that the Finger Lakes Trail passed by their homes.
I didn't have any offers of money on the sections of the GET that I've hiked (MST-PA, Standing Stone, and Tuscarora Trail, but I did have offers of a ride back to the trail from town and other spontaneous acts of kindness.

[handlebar]

Back to the question of why more people aren't interested. I think it's a focus on the iconic trails like the AT that everyone recognizes combined with the need to put forth a lot of effort to plan a long distance trek. The AT is THE famous long distance trail that everyone seems to know about. After hiking it I got the itch to do the triple crown and used some of the shorter trails as training. That's how I got to know the Allegheny Trail and Mid-State (PA) Trail. I personally enjoy planning long distance hikes while I'm cooped up in the house in the winter. (Well, I plan to get out over the winter to finish the final 200 miles of NCT in PA that I left due to hunting season). For my NY & PA chunk of the NCT, there were resources if one bothered to look. The map sets available from the Finger Lakes Trail Assoc were great. I combined these with excellent info from Central NY Hiking pages and the Trails Illustrated Maps of the Adirondacks. A little work with Google Maps provided resupply information in the towns. If the trail has an organization backing it, there will be a way to contact folks that care about the trail for beta. This was particularly helpful for the ALT and MST-PA.

[FootPathOne]

Personally, I can't seem to locate any campsites or shelters along the 70 mile long Standing Stone Trail, which is part of the Great Eastern Trail, which is a deterrent. Almost impossible to establish a trail community if there is no place to meet for the night, as has been successfully done along the Appalachian Trail.

[Seatbelt]

Personally, I can't seem to locate any campsites or shelters along the 70 mile long Standing Stone Trail, which is part of the Great Eastern Trail, which is a deterrent. Almost impossible to establish a trail community if there is no place to meet for the night, as has been successfully done along the Appalachian Trail.

Having hiked the entire trail{some parts of it many times} and camped a few places, I can assure you that there ar plenty of spots to camp. There also is a new shelter built recently just south of the Jack's Mtn fire tower on South Jacks Mtn.
The GET alternate route that goes through Williamsburg has long stretches with very little available camping also.

[FootPathOne]

I truly appreciate your rely! I'm planning to do plus/minus 15 miles per day in May 2017. Would you be able to suggest a few possibilities within a rough area of every 15 miles for me? The SST maps I've downloaded don't show any campsite / shelter symbols - I rather not deal with any potential conflicts with private owners or public officials. Thank you!

[pilgrimskywheel]

The first response nailed it. Because there is no free lunch program, AND - wait for it - no cult of personality to join. If a hiker hikes in the forest, and nobody hears about it - did it actually happen?

[Seatbelt]

I truly appreciate your rely! I'm planning to do plus/minus 15 miles per day in May 2017. Would you be able to suggest a few possibilities within a rough area of every 15 miles for me? The SST maps I've downloaded don't show any campsite / shelter symbols - I rather not deal with any potential conflicts with private owners or public officials. Thank you!

I will try to jog my memory, where are you starting and approx. what time of day?

[AO2134]

I would hike it as an alternative to the AT (and all its craziness) in a heart beat if it were complete, well maintained and well marked.

I love the AT, but the crowds are just too much. I guess I've done portions of the GET when I section hiked the entire Pinhoti Trail this year.

[Seatbelt]

I truly appreciate your rely! I'm planning to do plus/minus 15 miles per day in May 2017. Would you be able to suggest a few possibilities within a rough area of every 15 miles for me? The SST maps I've downloaded don't show any campsite / shelter symbols - I rather not deal with any potential conflicts with private owners or public officials. Thank you!

Here are a few suggestions for camping;
Going NOBO, you could camp between Nine-Mile Run at the base of Cove Mtn several spots until you get to the Turnpike underpass. I have camped in this area and the northernmost part right after Vanderbuilt's Folly is marked as private land. I camped there anyway not noticing the sign with no problems.
Going north from there, it will be hard to find a spot for a while until you get to monument rock where some have camped on the short side trail to the monument(don't miss this--it is what the trail is named after)
From the monument north camping will be sparse because of the rocky terrain until you get to the Locke Valley Rd, one caould camp just before you get there or at the bottom of the mountain decent--lots of flat area there--although it is on State Gamelands.
Next you have roughly 6 miles of roadwalking from Meadow Gap to west of Three Springs, then a gravel road climb of 2 miles before you head off to the left to Roaring Run, a place to camp is right before you turn back right to enter the woods. Again State gamelands for several miles here.
The shelter is approx 9 miles north of Three Springs probly half of it on dirt/gravel roads and there are places one could camp the closer you get to the shelter.
North of the shelter, about 5 miles to Singers Run there a re a couple of decent places to camp and after you reach the top of Jacks Mtn the dirt road walk goes past several possible places. The closer you get to Windy Vista, the rockier the terrain.
I suppose one could camp at the base of Jacks Mtn before you get to the water Co reservoir.
At the top of the 1000 steps is the Dinky house and there is evidence that some camp there from time to time--it would be a good shelter from bad weather.
Topping out on Jacks Mtn, I saw a couple of places that people used closed to the radio towers.
I would avoid trying to plan on camping coming down the north side of Jack's Mtn toward PA655 lots of private property. Next camping will not be until you have climbed Stone mtn.
The trail from PA655 to Frew rd has several flat spots and is easy hiking, the best camping is probly after you reach Frew Rd(the 1st time) in the Rocky Ridge natural Area.
I do not remember any camping spots between Allensville Rd and Stone Valley Vista although there probly is a place or two--this is a very rocky/slow hiking ridge top with no water.
The descent into Greenwood Furnace State park has a spot or two one could use although camping is available in the park.
For more info, you could ask PAHiker is a trail maintainer for at least part of this trail and could help out with more info.
Hope this helps, Seatbelt.

[FootPathOne]

Awesome! Your information is just what I needed - hopefully the SST Org can update their maps with your suggestions, provided you do not mind. I'm limited to 1 week away from work for each occurrence, plus the AT in PA is known for heavy foot traffic, so the 70 miles of the SST appears to be an ideal alternative. Thanks again.

[FootPathOne]

My wife and I are going to camp at Cowans Gap State Park on the nights of May 13 and14, so I'm heading on the SST at first light on May 15.

[FootPathOne]

I found this link about a Standing Stone Trail Thru-Hike after a few search attempts on WhiteBlaze.net: https://endlessmountains.wordpress.c...e-trail-day-1/

[FootPathOne]

The SST on WhiteBlaze.net: http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/show...96#post1368596

[Dogwood]

No one ever reacted with alarm on the lesser known trails that I've hiked.

Wish I could say that. Even though I eventually received rides always from kind people while attempting to get a ride standing on the roadside with my thumb out and talking up a ride at overlooks, gas stations, TH's etc I definitely had much tougher times getting rides in some areas. Even in well know LT and AT areas in VT in some of the haughty toity towns with a high population of financially wealthy out of state home owners with a second or third "vacation" home in VT who were visiting from CT, MA, NY, etc I've had some difficult getting a ride experiences.

Difficult times hitching in CO after a CT thru from Durango back to Denver too.

I had a tough time getting a ride on a Pinhoti Tr Thru from Cave Spring back to single track when deciding to yellow blaze a narrow high speed 2 lane paved road walk segment without a hard or soft shoulder.

Most difficult, as Rafe pointed out, was hitchhiking back and forth between the trail and resupply pts on a recent little known Oregon Coast Tr thru.

[Dogwood]

Personally, I can't seem to locate any campsites or shelters along the 70 mile long Standing Stone Trail, which is part of the Great Eastern Trail, which is a deterrent. Almost impossible to establish a trail community if there is no place to meet for the night, as has been successfully done along the Appalachian Trail.

I've heard or thought this so many times on several trails including the GET. It never was the way I heard or thought.

Having hiked the entire trail{some parts of it many times} and camped a few places, I can assure you that there ar plenty of spots to camp. There also is a new shelter built recently just south of the Jack's Mtn fire tower on South Jacks Mtn.
The GET alternate route that goes through Williamsburg has long stretches with very little available camping also.

As said +1 Although established CS's or shelters aren't known or widely depicted this IMHO is what makes a hike better...less unknowns which each hiker has to account for. It's a hike in the truer spirit of adventure.

[FootPathOne]

Agreed. So long as there are obvious signs adjacent to the route with "Keep Out", or equivalent in order to avoid potential conflicts with the land owners, then the "spirit of adventure" can roam free without the risks of legal complications, a.k.a., CYA :-)

[Seatbelt]

Awesome! Your information is just what I needed - hopefully the SST Org can update their maps with your suggestions, provided you do not mind. I'm limited to 1 week away from work for each occurrence, plus the AT in PA is known for heavy foot traffic, so the 70 miles of the SST appears to be an ideal alternative. Thanks again.

Most of these areas you can hike for miles without seeing anyone. The exceptions would be around Greenwood Furnace park, the 1000 steps area, Maplewood, Three Springs, the Monument area and Cowans Gap park. Water can be a concern, be sure you filter the water at the base of the 1000 steps and some of the creeks are dry at times. I love this trail, some parts are quite difficult, some parts are easy, lots of good views, but mostly what I like is how remote it is, especially compared to the AT. Enjoy your hike!

[kf1wv]

. . . If a hiker hikes in the forest, and nobody hears about it - did it actually happen?

1. www.gethiking.net (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COAF...Ll1Ql-6pk2E1QA)
2. https://www.facebook.com/kathy.finch.5473