By Mary Catherine Brooks
In the coming years, hikers of the Great Eastern Trail will impact the area economy just as ATV riders are now doing through the Hatfields-McCoy Recreational Trails, according to Steve Clark, a West Virginia State University Extension agent based in Wyoming County and a veteran hiker.
The Great Eastern Trail is America’s newest long distance trail. It is a non-motorized trail, primarily used for hiking, that will run from Alabama to New York, and is approximately 1,800 miles long.
The trail is similar to the famed Appalachian Trail, Becky Morris, West Virginia trail coordinator, noted.
“The Great Eastern Trail is on the western side of the mountains, the Appalachian Trail is on the eastern side,” she explained.
Morris is also a veteran hiker, who completed 1,200 miles of the Appalachian Trail last summer. She has also hiked four islands of Hawaii.
Morris is currently working to get the trail completed through Wyoming, Mercer, Mingo, Raleigh, and Summers counties in southern West Virginia.
This section of the Great Eastern Trail will enter West Virginia at Matewan, on to R.D. Bailey Lake Wildlife Management Area, a few miles north of Pineville, into Twin Falls Resort State Park, through Mullens, across Barkers Ridge, traversing Camp Creek State Park, Pipestem State Park, Bluestone State Park, and up the New River through the Bluestone Lake Wildlife Management Area, to hook up with the Allegheny Trail.
By linking existing trails, more than 70 percent of the Great Eastern Trail is already in place and open, according to officials.
Volunteers are needed to construct and map the southern West Virginia section. Some of those volunteers will come from across the nation, organizers said, but area residents are also needed.
The trail is also expected to provide an opportunity for volunteers of all ages to develop team-building skills and practice “Leave No Trace” techniques, while participating in volunteer projects, Morris said.
“The trail will also encourage communities, hikers, and volunteers to conserve, protect, restore, and learn about nationally significant landscapes recognized for the cultural, ecological and scenic values,” she said.
“By creating the trail, we can bring substantial environmental and economic benefits to the region,” Morris said. “Hikers of all types from around the country are already talking about helping to build this trail, so that they can use it. The Great Eastern Trail will rival the Appalachian Trail... The local community needs a place to take a stroll, a jog, or a place to spend quality family time.”
Morris hosted a volunteer party Monday at Twin Falls Resort State Park to encourage participation. The group organized the TuGuNu Hiking Club, which is named for the Tug, the Guyandotte, and the New rivers, she explained. Steve Reece, of Mullens, was selected as president, she said.
Hikers and volunteers have organized their first hike Jan. 30, beginning at 10 a.m. on the Golf Pro Shop parking lot in Twin Falls Resort State Park. David “Bugs” Stover, master naturalist, and Joe Swiney, park naturalist, will lead the hike. Participants should wear comfortable shoes and bring their drinking water, Morris said. A picnic is also planned.
As the trail becomes more popular among hikers from across the world, the area will need additional lodging and restaurants, outfitters, laundromats, among other services geared toward hikers, Morris said.
“I’ve always been a physical person — kayaking, backpacking, and canoeing,” Morris said, adding she believes the trail will allow area residents to also improve their own health.
“I’ve been looking for a gym where I can work out,” she said, adding it has been difficult to find one in Wyoming County.
Morris comes from Houston, Texas, the fourth largest city in the nation, and is working from the Wyoming County Economic Development Authority office in Pineville.
“I got here and there are no traffic lights, only two-lane roads. This has been a new experience for me,” she said.
“But I’m glad I’m here.”
Morris is looking to involve the community as much as possible.
“After all, this is their trail,” she emphasized.
Leadership for the project is provided by the Great Eastern Trail Association, with the assistance of the National Park Service’s Rivers and Trails Program, in conjunction with the American Hiking Society and local trail partners.
To become involved, contact Becky Morris at 304-732-6707 or by e-mail at queenbecky@mail.com.
For more information about the trail, visit www.GreatEasternTrail. net.
