First Hiker to Transit the Greenway in Maine

Ed Talone, Trail Information Specialist for the American Hiking Society, is planning to hike the 440 mile Maine coastal segment of the East Coast Greenway. Starting at Calais on August 30^th, he hopes to reach Kittery at the New Hampshire border by Sept. 17^th. An avid, long-distance hiker, he has hiked nearly 40,000 miles in 47 states. Included in his longer hikes are 2 traverses of the Appalachian Trail, the 4500 mile North Country Trail in 1994 and a walk across America in 1999. Ed has also walked thousands of miles on old railroad grades and canals.

There are 6 relatively-short. designated segments of the East Coast Greenway currently complete and open. The majority of the route is still in various stages of planning including the two longest segments – the Downeast/Sunrise trail (from Calais to Brewer) and the Eastern Trail (from So. Portland to Kittery). The route currently utilizes low traffic, bicycle & walker friendly roads to connect the completed sections. It is this route that Ed Talone will walk. A detailed description of the route can be downloaded at http://www.state.me.us/mdot/biketours.htm.

About this trip Ed says; " I am looking forward to seeing lots of beautiful scenery along the Maine coast. This will be a new experience for me. I am excited by the concept of the East Coast Greenway and am honored to have a chance to contribute. I hope that supporters of the trail will come out to join me for a walk as I head south."

ED TALONE’S SCHEDULE:

8/29 Arrive AMTRAK – Portland, 8/30 Depart Calais - East Ridge Rd., 8/31 East Machias, 9/1 Columbia Falls, 9/2 Unionville, 9/3 West Sullivan, 9/4 Ellsworth, 9/5 Verona Park, 9/6 Halls Corner, 9/7 Camden, 9/8 Waterman Beach, 9/9 Waldoboro, 9/10 Pemaquid, 9/11 Sheepscot, 9/12 Brunswick, 9/13 Yarmouth, 9/14 Rt.1 South Portland, 9/15 Biddeford, 9/16 North Berwick, 9/17 Kittery

The East Coast Greenway, the "trail connecting cities", is one of the 16 National Millennium Trails in the US and will link all of the major cities along the Eastern seaboard from Maine’s Canadian border to the southern tip of Florida. The East Coast Greenway Alliance partners with local, state, and national agencies and organizations to promote the establishment, preservation and use of this long-distance multi-use trail system. The entire 2,600 mile corridor has been mapped.. The Greenway is 20% complete and on-track to be 80% off-road by 2010.