to build out connections between the trails. From 1935 through 1938, YMCA groups explored the 2,000 mi of potential trail and planned a route, which has been closely followed by the modern PCT route. 40 groups of teenagers, led by Warren Rogers, logged their journeys between Mexico and Canada. Clarke remained president of the conference for 25 years, and Rogers eventually became its executive secretary.

In 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson defined the PCT and the Appalachian Trail with the National Trails System Act.