Great Baikal Trail

Irkutsk traveler and writer Valentin Bryanskii promoted the idea of a circular trail around Baikal beginning in the 1970s.

Between 2002-2003, the U.S. Forest Service funded a series of exchanges between professionals, trail builders, and representatives from the protected regions around Lake Baikal.

At the same time, two organizations – the Federation of Sports Tourism and Mountaineering of the Republic of Buryatia and Earth Island Institute's Baikal Watch in San Francisco, United States – were awarded a joint grant from the Foundation for Russian American Economic Cooperation for an exchange program to share experience in trail construction.

In February 2004, three young people were sent to train at the organization EarthCorps, in Seattle, United States, to gain skills on trail construction and volunteer management.

A crew leader is a GBT specialist who has been trained in trail construction and maintenance, and who has shown an ability to manage international teams in an outdoor setting.