NEWRY – Work on the remaining 21 miles of the Grafton Loop Trail is pretty much on schedule, according to one of the footpath’s promoters.

“The second half is all laid out,” said Landon Fake of Hurricane Island Outward Bound. “The corridor is cut. Steps, water bars and erosion control stuff are still being worked on.”

Fake said the 21-mile section, which will connect with the 21-mile Grafton Loop Trail section that opened in June 2002, should be open to people in the autumn of 2005.

Earlier, trail advocates were hoping the section would be opened by the spring of 2005.

The section that’s already in use – it covers the northern and eastern half of the route – is getting rave reviews, said Fake.

Camp groups as well as individuals have followed its blazes since the first trail section opened, Fake said.

People are enjoying the views, particularly from Puzzle Mountain, Fake said. The outlooks offer a different glimpse of the Mahoosuc Range, which dominates the region.

Trail organizers will meet next week, Fake added, to discuss methods to encourage trail users to register and offer comments.

When the entire 42 miles of trail can be traversed, “the Grafton Loop Trail will provide a unique, multi-day backpacking opportunity amid some of Maine’s most spectacular mountains,” said Andrew Norkin of the Appalachian Mountain Club during last year’s trail segment opening.

“This much-needed trail will help protect mountain resources by providing an alternative to the heavily used Appalachian Trail,” he added.

The Appalachian Trail in the Grafton Notch region sees a tremendous volume of day use in addition to extended backpacking trippers and trail-through hikers. Loop trail promoters see the new route as offering additional terrain that might lessen use on the Appalachian Trail.

Fake said that Loop Trail users have said the path offers another advantage: It’s softer on the sole. Because it’s a new trail, it hasn’t been hard-packed to a concrete-like sidewalk as has the older and more widely hiked Appalachian Trail.

The Loop Trail will give hikers a chance to traverse a series of mountain peaks, take advantage of at least five primitive camping areas, and link with eight miles of the Appalachian Trail, providing access to Baldpate and Old Speck mountains.

The state is funding much of the trail design and construction, with help from businesses and individuals. AMC volunteers are providing much of the trail construction labor.