Similarly, at least until after the Second World War, the vast majority of hikers on the Appalachian Trail-at least those we know about-were prosperous people who had the leisure time to devote to a day, a few days, or even a few weeks in the woods. North of the Potomac was not much more hospitable territory for non-white hikers, and so the Appalachian Trail remained a very white place, until at least the 1980s. At the time of the founding of the Appalachian Trail, all of the route south of the Potomac River passed through segregated states and any person of color who decided to hike in the mountains alone or in a group was quite literally placing his or her life in danger. It is important to note that the vast majority of the members of these hiking clubs were white. Members of these clubs continued to hike, either alone or in groups, but the organizing principle of their clubs until the completion of the Trail in 1937, was to contibute to the great project of building a continuous trail from Georgia to Maine. By contrast, the new clubs that began to appear after the creation of the Appalachian Trail Conference in 1925, emphasized hiking for the purpose of trail building. The older clubs in the Northeast were organized around creating shared hiking experiences in nature for their members. (1927), became the model for other Appalachian Trail building clubs in the South. In this way, the Appalachian Trail project helped to expand the culture of club-based hiking to areas of the South where such activities were less common. The first of these new clubs, the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club based in Washington, D.C. While the existing trail networks of the New England and mid-Atlantic hiking clubs became the backbone of the Appalachian Trail north of the Potomac River, south of the Potomac discussions among trail advocates and members of local hiking clubs, most of whom relied on less formal trails for their activities, led to the founding of a number of new organizations that were dedicated, at least in part, to helping to build the proposed Appalachian Trail.