The goal of the NST is to combine as many officially marked trail sections as possible. When the NST was first launched in 2020, only 387.7 km of the total 3,382 km were unmarked — that’s 11.46% of the route. With a new route adjustment along the “Western Tangent”, the main variant has been extended by 142 km. As a result, the NST will now have a total length of 3,513 km. The unmarked sections have been reduced to just 7.7%, and the overall trail appearance and quality have become noticeably more appealing.