 Seaborg was an avid hiker . Upon becoming Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission in 1961 , he commenced taking daily hikes through a trail that he blazed at the headquarters site in Germantown , Maryland . He frequently invited colleagues and visitors to accompany him , and the trail became known as the " Glenn Seaborg Trail . " He and his wife Helen are credited with blazing a 12 @-@ mile ( 19 km ) trail in the East Bay area near their home in Lafayette , California . This trail has since become a part of the American Hiking Association 's cross @-@ country network of trails . Seaborg and his wife walked the trail network from Contra Costa County all the way to the California – Nevada border . 
