I think splitting hiking trails into conceptually meaningful stages is most useful for hikers and readers of hiking guides. I understand there are other valid reasons to split routes, but from my perspective, the priority should be on what adds the most value for end users. You can consider me a stakeholder advocating for splits that improve clarity and usability for hikers and guide readers.
At the moment, all of the most commonly hiked long distance trails are covered in both OSM and Wikivoyage, and all of those trails could have excellent hiking guides that are free and open source, that’s what I’m working towards.