Forest Service apologizes for tearing up portion of Trail of Tears in the Appalachian Mountains near Coker Creek, no plan yet in place to fix damage

Coker Creek, TN resident and historical preservationist Marvin Harper observes damage to a section of the Trail of Tears
in the Appalachian Mountains. The flag indicates a spot where the U.S. Forest Service used heavy equipment
to make trenches and berms in what agency officials now say was in violation of federal laws. (AP Photo/Erik Schelzig)

COKER CREEK, Tenn. (AP) — The U.S. Forest Service has ripped up a portion of the Trail of Tears in the Appalachian Mountains, reopening wounds for Native Americans who consider sacred the land where thousands of their ancestors died during their forced migration westward.

The man-made trenches and berms were discovered last summer but the details about how it happened and those responsible hadn't been publicly identified. In documents obtained recently by The Associated Press, the Forest Service acknowledged that an employee approved construction along a ¾-mile section of the trail in eastern Tennessee without authorization, an embarrassing blunder for an agency that was supposed to be protecting the trail for future generations.

The $28,500 in contracting work done in 2014 involved using heavy equipment to dig three deep trenches called "tank traps" and a series of 35 berms. It was meant to keep out all-terrain vehicles and prevent erosion, but agency officials now say it was done in violation of federal laws.

Sheila Bird of the Cherokee Nation said she cried when she was asked at a meeting with Forest Service officials to talk about the impact of the damage. "The trail is part of our history, of why we are here in Oklahoma," said Bird, who is the special projects officer for the nation's Tribal Historic Preservation Office.

Harper surveys the damage to the Trail of Tears. (AP Photo/Erik Schelzig) 

The portion of the damaged trail lies near Fort Armistead, one of the stops where Cherokees were held during their forced migration West in the 1830s. This part of the trail follows the first commercial road across the mountains in that region, the Unicoi Turnpike, which in turn followed the course of an ancient Native American trail.

The Forest Service has apologized to the tribes for the damage, both physical and emotional, and is consulting with them over how to repair it. No plan has been finalized, and Forest Service spokeswoman Stephanie Johnson said the agency does not yet know what the restoration work will cost.

When the Forest Service dug up portions of the trail on the edge of the Cherokee National Forest in March and June 2014, it didn't even own the land, although it was planning to purchase it, according to Forest Service documents obtained by The Associated Press. The documents were provided to AP by the environmental group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility and authenticated by the Forest Service. The documents outline the extensive process the Forest Service employees should have gone through before doing the work but didn't. For instance, the ranger who approved the project told another employee they didn't' have to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act because they did not own the land.

"Despite the lack of compliance with our own policies for the National Environmental Policy Act and federal laws like the ESA (Endangered Species Act), NPHA (National Historic Preservation Act), and the purchase option's requirements, the project was orally approved," the documents state. It's not clear what, if anything, happened to the employees who ignored the law. The local ranger who gave the approval for the construction had been with Forest Service for more than 35 years before she retired in February 2015. The Forest Service said it won't discuss personnel matters.

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility executive director Jeff Ruch said that's not good enough. "This is one the most blatant official desecrations of a sacred site in modern American history," Ruch said in a statement. "Jaw-dropping incompetence mixed with abject dereliction of duty coated in an impenetrable mantle of bureaucratic self-preservation spawned this debacle." The group is asking the U.S. Agriculture Department for a thorough review by independent investigators and appropriate disciplinary action.

Months after the damage, Forest Service officials who were still unaware of the work extolled the pristine nature and historical significance of the parcel. "Protecting the Trail of Tears and other significant sites in this area has been and will continue to be a priority for us," Cherokee National Forest Supervisor JaSal Morris said in an Oct. 2014 news release announcing its purchase. Many Forest Service officials didn't realize the land had been disturbed until July 2015, when the agency hosted representatives of the Cherokee tribes and the National Parks Service to develop an interpretive plan for the trail and Fort Armistead.

Marvin Harper can barely see over one of the berms built on the Trail of Tears by the Forest Service.
(AP Photo/Erik Schelzig)

Susan Abram, president of the North Carolina chapter of the Trail of Tears Association, was among a group that hiked out to the trail and discovered the damage. "Everybody was just kind of shocked," said the Western Carolina University history professor. "This is a national historic trail ... part of our national heritage."

The trail stretches for thousands of miles through nine states. Aaron Mahr, the National Parks Service superintendent for the trail, said his agency works with private landowners and government agencies to protect the portions of the trail that cross their properties. Mahr said seeing photos of the damage done by the Forest Service left him shaking his head.

Jack Baker, National Trail of Tears Association president and a member of the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council, also learned of the destruction by seeing photos. "I thought it was done deliberately and intentionally to destroy part of the trail. ... Other trail segments are identical and erosion is not really a concern," he said.

Marvin Harper, who lives near the trail and is president of the Coker Creek Heritage Group, took an AP reporter to see the damage Thursday. Clambering over one of the berms and dropping into a trench on the other side, only his head was visible. "This is an embarrassment and a great loss to all of us who take pride in this part of East Tennessee," he said.

Since the destruction, Forest Service officials are halting all work within a half-mile of either side of the trail in four southern states. Bird said she still has questions about how the damage came about, but she appreciates that the Forest Service is trying to make it right. "They came to us with an enormous amount of humility," Bird said.

Park Reports 25-acre Wildfire near Abrams Creek

Great Smoky Mountains National Park firefighters are fighting a 25-acre wildfire located along the northwest boundary of the park north of the Abrams Creek Campground area. The Happy Valley Ridge Fire was reported at approximately 6:45 p.m. on Wednesday, September 14. Firefighters from the park and the Tennessee Division of Forestry responded to the fire which is located inside the park boundary. 

Happy Valley Fire (NPS)

Primarily, the fire is slowly spreading with flame lengths less than three feet high through a pine-oak forest. At times, the active fire reached flame heights between five to six feet high during the hottest, driest periods of the afternoon. The fire is burning within a suppression fire zone due to the proximity to the park boundary. A 10-person Hotshot fire crew from the Cherokee National Forest will assist with fire suppression efforts in the morning.

The current location of the fire is not threatening any structures, roads, or trails. All park areas remain open at this time. Visitors should expect to see smoke from the Foothills Parkway West and the Abrams Creek area of the park. The cause of the fire is unknown at this time, but a natural, lightening start is possible.

Ohio Woman Dies After Fall at Newfound Gap

An 85-year-old Ohio woman fell to her death while taking family pictures at Newfound Gap on Monday, Sept. 12. Great Smoky Mountains National Park Rangers were notified by Swain County 911 of a medical emergency at the Newfound Gap parking lot near the North Carolina/Tennessee state line at approximately 1:55 p.m.

Newfound Gap Parking Lot. jasonbarnette.photoshelter.com

Marguerite Root, age 85, of Canal Winchester, Ohio fell approximately eight to nine feet from where she was sitting on a parking lot guard wall to a lower stone walkway.

Ms. Root and her family were taking pictures with a view of the mountains in the background when she fell backwards off the rock wall to the stone walkway below.

 Park Rangers and Cherokee Tribal EMS responded to the scene and provided patient care. Ms. Root never regained consciousness and was transported to the Cherokee Tribal Hospital in Cherokee, NC where she was pronounced dead.

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Suspect sketch released in Craggy Gardens assault on 64-year-old female hiker found tied to tree

Eleven days after the assault of a 64-year-old female hiker at Craggy Gardens off the Blue Ridge Parkway, National Park Service officials have released a sketch of a suspect, described as a white male, around 50 years old, salt-and-pepper gray hair with an unshaven face.

Park officials with the Blue Ridge Parkway confirmed last week that the woman had been assaulted.

The suspect was said to be wearing a light-colored or faded gray short-sleeve T-shirt, baggy blue pants that appeared old and faded, and dark tennis shoes. He was described as being unkempt and smelled bad, probably from going unbathed.

The hiker, whose service dog was nearby, was taken to an area hospital and released later the same day. She was reported missing by her caregiver and found by emergency personnel who found her tied to a tree near the Craggy Gardens Visitor Center.

Rangers ask anyone with information to call the investigative tip line at 888-653-0009.

Blue Ridge Parkway officials confirm 64-year-old hiker found tied to tree was assaulted

Park officials with the Blue Ridge Parkway have confirmed that the 64-year-old female hiker found tied to a tree last week near the Craggy Gardens Visitor Center off the Blue Ridge Parkway was assaulted. Neil Labrie, chief ranger for the Blue Ridge Parkway, reported in an email to the Asheville Citizen-Times that an assault did indeed occur. He said all information that was going to be released has been released, according to the Citizen-Times report.

US National Park Service officials at the scene of Craggy Gardens assault. (Photo: News7 WSPA)

 The hiker, whose service dog was nearby, was taken to an area hospital and released later the same day, according to reports. Much of the information about the assault was released as a result of communication between first responders, such as the detail of her being found tied to a tree.

Leesa Brandon, spokeswoman for the National Park Service, said officials have not released further information “in an effort to balance the integrity of this ongoing investigation and the privacy of the people involved,” according to the Citizen-Times.

“While there is an ongoing investigation and a suspect description was released, investigators involved also believed there was no additional threat to public safety and opened the area and all nearby visitor facilities,” she wrote in an email to the Citizen-Times on Monday.

A person of interest in the case is a white male, about 50 years old, with salt-and-pepper hair and partially grown facial hair. He may have been wearing a light-colored or faded gray short-sleeve T-shirt, baggy blue pants that appeared old and faded, and dark tennis shoes. He was said to be unkempt and smelly, possible from going unbathed.

Park Officials investigating assault of 64-year-old woman found tied to tree while hiking in North Carolina on Mountains to Sea Trail

Buncombe County, NC - Special Agents with the Investigative Services Branch (ISB) of the National Park Service and US Park Rangers of the Blue Ridge Parkway are actively investigating a possible assault that occurred in the area of Craggy Gardens, part of the Mountains to Sea Trail, on Thursday afternoon, May 12.

Rescuers found a 64-year-old female hiker tied to a tree along the Blue Ridge Parkway. (Photo WLOS)

Rangers and other emergency responders conducted a brief search for a hiker that was reportedly missing, and found the 64-year-old woman tied to a tree. She was taken to Mission Hospital for care and her current condition is unknown. Investigators do not have reason to believe this incident was anything other than an isolated event. All visitor facilities in the area remain open.

ABC News 13 WLOS reported that the woman was found near Potato Field Gap, which is less than four miles from the Craggy Gardens Visitor Center in Reems Creek, NC.

The incident began early Thursday afternoon, when the Reems Creek Fire Department responded to a call for a lost person who was possibly having a medical issue, according to a captain with that Weaverville-based agency.

A woman called dispatchers at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, saying she was getting texts from her friend, who was hiking in the area of Snowball Trail at Craggy Gardens.

The 911 caller identified herself as a caregiver for the 64-year-old woman. The caller said she had gotten texts from her friend about changing hiking plans, but then she received messages that the woman was having an emergency. The caller was unsure of the nature of the emergency, but did say the woman has a medical condition.

“She has something that looks like seizures, and when she does, she is conscious long enough sometimes to send a text but generally it renders her somewhat mute,” the caller said in a 911 recording. When crews arrived, they discovered the woman tied to tree. Officials have declined to discuss details of those circumstances.

A rescue worker on the scene told a dispatcher in an emergency radio call, "She's not deceased at this time. She is tied to a tree. This is the one they were looking for."

A person of interest in this case is a white male about 50 years old with salt-and-pepper hair, and he may have partially-grown facial hair. The man was possibly wearing a light-colored or faded gray short-sleeve T-shirt, baggy blue pants that appear old and faded, and dark tennis shoes. He may appear generally unkempt and smell of a musty odor of going unwashed.

If you have any information about the incident, or if you may have noticed someone behaving suspiciously around Craggy Gardens or along the Mountains to Sea Trail between noon and 4:00 p.m. yesterday, please contact the Park Service.

You don't have to tell them who you are, but please tell them what you know:
Call their Tip Line at 888-653-0009
Submit at online Tip
Send a Facebook Message
Email us

Clinton Magnet Mills Building Catches Fire

The old Magnet Mills building in downtown Clinton caught fire Thursday evening and firefighters from Clinton and Oak Ridge were working to contain it. Clinton Fire Chief Archie Brummitt said they got a call around 7:10 p.m. when a passerby spotted smoke coming from the top of the building.

He said the building has no electricity going to it and fire apparently started in the top floor where there are a variety of things stored like clothes and desks.

Smoke pours out a top floor of the Magnet Mills building while firefighters take a break from fighting the fire.

Oak Ridge Fire Department was using their 100' ladder to spray the top of the building since Clinton's ladder only extends 55', Brummitt said. At about 9:30 Brummitt said they had been unable to make entry to the building and were waiting for it to be cooled down by Oak Ridge. If that didn't work, he said, they will have to tear down part of the building to effectively contain the smoking fire. "We'll probably be here a day or two," Brummitt said.

City crews and police blocked side streets to keep traffic off Hwy. 61 while crews were at the scene. The road was blocked from the intersection of Hwy. 25W and Charles Seivers Blvd. down to near the Highway Patrol office.

Magnet Mills was a knitting mill that opened in 1905 making socks. It employed 1,100 people by the 1930s but closed in the 1960s. It has been unused in recent years except as storage. The 70,000 square foot building sits beside the CVS Pharmacy on Charles Seivers Blvd.

Smoke coming from Magnet Mills building.

Get your hands dirty by digging in a 16th Century archaeology site, Fort San Juan, in Appalachian Mountains of Western North Carolina

The Exploring Joara Foundation has announced Spring Dig Dates at the Berry Archaeological Site in Morganton, North Carolina. For just $35 per day, you can dig at a unique 16th Century Archaeology Site. For details and exact dates, you can visit exploringjoara.org.

If you don't want to get your hands dirty, you can come for a free public tour from 10 to 12 p.m. on field work Thursdays. Here is the calendar with dig dates listed.

Archaeological.com photo

Original story published in 2013 from University of Michigan's Michigan News:

The remains of the earliest European fort in the interior of what is now the United States were discovered by a team of archaeologists, providing new insight into the start of the U.S. colonial era and the all-too-human reasons spoiling Spanish dreams of gold and glory.

Archaeologists studying a ceremonial mound in a Native American town called Joara discovered an inland fort built by a Spanish expedition in the New World near present-day Morganton, North Carolina (Photo: University of Michigan archaeology)

Spanish Captain Juan Pardo and his men built Fort San Juan in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in 1567, nearly 20 years before Sir Walter Raleigh's "lost colony" at Roanoke and 40 years before the Jamestown settlement established England's presence in the region.

"Fort San Juan and six others that together stretched from coastal South Carolina into eastern Tennessee were occupied for less than 18 months before the Native Americans destroyed them, killing all but one of the Spanish soldiers who manned the garrisons," said University of Michigan archaeologist Robin Beck.

Beck, an assistant professor in the U-M Department of Anthropology and assistant curator at the U-M Museum of Anthropology, is working with archaeologists Christopher Rodning of Tulane University and David Moore of Warren Wilson College to excavate the site near the city of Morganton in western North Carolina, nearly 300 miles from the Atlantic Coast.

The Berry site, named in honor of the stewardship of landowners James and the late Pat Berry, is located along a tributary of the Catawba River and was the location of the Native American town of Joara, part of the mound-building Mississippian culture that flourished in the southeastern U.S. between 800 and about 1500 CE.

In 2004, with support from the National Geographic Society and the National Science Foundation, Beck and his colleagues began excavating several of the houses occupied by Spanish soldiers at Joara, where Pardo built Fort San Juan. Pardo named this small colony of Spanish houses Cuenca, after his own hometown in Spain. Yet the remains of the fort itself eluded discovery until last month.
"We have known for more than a decade where the Spanish soldiers were living," Rodning said. "This summer we were trying to learn more about the Mississippian mound at Berry, one that was built by the people of Joara, and instead we discovered part of the fort. For all of us, it was an incredible moment."

Using a combination of large-scale excavations and geophysical techniques like magnetometry, which provides x-ray-like images of what lies below the surface, the archaeologists have now been able to identify sections of the fort's defensive moat or ditch, a likely corner bastion and a graveled surface that formed an entryway to the garrison.

Excavations in the moat conducted in late June reveal it to have been a large V-shaped feature measuring 5.5 feet deep and 15 feet across. Spanish artifacts recovered this summer include iron nails and tacks, Spanish majolica pottery, and an iron clothing hook of the sort used for fastening doublets and attaching sword scabbards to belts.

Fort San Juan was the first and largest of the garrisons that Pardo founded as part of an ambitious effort to colonize the American South. Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, who had established the Spanish colonies of St. Augustine and Santa Elena in 1565 and 1566, respectively, spearheaded this effort. Of the six garrisons that Pardo built, Fort San Juan is the only one to have been discovered by archaeologists.

During the brief time the Spaniards were at Joara, Beck says, they were actively prospecting for gold but never found it. Yet the gold was there: in the early 1800s, American settlers found so much just lying on the surface near rivers that a 17-pound gold nugget was used as a doorstop and a U.S. mint was established in Charlotte, triggering the first gold rush in U.S. history.

Had the people of Joara given Pardo's soldiers more time to discover this gold, Spain would probably have launched a full-scale colonial invasion of the area, England would have had difficulty establishing its foothold at Jamestown, and the entire southeastern part of what is now the U.S. might instead have become part of Latin America.

Why did the Mississipians wipe the Spaniards out so quickly? Beck and colleagues argue that originally, the Spanish bartered with the natives for food.

"The soldiers believed that when their gifts were accepted, it meant that the native people were their subjects," Beck said. "But to the natives, it was simply an exchange. When the soldiers ran out of gifts, they expected the natives to keep on feeding them. By that time, they had also committed what Spanish documents refer to as "indiscretions" with native women, which may have been another reason that native men decided they had to go. So food and sex were probably two of the main reasons for destroying Spanish settlements and forts."

Moore said the significance of Fort San Juan extends far beyond the Carolina Piedmont.
"The events at Fort San Juan represent a microcosm of the colonial experience across the continent," he said. "Spain's failure created an opening that England exploited at Jamestown in 1607, when America's familiar frontier narrative begins. For Native Americans, though, this was the beginning of a long-term and often tragic reshaping of their precolonial world."

From the University of Michigan's Michigan News

• Contact Diane Swanbrow

German artist's sketches give first-hand view of "strange new world" in 1700s; include now-extinct species, some species not known to Georgia Coast, and Uchee Indians and their dwellings

Do you ever run across a nugget of historical significance that just excites you beyond belief?

I was doing some research today and I found something so intriguing I just had to share it. I love history and when I hear something I've never heard before it's exciting, and this find doesn't involve just an awesome story, but also sketches from the 1730s of plants and animals, some now extinct, native Indians and their dwellings and much more along the coast of Georgia ... drawings that are first-hand and intricately detailed.

Yuchee Indians going hunting. © Det Kongelige Bibliotek

It seems that in 1736, a 25-year-old German named Philip Georg Friedrich von Reck sailed to America from Germany with a group of colonists. He wanted to bring back "ocular proof," he wrote, of "this strange new world."

Lucky for us, he was a gifted and super-talented artist and his watercolor and pen and pencil sketches are among the first known of many plants, animals and species ... some of which are now extinct and weren't known to even exist on the coast of Georgia.

Wild American Pigeon. © Det Kongelige Bibliotek

He captured for posterity a glimpse of the first European settlers to Georgia, their day-to-day life, what they saw, what they ate, plants that grew in the region, birds that sang in the branches of their trees, native Uchee Indians, their dwellings, their boats, the fish in the ocean ... what a gift for the ages to art, science and history.

I ran across this information on the People of One Fire blog here. Blog author Richard Thornton drops this bombshell: "Native Americans near the Georgia Coast grew calabaza (tropical) squash, watermelons, passion fruit, pineapples and cacao, from which chocolate is made. This has been completely left out of the textbooks, but would explain why chocolate was detected in beakers unearthed at Cahokia."

Cocoa nut and leaf. © Det Kongelige Bibliotek

Cahokia Mounds, the largest pre-Columbian site north of Mexico, are in Illinois and are the remains of a forgotten Indian city. Of its 4,000 acres, 2,200 acres are preserved as a state historic site. You can read an interesting article about the mounds in National Geographic here. Clay beaker vessels found at Cahokia were analyzed and found to contain residue of "black drink," a caffeinated tea-like beverage six times more potent than coffee and possibly containing a compound found in cacao but definitely made from a species of holly.

Thornton is a professional architect, city planner, author and museum exhibit designer and builder. He is considered one of the nation's leading experts on Southeastern Indians.

Yuchee Indian war dance. © Det Kongelige Bibliotek

On the website of the Savannah River Band of the Uchean Indian Tribe, it tells of the origins of this tribe, which has lived along the Savannah River since the 1500s. They were one of several ethnic groups in the Old Apalache Kingdom.

You can read more about the Ucheans here.

Thornton said this was a distinct branch of the Uchee, different from their neighbors in that the Tennessee Valley Uchee only built round houses and villages and the Savannah Uchee villages had a Caribbean feel to their architecture.

And there is among Von Reck's sketches the only known drawing of a fort built on the Savannah River in the early 1700s.

Military fort on Savannah River. © Det Kongelige Bibliotek

Waterspout, top, and pelican and crocodile, bottom. © Det Kongelige Bibliotek

Von Reck's sketch book is now owned by Det Dansk Kongelige Bibliotek (the Danish Royal Library) and can be accessed here.  You can scroll through each page of the sketch book and view these amazing glimpses of life as he saw and experienced it 280 years ago.

Smokies Centennial Challenge - Hike 100

Program Overview
This year we are celebrating the Centennial of the National Park Service. To honor the first 100 years of the National Park Service and launch into the next century, the Park Superintendent has committed to hiking 100 miles of park trails during 2016 -- and he invites you to join in on this challenge!

Whether you are new to hiking in the Smokies or have seen most or all the trails in the park before, we encourage you to set a goal of reaching 100 miles during this special year of celebration, between January 1-December 6, 2016. You may hike any 100 miles of maintained trails in the park. Your miles can include everything from front country nature trails to the extensive trail network in the backcountry. You may hike the same trail repeatedly or different trails; and you may hike them solo, with a group or even with a guide. The goal is to inspire you to explore and enjoy the many benefits the park has to offer. More information.

Explore the park website for information about hiking safety, trail recommendations, weather, road and trail closures, and the park's trail map. If you plan to include overnight trips in your hiking plan, be sure to obtain a reservation and permit for all overnight stays in the backcountry.
When you are ready to take on this challenge, plan your hikes and get out on a trail! Download a mileage log that you may use to keep track of your miles. Or, you can purchase one from the Great Smoky Mountains Association here for $1.00.

After you have hiked 100 miles this year, send an email to let us know! You will then receive information about the Hike 100 Celebration on Thursday, December 8, 2016 to receive your commemorative "Smokies Centennial Challenge - Hike 100" pin!

Sample 100 Mile Hike Plan

Gatlinburg Trail - 4 miles

Little River & Cucumber Gap Trails Loop - 6 miles

Chimney Tops Trail - 4 miles

Porters Creek Trail - 8 miles

Ramsay Cascades - 8 miles

Abrams Falls Trail to the Falls - 6 miles

Gregory Bald Trail to the Bald - 9 miles

Trillium Gap Trail to Grotto Falls - 3 miles

Laurel Falls Trail - 3 miles

Forney Ridge Trail to Andrews Bald - 5 miles

Big Creek Trail to Mouse Creek Falls - 5 miles

Smokemont Loop Trail - 7 miles

Noland Divide to Lonesome Pine Overloop - 7 miles

Deep Creek & Sunkota Ridge Loop - 13 miles
Cataloochee Divide Trail - 10 miles

Oconaluftee River Trail - 3 miles

Any 100 miles count! Superintendent Cash's 100 Mile Plan is subject to change due to all kinds of factors - like weather, trail conditions, and fitness level of those who hike with him. The important part is that the miles he will cover by the end of the year will be 100.

Hike Events with the Superintendent
In the spirit of the Centennial, many of Superintendent Cash's hikes will be with youth who may be experiencing their first such adventure in the park. There are also public events which will give you the opportunity to hike alongside the Superintendent. These include two front country hikes that are open to anyone who would like to attend and two backcountry hikes which are each limited to 20 hikers. This limit is due to our concern for the resources in the backountry, our attention to Leave No Trace and hiker safety. To reserve a space on one of these backcounty hikes, send us an email and we will contact you with further information.

Front country Hikes, Open to Everyone:

Saturday, August 20, 2016 - Gatlinburg Trail

Saturday, December 3, 2016 - Oconaluftee River Trail

* Check back for more details about these hikes *

Backcountry Hikes, Limited to a maximum of 20 hikers each:

Saturday, June 25, 2016 - a trail in North Carolina

Saturday, October 8, 2016 - a trail in Tennessee

* Email us if you are interested in a spot *

Latest Trail Adventures
Check here throughout the year to see pictures and read about some of the latest trails that Superintendent Cash has explored. You might see something you will want to add to your list!

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  Photo Collection: Smokies Centennial Challenge Hikes
  

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  Photo Collection: Smokies Centennial Challenge Hikes

Share your thoughts
We welcome you to share your comments and reflections about your hiking experiences as you cover your 100 miles. Email your thoughts to Superintendent Cash and he will reply to some of your messages throughout the year. You can also share you photos and reflections on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GreatSmokyMountainsNPS in the "visitor posts" section and/or on your own Facebook, Twitter or Instagram accounts and tag it with #Hike100.