Appalachian Trail Took a Big Hit From Helene

"It will be weeks, months, and even years to see recovery from this event." That was the weekend message from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy on the aftermath of Hurricane Helene across the Southeast—devastation that includes "more than a third" of the Appalachian Trail being knocked out of commission, per Outside. "We expect sections of the Trail will be closed for sometime because of bridges that have washed away and downed trees and mudslides obstructing the treadway," the ATC said, adding that the "heartbreaking" destruction especially hit the trail-adjacent communities of Hot Springs, North Carolina; Erwin, Tennessee; and Damascus, Virginia.

Flooding is rampant in those communities, per the Trek, which notes that hikers have been warned away for the time being from the first 865 miles or so of the Appalachian Trail, which stretches more than 2,190 miles from Georgia to Maine. The conservancy's message notes that, as of Saturday, all of Georgia and North Carolina's national forests had been shut down, as was Great Smoky Mountains National Park (some roads have since reopened), and that "access to and from Asheville [North Carolina], home to ATC's Southern Regional Office, is extremely limited due to the destruction." Click here for ways you can help in the southeast ATC region, as well as here for some theories on why Appalachia suffered so much devastation. (More Appalachian Trail stories.)