Status of the AT

[sierra]

The ATC has issued a statement saying mile 0 to 860 of the Appalachian Trail is to be considered closed. Some friends of mine were down there to do a TN section and they had a rough time during the storm at their hostel before ever setting foot on the trail. They are back here now safe, giving up their hike for obvious reasons. I feel for the people living up in those mountains, many might never recover what they once had.

 

[DayTrip]

It certainly looks bleak down there. The river valleys really got trashed. I did a job down near Asheville in March and then drove over to Tennessee on Rte 40. Seeing a lot of videos of that road pretty much gone in many places now. Lot of highways down there wind up and down river valleys. I think they projected September 2025 as reopen date. Major interstate road. Can only begin to imagine what secondary roads and residential neighborhoods will be dealing with the next several years.

Asheville was a very popular up and coming area in many ways, especially for outdoor types who didn't want to/couldn't afford to move out West. I hope they can bounce back.

EDIT: Got to wondering about my drive in March and its current status. I'd have to drive in a giant counter clockwise circle now to do the same drive. Almost 2 hours longer now with current road conditions.

 

[VaMoose]

On a related note, all 469 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway in NC and VA have been closed "indefinitely" by the National Park Service. I heard of only a few washouts, and at first they closed just those sections. However they decided to close the entire road, presumably to check for further damage. That will put a huge damper (no pun intended) on the fall foliage tourism at the end of the month as well as hikers since there are lots of trails off the Parkway.

 

[dug]

https://www.vftt.org/threads/at-damage-from-helene.63144/