Dear GNHA Members,
On behalf of the GNHA Hiking Club, I want to express our sincere support to all of our members in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. If there is anything our club can do to help you out, please don't hesitate to reach out.
Due to the ongoing recovery efforts, we have made the difficult decision to cancel group hikes for the immediate future. The state parks and national forests surrounding our area remain closed, and we want to ensure that our group doesn't impede any progress as work crews continue to clear trees and restore power. Our club will continue to monitor official communications from the state parks and national forests and when those entities have re-opened some local trails, we will begin offering hikes on Meetup again. If you choose to hike outside of the club, we encourage you to visit the official website of the park or forest that you're visiting for up-do-date information on trail conditions. Your safety is the most important thing to us at this time.
Our annual Fall Campout in Great Smoky Mountains National Park has also been cancelled. As much as we were looking forward to getting together, the unknown trail and road conditions make it impossible for us to ensure everyone's safety. We also don't want to contribute to any overcrowding in the national park when trail options may be limited and the area is still recovering.
Instead, our club is committed to restoring the trails and parks that mean so much to us. Our board is planning a cleanup day with the Foothills Trail Conservancy and is beginning to reach out to other parks and organizations to see how we might be able to help out. We will provide more details as soon as the FTC and other organizations have given us a date to work with them. I want to extend a special thank you to our Desperaduex members who have started scouting the Foothills Trail for downed trees and damage. Thank you for taking the lead and devoting your time to our hiking community.
We will reach back out soon to inform you when group hikes will continue and to provide details about any planned trail cleanup opportunities. Until then, stay safe and we look forward to sharing the trail with you again soon.
See you on the trail, Damien Pierce GNHA President
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