"More than 680 volunteers, including some from as far away as Japan, descended on the Appalachian Trail in the past year to help recover a landscape forever scarred by Hurricane Helene. 

The storm in September 2024 shut down 431 miles of the A.T. Trees were snapped in half or completely uprooted, piled in what looked like a bizarre game of pickup sticks. Landslides and flooding tore away trails and treadway. Bridges and crossovers were gone.

It was — and still is — a disaster of historic proportions. But it’s also a story of resiliency of the land and the people who are stewards of it.

"Day after day after day, in the snow, literally like working for the post office, come rain, snow, it didn't matter," said Joe Morris with the Tennessee Eastman Hiking and Canoeing Club. "We were there, because we wanted to get it at least open enough to where the thru-hiking season in the spring could take place.""

Jan Childs reports for National Parks Traveler September 29, 2025. [2]