Hikers, Trail Communities Rallying To Help Hurricane Helene Ravaged Areas

People are doing their part to help communities who were hit hardest by Hurricane Helene.

Kyle Dulitz stands on top of a pile of sand at Sarasota County's self-serve sandbag station at Twin Lakes Park, prior to the arrival of Hurricane Helene. Dulitz had finished filling his sandbags and stuck around to help other people fill theirs. / Mike Lang / Sarasota Herald-Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The devastation created by Hurricane Helene in the southeast part of the United States was unlike anything many people have seen before.

Entire communities have essentially been wiped off the map as torrential downpour left towns flooded. The death toll sadly continues to rise as hundreds of people remain missing.

Search and rescue teams are doing their best to help find people and deliver supplies like clean water and food to the areas hit hardest. Power remains hard to come by in some places and cellular service has been out for nearly a week.

One of the areas hit hardest was Buncombe County in North Carolina, which includes Asheville. At least 30 people were reported dead, as trail towns in the state and Tennessee and Virginia were hit very hard as well.

“The last 6 miles was the worst weather I’ve been outside in, and I’m 49…I could have kayaked off the mountain if I had one,” Brad Smith wrote in a message, as shared by Mary Beth “Mouse” Skylis of Outsider. “The trail was a small river. Guessing I was one of the last customers at the Damascus Diner before Laurel Creek took it and the street over.”

Landmarks were destroyed by Hurricane Helene, as plenty of national and state parks remain closed in some parts that were hit hardest. With trees being downed and flooding, trails are incredibly unsafe and organizers are urging adventurers to stay away.

Not only is their safety in danger, but people going on the trails will slow down the teams of people who are searching for missing people and beginning the clean-up process.

Looking to do whatever they can to save their communities, hikers and members of trail communities are doing their part to help along the Appalachian Trail.

“While locals are still fighting for their lives, other members of the trail community are rallying to support them. Trail Angels like “Miss Janet” Hensley of Erwin, Tennessee are scrambling to support flooded communities in the wake of the tragedy. Matthew “Odie” Norman, a thru-hiker, trail angel, and former owner of the Hiker Yearbook, was in New Jersey for the hurricane but is preparing to drive south to support local trail communities,” Skylis wrote.

Any help and aid is welcomed at this point. It is going to take a long time for these towns and communities to recover, as some livelihoods have been impacted forever.