Hendersonville woman becomes 50th person to hike the MST
The tally of people who have hiked the entire 1,150-mile Mountains-to-Sea Trail reached 50 when Lorie Hansen, of Hendersonville, took her final step along the trail.
Hansen is one of an increasing number of people who are discovering the trail as a worthy challenge to tackle. Of the 50 people who have so far thru-hiked the trail, nearly half have done so in the last three years, with the first thru-hiker completing the route in 1997.
The Mountains-to-Sea Trail stretches from Clingmans Dome on the border with Tennessee all the way to North Carolna’s coast. Of the 1,150 miles, about 672 miles are dedicated trail, with the remainder of the distance covered through connectors on bike trails and back roads. Each year, volunteers spend more than 29,000 hours building and maintaining the trail.
