In this day and age, when the world seems to be one chaotic situation after another, all while the incessant white noise and constant distraction in the digital age peels away our sanity, I find a genuine urge to head for the mountains and hit the trails. So, I do so, happily. 

Thousands of people set out to hike the Appalachian Trail every year. About a quarter of those people finish. In 1973, Mike Rayder was one of a small number to attempt the feat and likely one of the first 100 ever to finish the trail. 

The USDA Forest Service announced that several trails and recreation sites damaged by Hurricane Helene have reopened across the Appalachian Ranger District on the Pisgah National Forest. With the support of partners and volunteers, the Forest Service has successfully cleared 227 miles of trails on the Appalachian Ranger District since the storm struck last year, accounting for 70 percent of the district’s trails.

Somewhere after 2 p.m. on a sunny Wednesday in mid-March, the chaotic wind of a descending helicopter whipped the calm skies above the Appalachian Trail near Icewater Spring Shelter. Four people — two Smoky Mountains Hiking Club volunteers and two Appalachian Trail Conservancy employees — waited at the intersection of the Boulevard and Appalachian trails, watching the bundle of black locust logs suspended below the chopper come to a gentle rest in the small forest opening.

On a recent sunny afternoon in Hot Springs, it was almost impossible to find a parking spot within vicinity of Big Pillow Brewing in downtown. And, for the tiny mountain town, this was a joyous sight compared to what the community has gone through as of late. 

The U.S. Forest Service has reopened more trails and roads throughout areas of the Pisgah National Forest’s Appalachian Ranger District in Haywood, Madison, Buncombe, Yancey, Mitchell and Avery counties following the damage caused by Hurricane Helene. 

Smokies Life has announced the publication of “George Masa: A Life Reimagined,” the first comprehensively researched biography of the visionary Japanese photographer whose dedication to art and conservation helped spur the national park movement in the Great Smoky Mountains, as well as the creation of the Appalachian Trail. 

A hearing before the House Subcommittee on Federal Lands was held July 24 for H.R. 8403 — a bipartisan bill in the House of Representatives calling for a feasibility study of the Benton MacKaye Trail (BMT) with the goal of designating the BMT a National Scenic Trail. 

The Carolina Mountain Club Remote Overnight Crew (ROC) convened near the Walnut Mountain shelter on the Appalachian Trail for a trail enhancement event. The outing drew 19 volunteers, who enjoyed splendid weather while working on various trail improvements.

Peter Conti seemed destined for a life of chronic pain. 

For nearly two years after a devastating motorcycle accident left him with a shattered pelvis and nerve damage in his leg, Conti battled depression and suicidal ideation while struggling to manage his debilitating, demoralizing condition with dangerously addictive opioids.