As many of you know, Western NC suffered heavy rains, wind, and historic flooding as a result of Hurricane Helene. I measured 19" rain at my home, and some areas received more. Many homes and businesses have been lost, and sadly lives have been lost as well. We have been without power, water, internet, or cell signal since Friday 9/27. As of Monday 10/1, I was able to leave Asheville to reach reliable internet access to begin the process of assessing how Blue Ridge Hiking Company moves forward from here.
We are under a State of Emergency, and most public lands where we guide are currently closed. We ask folks not to travel to or within this area unless absolutely necessary. We are closed until further notice. Because we were unable to access the internet or cell phone signal for 5 days, we are still working through a backlog of phone calls, text messages, emails, and social media messages. If you've reached out to us, we will respond as soon as we are able! Please bear with any delays in communication.
Within the last week, we've gotten some services back. We still don't have power, internet, or water at our shop. I am fortunate to have power and internet back at my home, but no running water. Many of our guides are still without power, internet, and/or water at their homes.
How can you help?
To help our team, you can contribute to our GoFundMe. The first goal is set so we can pay our guides in full for their cancelled trips for the month of October.
The best way to help Blue Ridge Hiking Co as a company is to make a purchase so we have revenue coming in! Book a trip for next year, purchase a gift card, or order something off our website. We're currently accepting online orders and shipping orders once per week.
To help the larger WNC community, consider donating to one of the many Mutual Aid organizations with boots on the ground in Western NC. We love the work Beloved Asheville and ROAR are doing to hike supplies into individuals and communities which are inaccessible due to roads being washed our and/or trees being down.
I will update this post as more information becomes available.
Stay Safe, and Happy Trails!
Lindsey Barr
(owner)
UPDATE October 15, 2024:
We will resume offering day hikes in Great Smoky Mountains National Park as of October 25, 2024. Guides will meet hikers near the trailhead instead of at our downtown Asheville location.
UPDATE October 18, 2024:
Pisgah Ranger District has reopened! We'll start offering hikes in Pisgah NF or Great Smoky Mountains NP beginning October 21, 2024. Half Day and Full Day hikes are available. Hikers should expect to encounter blow downs and damaged trails, as trail crews have not yet cleared all trails. Familiar hikes may take longer than normal to complete. Guides will meet hikers near the trailhead at a convenient location instead of at our downtown Asheville location.