Nancy East and Chris Ford are hiking 900 miles of trails this fall to raise $60,000 for Friends of the Smokies, to support Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s Preventative Search and Rescue program.
They’ll be featuring their “Tour De Smokies” journey on East’s blog, Hope and Feather Travels. Along the way, they’ll be showing hikers first-hand what it takes to properly prepare and train for a 900-mile adventure in the Smokies.
They plan to start on September 5.
East, known as “Seal Mom,” and Ford, known as “Pacer,” are experienced Smokies hikers. Ford has completed three 900 miler maps, while East has completed two.
(Hikers use the GSMNP map of trails to mark off trails as they complete them. Completing a map means they have completed the 900 miles of trails in the park.)
Ranger Liz Hall, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park emergency manager, said the fundraising effort will be important for the success of the preventive search and rescue program. “The funds they are raising will be a huge help,” Hall said. “Those funds will go directly to fund two seasonal rangers” who will assist with search and rescue and will be part of the Park’s increased efforts in preventive search and rescue.
The rangers will also oversee a cadre of volunteers who will be in the park to “help visitors make good choices about their hiking,” Hall said.
Donations to support the fundraiser can be made online, by phone at 800-845-5665, or by check, mailed to Friends of the Smokies, PO Box 1660, Kodak, TN 37764.
Friends of the Smokies is an official nonprofit partner of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and has raised over $70 million to support critical park programs and maintain the Smokies as a crown jewel of the National Park Service. Learn more at FriendsoftheSmokies.org.