Appalachian Trail Thru-hikers to enjoy “Trail Magic” Welcome to Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Easter Sunday
Fontana, North Carolina – HeySmokies.com will greet thru-hikers on the Appalachian Trail as they enter the Great Smoky Mountains National Park with some “Trail Magic” to celebrate the Easter holiday on April 5, 2015.
As part of the Appalachian Trail’s 90th Anniversary this year, the HeySmokies.com team will serve a complimentary Easter picnic to individuals who are currently hiking the entire length of the 2,189 mile-long footpath that runs from Georgia to Maine.
“Trail Magic is something no thru-hiker expects, so when it happens it’s quite a welcome surprise,” says Brad Knight, co-founder of HeySmokies.com, “This is just a great way to pay it forward for the Trail Magic when I hiked.” Knight completed a six-month thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail in 1997.
Northbound hikers enter the Great Smoky Mountains National Park just after crossing over Fontana Dam in North Carolina. They will traverse 71 miles through the National Park’s high country to exit at Davenport Gap in Tennessee. The highest point on the Appalachian Trail is at Clingmans Dome at 6,643 ft.
“We expect to feed anywhere between 20 and 50 thru-hikers,” says Knight, “we coordinated with Jeff Hoch, the owner of The Hike Inn, to scout out a great location on the trail just a few miles before they reach Fontana.”
