Volunteers work to restore the Appalachian Trail after Helene’s destruction

John Yang:

Last fall's Hurricane Helene was a storm of superlatives. Not only was it the strongest ever to hit Florida's Big Bend region, once it was over land, it brought historic rainfall and record setting flooding across the Southeast.

In the immediate aftermath, 430 miles of the famed Appalachian Trail were closed as downed trees, blocked footpaths and bridges were washed away. Now months of labor by volunteer work crews has brought that down to just five miles.

John Yang:

Across the Southeast, Hurricane Helene's devastation lingers.

Aaron Smith, Hurricane Helene Survivor:

I've lived in the Middle East many years and this is worse than any war that I've been in. It's horrendous.

John Yang:

On the Appalachian Trail in northeastern Tennessee, fallen trees and other debris still block footpaths. For the past 11 months, at least 2,000 volunteers have worked to clear those obstacles. They're from groups that maintain the trail, including the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, which is responsible for its day to day management.

Woman:

Bring it all.

Matt Parrenod, Appalachian Trail Conservancy:

There are numerous places where trees used to stand and their roots were in the ground and the roots got pulled up and have left a large hole in the middle of the Appalachian Trail.

John Yang:

The trail was proposed in 1921, built by private citizens and completed in 1937. It stretches nearly 2,200 miles, winding through 14 states from Maine to Georgia. It passes through eight national forests, six sites on the National Park System, and two national wildlife refuges. Each year, more than 3 million visitors from around the world walk at least part of the trail.

Jake Stowe, Appalachian Trail Conservancy:

The Appalachian Trail is this amazing way to connect folks, right? It can be somebody who's wanting to hike from Georgia to Maine and is going to do that in one summer, or it's somebody who's never stepped foot on a trail.

John Yang:

These days, using the trail requires a bit of planning. Sections are expected to be closed for the foreseeable future. Matt Parrenod of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy says not all the work is being done by volunteers.

Matt Parrenod:

The vast major of work gets done by the volunteers. However, we can't ignore all the other partners around like the Forest Service, people that help get our gear up, who pay attention to this trail day in and day out. So there is an entire infrastructure built around that volunteer experience. And then volunteers provide a lot of muscle.

John Yang:

The work is all done by hand. There's no heavy equipment, it's time consuming and the progress is incremental. Among those pitching in is a group from Japan. They say they're motivated by the global response to the 2011 Fukushima earthquake and tsunami. They're eager to take what they learn here back home.

Kumi Aizawa, Volunteer From Japan:

We all work for Japanese long distance trail, and the history is quite new in Japan. So now we are trying to learn how to maintain and how to make it sustainable.

John Yang:

The volunteers may not be getting a paycheck for their labors, but Parrenod hopes they feel that they're being compensated in another way.

Matt Parrenod:

The overriding thing I think they leave with is the feeling that they're part of something that's bigger than them and they know they're connected to other people who care about the same things. People leave with that and that might be the highest value.