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February 26, 2006
What is the Southern Appalachians Initiative?
The Southern Appalachians Initiative is a project of the American Hiking Society that seeks to build a 5,000-mile interconnected network of hiking trails in a 9-state region that includes Tennessee. The effort is based in Chattanooga and is directed by Jeffrey Hunter, the Southeasteern Trail Programs Director for American Hiking.
Locally, the project involves the Cumberland Trail Conference, the Chattanooga Hiking Club, the Cleveland, Tennessee based Cherokee Hiking Club, the Georgia Pinhoti Trail Association, and twenty seven other trail & conservation organizations based in the Southeast.
The Lula lake Land Trust and Tennessee River Gorge Trust are also involved in this exciting project.
This BLOG will chronicle the effort by American Hiking Society to build, protect, and promote this grand 5,000-mile trail system, which will eventually run right through the heart of Chattanooga.
This coming week, Jeffrey Hunter will be hiking the 36-mile long Lakeshore Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This trail and the surrounding parklands are imperiled by a proposal to build a road inside our most beloved National Park. While this is a complex issue dating back to 1943, this blog will illustrate the beauty of the area, and try to explain what will be lost if the North Shore Road is developed.
So, if you like to hike or want to get involved in hiking or volunteering, please bookmark this site and visit it regularly. Happy Trails!
Jeffrey Hunter
American Hiking Happenings | By Jeffrey Hunter | 09:10 PM
