Nancy Mercure East, a retired veterinarian from Waynesville, and her hiking partner, Air Force veteran Chris Ford of Knoxville, Tenn., set a new record for hiking all of the park’s trails on Oct. 3 with a time of 29 days, 10 hours and 12 minutes. The two shattered the previous mark of 33 days set by Knoxville trail runner Jeff Woody.
![Nancy East and Chris Ford by Lakeview Drive tunnel](https://mountainx.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_7813-330x248.jpg)