From the Friends of the Smokies:
Special Overnight Fundraiser at Fontana Lake to Support the Smokies
WAYNESVILLE, NC – Discover the remote northeastern section of Great Smoky Mountains National Park this summer at Friends of the Smokies’ Fontana Lake Overnight Experience on August 28-29. This special fundraiser includes guided Classic Hikes of the Smokies, meals, cocktail reception, overnight accommodation at Fontana Village Resort, presentation about the historic significance of the Hazel Creek area, and the opportunity to meet National Park Service staff and fellow Smokies enthusiasts.
Author and hiking expert Danny Bernstein will lead a hike at Twentymile Loop (7.6 miles), one of the most remote trails in the national park. She will also lead a hike to Hall Cabin (15.5 miles), a historic log home that hosted tourists interested in fishing in the Smokies before the area was designated as a park. JP Smith will lead a hike along Lakeshore Trail (5 miles) to the site of old cars abandoned on a section of the trail that was once NC 288, before the Tennessee Valley Authority flooded the road. As a member of the Great Smoky Mountains 900-Miler Club, JP has hiked every trail within the national park.
UNC Asheville professor and historian Dr. Dan Pierce will give a campfire presentation: Hazel Creek: The Life and Death of an Iconic Mountain Community.
“The Fontana Lake area is so remote, so full of history and human artifacts that it’s worth a trip from anywhere, and Twentymile area is even further. I am so excited that we will be able to hike and explore that part of the Smokies for two days, and we are so lucky that Dr. Dan Pierce will give us a historic and cultural perspective of these lands,” says Bernstein.
Proceeds from the event will help fund critical projects and programs in Great Smoky Mountains National Park like Parks as Classrooms, preservation of historic structures, and black bear rehabilitation. Cost is $350 per person, or $500 for a couple/partner room. Visit Hike.FriendsOfTheSmokies.org to register.
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