Smoky Scout took the final steps of her year-long odyssey last Saturday when she completed the Old Sugarlands Trail with several family and friends. When she arrived at the trailhead near the Sugarlands Visitor Center, Smoky Scout had just completed a total of 1073.8 miles in order to hike all of the trails in the Smokies.
In all, she spent 82 days hiking over the course of the last year which required her to make 27 trips to the park from her home in Charlotte, NC.
Her longest day was a whopping 20 mile hike – in one day! Back in October she did a loop hike in the Forney Creek area which required a thigh-burning 4200 feet of climbing.
Smoky Scout saw lots of wildlife along the way as well, including 10 bears, 3 boars, a fox, a coyote, and numerous elk, deer and turkeys.
She also snapped an unbelievable 2970 photographs.
Readers should note though, that hiking all the trails wasn’t simply a way for Sharon to fulfill a personal goal. In addition to several personal reasons, one of her primary reasons for embarking on this mission was to raise money to help support the Girl Scouts in North Carolina. She made the challenge to herself to help raise funds for camp scholarships, backpacking equipment, and to help organize hiking groups for inner-city girls.
Although Sharon reached her mileage goals, she still needs your help in reaching her financial goals.
At the end of the trail, a couple bottles of bubbly were opened to toast this awesome accomplishment!
Please take the time to visit her website to see firsthand all of the things she’s seen and done over the last year.
Also, for those who haven’t seen it, I did an interview with Smoky Scout last September.
Jeff
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1 comment
She is a wonderful persona and a great hiking companion.
In the whole time she has hiked in the park, she did not see a single snake!
I have met people who drove through the park and never left their cars, saw a snake cross the road.
A perfect example of the random nature of what you will encounter in the park.
Don't think Smoky Scout is done, she is just beginning!
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