New on the Appalachian Trail: Rafts ferry hikers where Helene destroyed a bridge
Hiking the Appalachian Trail through the Blue Ridge Mountains takes people through thick forests and across grassy mountaintop balds.
This year it also includes a short boat ride.
Floodwaters from the remnants of Hurricane Helene took out a bridge over the Nolichucky River, severing two sections of the Appalachian Trail near Erwin, Tennessee. Crossing the river required a 3.6-mile detour alongside busy roads, just to get to the other side.
But starting this month, hikers are now being ferried across the river in 12-foot rubber rafts. Guides from Wahoo’s Adventures carry people over one at a time, replacing an hour or two of walking with a five-minute ride.
“It was fantastic. The raft guy was awesome,” said Mike Bolduc of Maine, who crossed the river with his daughter Natalie Nicols last weekend. “Definitely made us feel very safe. Speedy. Made sure we took our backpacks off when we got in the raft in case you fell overboard. Just really awesome, and so much better than a road walk.”
“Especially a detour road walk,” Nicols added.
More than 430 miles of the Appalachian Trail were closed after Helene blew through the mountains, according to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the nonprofit that manages and protects the 2,200-mile trail from Georgia to Maine.
After tens of thousands of hours of work by volunteers and the National Forest Service, all but about 21 miles have been cleared enough for this year’s hiking season. (An alternative route takes hikers around a closed section along the North Carolina-Tennessee state line in Mitchell County.)
Road detour both long and unsafe
The conservancy initially mapped out the detour around the missing bridge as well. But the roads are narrow, and convoys of dump trucks carrying stone up the Nolichucky to where CSX is rebuilding its railroad tracks make it a dicey place to walk, said Franklin Tate, the conservancy’s associate regional director.
“A lot of people came back to us and said, ‘This road walk sucks,’” Tate said. “So even though we blazed it and turned it into a feasible walk-around, we started thinking, ‘We really want another option.’”
Using donations to its trail resiliency fund, the conservancy hired Wahoo’s Adventures to provide the boats and the guides. Owner Slayton Johnson had thought about offering a ferry service last fall after his stepfather, a veteran of the trail, told him that a company uses canoes to carry hikers across a remote stretch of the Kennebec River in Maine.
“And he was like, ‘Son, I think there’s an opportunity for some harmony and some partnership here,’” Johnson said.
The ferry contract is a lifeline for Wahoo’s. The company doesn’t expect to have its usual rafting season on the Nolichucky due to lack of access to national forest land while CSX works on its tracks. The ferry may be the only rafting work available on the river this year, Johnson said.
“These river guides, they do mean a lot to our community and to our economy,” he said. “It’s not much, but they’re able to work on the river and make a little bit of money.”
Wahoo guides carry hikers across the river for free, though tipping is highly encouraged. The ferry will run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. every day from now through June 15, when thru-traffic on the trail falls off considerably.
Northbound hikers looking for a ride check in at Uncle Johnny’s Nolichucky Hostel Cabins & Camping, a respite for AT hikers on the south side of the river. Owner Terry Wise was instrumental in bringing about the ferry, Tate said, as were local officials in Erwin and Unicoi County.
The vast majority of hikers will be heading north across the river, on their quest to trek from Georgia to Maine, said Tate, who is based in Asheville. Demand for the ferry will peak in April and May, he said.
“The numbers at a place like Uncle Johnny’s down there on the Nolichucky are really going to swell over the next month or so,” he said. ”You’ll have nights of 50 and 60 and 70 people, all waiting to get across.”
Bolduc and Nicols were among the first to reach the ferry, which went into service March 17. They left Georgia on Feb. 28 and have been amazed by the work that has been done to get the trail open.
“Catastrophic is just not a blunt enough word to describe the damage,” said Bolduc, 62. “The amount of forest that got just wiped out, with trees pushed downhill, uphill, every which direction.”
Like most hikers, they knew about the ferry before they reached the river and were ready with some cash for a tip. Taking an off day at a bed and breakfast near Roan Mountain, Bolduc and Nicols said they felt fortunate the trail was in such good shape.
“We’re really happy to be here thru-hiking and supporting businesses along the way,” said Nicols, 29.
While the ferry service will end in June, Johnson at Wahoo’s said he hopes it can be revived in September and October for southbound hikers. Beyond that, there are plans to rebuild the Chestoa Pike Bridge and make the ferry obsolete.
FEMA has agreed to pay three-quarters of the estimated $9.77 million cost to replace it.
This story was originally published March 28, 2025 at 8:00 AM with the headline "New on the Appalachian Trail: Rafts ferry hikers where Helene destroyed a bridge."
