TENNESSEE, USA — Weather permitting, supplies will be shuttled by air this week at the Cosby area of Great Smoky Mountains National Park so crews can begin significant repairs to the popular Ramsey Cascades Trail.
Some 35 helicopter loads of material is to be dropped off Wednesday and Thursday at numerous drop-off sites along Ramsey Cascades Trail from a staging area near the Cosby Picnic Area.
To accommodate the work, the Park Service says, the trail, the Ramsey Prong Road and the Cosby area of the park itself are set to be closed Wednesday and Thursday to all traffic.
"The loads include bundles of locust logs, tools and equipment for the project," according to a news release Monday from the Park Service.
Actual rehabilitation of the Ramsey Cascades is supposed to start in early May and occur Mondays-Thursdays except during federal holidays. It'll go on through mid-November, according to the Park Service.
During the weekday closures, you won't be able to access Ramsey Cascades or Ramsey Prong Road. The trail will be open Fridays-Sundays, according to the Park Service.
Ramsey Cascades is the tallest waterfall in the park, stretching 100 feet.
The maintenance work is part of the Trails Forever program supported by Friends of the Smokies, which helps in the care of the park.
Work will include repairing the tread surface, fixing drainage and removing "tripping hazards" such as roots and rocks, according to the Park Service.
Friends of the Smokies and the park set up Trails Forever to pay for a permanent, skilled trail crew to work on high-use Smokies trails. An endowment supports the program.
