Cherokee National Forest, Tennessee – Volunteer Vacations 2022

The Cherokee National Forest is your destination for outdoor recreation. Enjoy a scenic drive through the mountains, the pursuit of wildlife, the thrill of whitewater, a night under the stars, or solitude on a backcountry trail. The Whigg Ridge Trail is a 2.8 mile long trail from the Tellico River up Whigg Ridge to the FS road just below the top of Whigg Meadow. This trail has not been worked on for over 10 years and is nearly impassible. Volunteers will work with the Forest Service and Benton MacKaye Trail Association to clear the trail and create a loop that ascends the trail up the Sycamore Creek Section of the BMT to Whigg Meadow, where camping is available on a nearly mile high meadow, then descend down the Whigg Ridge Trail back to the Tellico River. US Forest Service Staff will go in first with chainsaws to clear the trail of blowdowns in advance of the work week, then American Hiking Society volunteers will clear small blowdowns and years of accumulated brush and make tread repairs where needed to create access to this forgotten trail.

AHS acknowledges with gratitude that this project takes place on the traditional lands of the ᏣᎳᎫᏪᏘᏱ Tsalaguwetiyi (Cherokee, East) and S’atsoyaha (Yuchi) peoples past and present. We honor the land itself, the Indigenous communities who have stewarded this land for generations, and those who continue to steward these lands today. AHS invites all volunteers to join us in our commitment to support and amplify the work of Indigenous communities as they work to dismantle the systems of oppression that these communities continue to face today.