Thanks to great partnerships, AllTrails (Trail Guide App) and Piedmont Land Conservancy worked together to see what data was available to help show the impact Helene had on trail use in Western NC.
At a Great Trails State Coalition meeting, it was asked if any member could assist with analyzing the data. Friends of the Valdese Rec Media Specialist and Duke University student Zakk Heile agreed to volunteer his time and asked for datasets starting in January 2022. He knew this would help show trends; as well as, look at the influence Year of the Trail had across the state.