By David Rogers. BLOWING ROCK, N.C. — Standing at the base of a hurricane-toppled tree blocking a Cone Manor Estate carriage trail on a late September morning, Sam Hess is almost dwarfed by the uprooted debris, even with arms fully outstretched.
The Blowing Rock-based CPA, a self-described “numbers nerd,” regularly runs the carriage trails with another local business owner, Keith Shockley. After Hurricane Helene swept through the region on September 27, their early morning runs became a bit more challenging — they usually start at 5:30 a.m., so it is a good thing they sported flashlights and headlamps!
Trees, big and small, had fallen across the trails, creating more of a Mother Nature-inspired obstacle course than a clear path. Hess said he started counting the trees because there were so many of them and he was curious.
“There were 64 trees down across the trail on the backside, the trail going up from near the horse show grounds to the Manor House,” said Hess. “Then we ran The Maze and found 24 trees down. Up to The Firetower? Just 12.”
Because The Firetower trail is a little higher elevation with little to protect anything standing against the skyline, one would suspect there would be more down because of the hurricane-force winds but maybe they were strengthened by being exposed to the elements on a day-to-day basis.
“I had never seen so much carnage in this area,” said Hess, in describing what he and Shockley found after the storm. “Even more amazing is how quickly the National Park Service staff cleared the trails. Sure, there is a lot of carnage still along the trails and where they pushed the downed trees off to the side, but I am really impressed and thankful by how quickly they got everything cleared.”
