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Hurricane Helene: Man hikes 11 miles to reach parents in NC, ‘How many failing roads and deep mudslides I had to cross'
"While hiking up 226A, I met multiple people trapped by devastation in both directions of the highway,” Sam Perkins shared.
As North Carolina struggles to get back on its feet in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, a man has revealed that hehiked 11 miles to his parents' home in the mountains over the weekend after not hearing from them for 48 hours. Sam Perkins initially got in his vehicle and began to drive toward his parents’ home, which is situated on a mountain between Spruce Pine and Little Switzerland.
In a Facebook post, Perkins said he was “drowning in worry” when he had not heard from his parents for 48 hours. Even though he initially tried to drive to the house, his attempt failed.
‘I've never seen anything like it’
“Little did I know that up there, Helene has demolished roads, homes and utility networks. **This area is completely cut off from resources in every direction.** I tried multiple routes to drive up but had to settle on parking in Marion at the base of a closed road (Hwys 221/226) and hiking 11 miles and 2,200 feet to find my parents thankfully ok but surrounded by devastation. I have never been so relieved to see anyone ok,” Perkins wrote.
“Crews weren't even close yesterday. I can't tell you how many failing roads and deep mudslides I had to cross, how many fallen trees I had to take off my backpack for and navigate through. While hiking up 226A, I met multiple people trapped by devastation in both directions of the highway,” he added.
Perkins described how the water “raged to tear up roads, earth and homes.” He wrote, “I'm still processing it all. I've never seen anything like it. Power is a couple weeks out. I cannot fathom how long it will take DOT to repair the curvy roads that hug steep mountainsides with the most amazing views. Most of all, I want my parents to have the same basic needs they always provided me -- food, water, shelter (house is mostly ok) and the ability to explore! But they can't even leave their home right now. The steep part of their gravel road has braided channels only 18" wide but up to 5' deep from rushing water.”
Perkins clarified that his parents are fine, but “completely trapped.” He added that he understands what people who have family in the mountains must be going through now.
Perkins later told CNN of his parents, “They have food. They are pretty much out of water, but they have enough propane to boil once they start needing to.”
Perkins found his parents, but eventually decided to head back down because he “didn’t want to use their supplies.”
In a separate post, Perkins thanked people for their support. “My parents are amazing and have done so much for me, so in some ways, the trek was easy to do for them (mentally at least). I know (to a fault) it's easy to feel helpless so far away, but the rallying community is how we recover as swiftly and effectively as possible while minimizing the hardships people are having to endure,” he wrote, adding that he is in touch with his father.
More than 120 people were killed as a result of the storm and its aftermath, NBC News reported. One of the places that is severely affected is North Carolina, with entire communities under several feet of water due to flooding.
