[Transcript]

Did You Hike?

Hey folks, I'm a little curious. You know, I've been yapping away about all these wonderful hiking trails in the park, and I have to wonder, did you do any hiking today? I sure would love to know what your favorite hikes are. You know, you can always share your ideas with Shaka Guide on our Facebook group. 

Yeah, it's called Shaka Guide Insiders, and on our Instagram page as well. And speaking of hikes, Great Smoky Mountains National Park was the birthplace of an amazing but little-known program called Smoky's Hikes for Healing. It was created by a man with my new favorite name, Cassius Cash. 

Meet Cassius Cash

Now, you might have seen that name around the park's visitor centers. Cassius is actually the 16th superintendent of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Now, Cassius worked as a wildlife biologist for the United States Forest Service for almost 20 years before he joined the National Park Service. 

And then in 2015, he became the first African American superintendent of Great Smoky. Cassius led the park through some pretty tough times, like the 2016 Chimney Tops Fire and the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, I don't know if you remember this or not, but in the summer of 2020, racial tensions in the United States were running pretty high.

Smoky's Hikes for Healing

So Cassius created the Smoky's Hikes for Healing program. They were guided hikes where people of different races could hike together and have a no-holds-barred conversation about racial injustice in America. The hikes were guided by educated facilitators, and folks were encouraged to ask the tough questions in a safe space. 

Questions like, what's it like to be Black in the American South these days? And why is there still so much racial tension in the U.S.? Well, it turns out the Smoky's Hikes for Healing was a huge hit, and soon the park was overwhelmed with applications to attend.

Continuing the Conversation

Now, if you want to learn more, check the park's website for the latest information. They also offer resources on how you can host your own conversations about race, wherever you might be comfortable. 

You know, there really is nothing like the great outdoors for bringing people together and helping us to realize that we're all a lot more similar than we are different. After all, this is the great outdoors, and there's room here for everyone.