New Monument Marks Smoky Mountains Trail End

0:00It's April 30th, you're listening to Durham News today, AI-powered local news. A new monument just dropped at the western end of the mountains to see trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, unveiled on April 9th, 20th, 26th. Local artists Preston Faribow crafted it from 700 pounds of Smoky Mountain Grey marble, complete with a signature hole in the center to frame. The epic views, three years back, they put up a matching one at the eastern end, and Jocky's Ridge State Park on the outer banks, also rocking that central cut out to. Spotlight the massive dunes. Faribow, hailing from Knoxville, Tennessee, but born in North Carolina, drew straight inspiration from the seaside piece. He calls it a looking glass, pulling folks in to explore the wild beauty spanning both states, right on the border. The non-profit friends of the Smoky's donated the whole thing, spearheaded by Asheville Hiker and writer Danny Bernstein. She threw hike the full trail back in 2011, and struggled to even find this western endpoint.

1:00Now parked the yards from the observation tower, on Kuhohi, the park's 6,643 foot high point. These twin markers book in the trail, inviting hikers from coast to crest to chase that next horizon.