Cheoah – Two hikers lost in the Joyce Kilmer Forest were located shortly after 7 p.m. Monday.
Graham County 911 dispatchers received information that two Rome, Ga. women – ages 23 and 50 – were lost. The pair had left the Joyce Kilmer parking lot between 1:30 and 2 p.m. Monday afternoon, for a hike on the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Plaque Trail.
The hikers were able to call out on their cell phone to inform authorities of their situation. Tory Lynnes of the Graham County Rescue Squad located the two women near Adam Camp Branch. The hikers were not dressed for a chilly night in the woods.
Apparently, the hikers had taken the Naked Ground Trail by mistake, which turns off the Memorial Plaque Trail. The Memorial Plaque Trail makes a loop through Joyce Kilmer Forest, while the Naked Ground Trail goes all the way to the top of the mountain and becomes very steep.