Smokies Wilderness Elite A.T. (SWEAT)  Crew

The Smokies Wilderness Elite A.T. Crew is something completely different than other ATC volunteer trail crews. A division of a new A.T. maintaining club, the SWEAT Club, the SWEAT Crew focuses on performing basic maintenance such as cutting back vegetation, removing blowdown, and clearing waterbars. The ATC SWEAT Crew is a mobile crew, carrying all food, tools and camping gear into the heart of the largest and most beautiful wilderness area in the east, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Members of this crew are, indeed, elite.

Crew Life

Base Camp

The ATC SWEAT Crew is based in national park seasonal housing near Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Crew members, when not in the field, lodge in rustic facilities with access to bathrooms, showers, and laundry facilities. Crew members working more than one session may stay at the base camp during their days off.

Crew Week

SWEAT crews work six days in the field arriving on the afternoon before their work session for dinner and orientation. A long (as much as 10 miles) and sometimes strenuous backpacking trip, with considerable elevation change will be required to access the work site. Additionally, the crew week may also require long day hikes. Campsites will likely not be optimal; willingness to camp in unlikely and cramped spots is crucial.

SWEAT Crew Member Qualifications

Inexperienced backpackers need not apply. Don’t expect to see a lot of other hikers along the Trail as the crew will be further from the trailhead than most hikers venture. We will only accept applicants with extensive backpacking/backcountry experience and that meet rigorous fitness qualifications.

Ability to operate as a highly motivated and dependable team member with strong initiative and determination, excellent LNT skills, and well-honed backpacking skills and abilities are a necessity. The ATC SWEAT Crew will work hard, hike and backpack far, and have lots of fun! All on the most remote, and one of the most memorable, sections of the A.T.

ATC will Provide:

• All necessary tools and training on their use
• Loaner camping gear necessary for trail work
• A professional trail crew leader
• Plenty of high-energy food
• Off-day housing for multi-week volunteers
• Transportation to and from the trailhead from base camp

Apply Today

New Volunteers: Download our 2008 Crew Application or apply online. For more information about the Smokies Wilderness Elite A.T. Crew or Club, contact ATC's Asheville, N.C., office: (828) 254-3708, atc-gntro@appalachiantrail.org.

A.T. Trail Crew Alumni: Contact us at crews@appalachiantrail.org for an alumni application.