【Pivot】曝光不足-佐治亞州沃克縣

Greetings from the small town of Chickamauga. I'm in the northwest corner of the Peach State, surrounded by the southern Appalachians, and only a stone's throw away from the city of Chattanooga, Tennessee. This part of the country is steeped in early American history, from being the site of one of the Civil War's bloodiest battles to very early industrial roots. For a long time, Chattanooga was considered the dirtiest city in America, with this constant haze cast over it, almost like a shadow from the Industrial Revolution. And Chickamauga played a big role in that, with coke ovens here converting coal into coke, and then trains taking that coke up to Chattanooga, which fueled the foundries of iron and steel in that city. Over time, however, that reliance on extracting natural resources eased, and today they've come full circle, with an emphasis on utilizing those very same natural resources, not for extractive purposes, but instead for outdoor recreation and conservation. My name is Bryce Scherbach, and this is Underexposed in Walker County,Georgia. Walker County occupies the northwest corner of Georgia, and offers up a bevy of recreational pursuits, from climbing to paddling, fly fishing, and of course, mountain biking. The county itself is home to several miles of trails, and within a short drive, offers access to places that include Jared's Bike Park, which is just 25 miles south of Chickamauga, as well as hundreds of miles of trail available in and around the city of Chattanooga. The region is served by a number of nonprofits, including two Southern Off-Road Bicycling Association chapters, Sorba Chattanooga and Northwest Georgia Sorba, plus Lulu Lake Land Trust, who are tasked with preserving land and building trails along Lookout Mountain. I had the good fortune to connect with Eric Pullen, economic and events director for Chickamauga, and a member of the Northwest Georgia Sorba. Eric has a very strong belief in the transformative power of trail access and mountain biking, and his passion for the sport is paying very real dividends for the small community in the mountains of Northwest Georgia. My name is Eric Pullen. I am the economic development and events director for the city of Chickamauga,Georgia. I'm also on the board of directors for the Chamber of Commerce, and have a seat with the Walker County Tourism Committee. I actually am a Northwest Georgia native, and grew up near here. Lived in Atlanta for a number of years, and moved my family to Chattanooga about 10 years ago. And then at a certain point, we decided to go to a less populated density area, and so we zoned in on Chickamauga,Georgia. We're at the foot of Lookout Mountain. Number of trails here, which fits our mountain biking lifestyle. It's beautiful. We have a walkable community, and almost a 12-month year riding season. It's an amazing place to live and raise a family. The American Southeast is home to an almost overwhelming volume of high-quality riding opportunities, and while the public trail systems make up the bulk of that, shuttle service bike parks are on the rise, and Jared's place is among the best in all of the Southeast. Unfortunately, due to lingering concussion symptoms, I wasn't able to capture the brilliance of those trails while I was in town. But what Jared and his team have done is stellar, and it's absolutely on the must-ride list when in the area. Outdoor recreation has been very vital to the Chattanooga economy for the last 10 to 20 years. I really recognized it when I came home. You know, I left, I moved away for college, went to the University of Georgia, go Dawgs, and when returning home, you can just see, you can see just a complete turnaround. And Chattanooga has done well with its outdoor recreation economy. Walker County in northwest Georgia hasn't really embraced it as much, but we're beginning to. With the Walker Rocks branding, it is something that we recognize is important to us. With a lot of the mining and industrial jobs that have left the area, like a lot of small towns and rural communities like this, it's left a hole. And we recognize that tourism is something that can fill that hole for us and give us something that is sustainable and it can preserve our culture, preserve our natural resources, and not really upset the natural balance of life that we have here now and be able to build something that is uplifting for the community. The ongoing collaborative efforts that make this region so special for mountain bikers is really something to behold. Of course, the Sorba chapters, specifically Sorba Chattanooga and northwest Georgia Sorba, are going to be front and center and deservedly so, as their history is well documented and continues to be a model for the rest of the country to build their own advocacy efforts on, as seen here at Waldron Ridge, home to the city's first purpose-built gravity trails. But it goes well beyond them, and for Walker County in particular, Lula Lake Land Trust has become an unbelievably valuable partner, preserving thousands of acres of land for conservation and recreational purposes, and offering up an authentic backcountry experience in the heart of the southern Appalachian. You're such a smoke show Baby when I say It's both dancing in the glow Just watching your smoke show You mentioned how it's good for the community and good for your health. It's also good for your soul. And mountain biking really, it saved me from myself at one point in my life. Kid without a lot of discipline. And if you're going to race mountain bikes, if you're going to participate in this sport, you have to have some self-imposed discipline, or you can't do it. And so it taught me to eat well, to exercise well. It taught me to go to bed, need a decent hour. And it did force me into some self-discipline, just to be able to try to compete in cycling. And I gained a lot from it. And then just communing with nature and just being in the woods constantly. You have a lot of time to reflect. And it is absolutely important that people spend more time in nature. Not only for their bodies and their minds, but for their soul as well. And that's why I do it. And I know that some of the trails that we want to build and some of the things that we want to have created in our community is not going to happen for probably decades from now. But if we can start now, start putting the pieces in place and put the building blocks in place now, we're going to build something that's going to affect many, many lives going forward. History is an interesting concept. And it's one that I think we often refer to in terms of the past. But sometimes it's worth examining in real time. And in a place like Walker County, we're able to appreciate history in both of those ways. Yes, socially and environmentally, the history here is littered with the scars of an often ugly past. But through the efforts of groups like Sorba and Lulu Lake Land Trust, as well as individuals like Eric Pullen and others, we're able to see a community actively working on their next chapter. And one that is much cleaner, brighter, and with mountain bikes at the center of the story.