Tennessee man honors rangers in Smoky Mountains with poinsettia in 50-year tradition
Those who want to immerse themselves in the wonders of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park want to stay in it too and not in some crowded hotel away from the beauty.
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – A half-century later, a Tennessee man still honors the heroic rangers who rescued him from a life-or-death situation in the heart of the Smoky Mountains.
What began as a simple act of gratitude from Eric Johnson’s late mother has blossomed into a poignant annual holiday tradition for the Johnson City family.
7 WEATHER EXTREMES EXPERIENCED AT NATIONAL PARKS
Park staff met Eric Johnson easlier this month and learned more about his rescue mission.
(Great Smoky Mountains National Park)
Facing fear: A coin toss and courage
A Thanksgiving backpacking trip in 1974 marked a turning point for Johnson. A four-day, 34-mile hike on the Appalachian Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park turned into a perilous ordeal for Johnson, then 15, and his friend, Randy Laws.
Johnson’s parents took the two to the trailhead at Davenport Gap at the northern end of the mountains and dropped them off.
The first day of their hike was filled with promise. However, on the second day, the weather took a dramatic turn as a near-blizzard enveloped the mountains. As the storm raged, their situation grew increasingly dire, and they were forced to seek refuge in a backcountry shelter.
“It took us two hours to go like a quarter mile in the snow,” Johnson told FOX Weather. “It was bad. Really bad. We had to get to shelter, or we would have died out there.”
After the snow reached chest-high, Johnson and Laws realized the severity of their situation. Exhausted, hungry and dehydrated, they made the difficult decision to wait for rescue.
Rangers credit the two friends for having taken the proper precautions, including informing loved ones of their location and anticipated return date. For this reason, park officials were alerted to their disappearance and took action. However, due to the intense weather, a full-scale search and rescue was delayed until conditions improved.
Johnson soon found himself forced to signal for aid by stomping out the word “HELP” in the snow along with Laws’ bright red backpack. Hours had passed before a circling helicopter saw their urgent plea.
“There was a Chinook hovering right above the shelter,” Johnson said. “It looked like a praying mantis coming down … all they could do was lower a winch with a ranger on it to get us up into the helicopter.”
The two flipped a coin to see who went first. Laws won, but the loss, Johnson said, gave him the confidence he needed to navigate the perilous ascent.
“I had some slight frostbite on my toes, but it was nothing permanent,” Johnson said. “I could not walk for like two weeks.”
Millions come to experience nature in its truest form, surrounded by hundreds of species of trees, flowers, hundreds of hiking trails, dozens waterfalls, wildlife and rooted in history. What makes this park unique though, it’s changing weather.
A son’s promise kept
The following year on the anniversary of the rescue, Johnson’s mother, Wanetta Johnson, returned to the park with a simple offering: a poinsettia to express her gratitude to the park staff for their heroic mission.
She continued the annual tradition, often in person, until she passed away in 2020. Her son has continued the gesture since then.
“My mother made me promise her that I would do that before she passed … and I said I would,” an emotional Johnson recalled.
Eric Johnson spreads holiday cheer to the same park rangers who saved this life 50 years ago.
(Great Smoky Mountains National Park)
The annual delivery of the poinsettia has become a cherished event for both the Johnson and the park rangers.
“A lot of people in the public don’t realize what kind of bravery the rangers have,” Johnson said. “They will go out in extreme conditions to rescue someone, and they want to get that person back.”
Rangers agree that Johnson’s enduring gesture serves as a powerful reminder: a simple ‘thank you’ can have a profound effect. Even after 50 years, the poinsettia continues to touch lives.
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