The small roads made of dirt and rock had been there for generations, twisting byways that carried families up and down the mountains of western North Carolina. The asphalt highways were newer, built along cliffs and over rivers to connect the region with South Carolina and Tennessee.
But flooding fueled by the remnants of Hurricane Helene washed many of those roads away last week and grievously damaged many others, stranding people in more remote locations and requiring lengthy detours through much of the area.