Tennessee man honors Great Smoky Mountains rescuers with poinsettia in 50-year tradition of gratitude
For two teenage friends, Thanksgiving 1974 was supposed to be an unforgettable adventure on the Appalachian Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. However, their planned hike took a dramatic turn when a severe winter storm swept across the mountains, leaving them stranded and facing a fight for survival.
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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.
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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 the then 15-year-old, 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.
![FILE - Fog settles near sunset in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, TN, on July 23, 2016.]()
Image 1 of 10FILE - Fog settles near sunset in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, TN, on July 23, 2016. (Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post)
![FILE - View from the Oconaluftee Overlook of the Oconaluftee Valley with pink clouds at sunrise in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina, USA.]()
Image 2 of 10FILE - View from the Oconaluftee Overlook of the Oconaluftee Valley with pink clouds at sunrise in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina, USA. (Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket)
![FILE - View of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina, USA at sunset from Clingman's Dome parking lot.]()
Image 3 of 10FILE - View of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina, USA at sunset from Clingman's Dome parking lot. (Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket)
![FILE - View of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina, USA at sunrise from the Newfound Gap Overlook.]()
Image 4 of 10FILE - View of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina, USA at sunrise from the Newfound Gap Overlook. (Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket)
![FILE - After five decades of construction the Foothills Parkways Missing Link is seen with views of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park are seen in Tennessee, United States on November 10, 2018. The road links a 16 miles stretch connecting Walland and Wears Valley.]()
Image 5 of 10FILE - After five decades of construction the Foothills Parkways Missing Link is seen with views of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park are seen in Tennessee, United States on November 10, 2018. The road links a 16 miles stretch connecting Walland and Wears Valley. (Patrick Gorski/NurPhoto)
![The sun shines through a canopy of trees at Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee during the spring of 2023.]()
Image 6 of 10The sun shines through a canopy of trees at Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee during the spring of 2023. (Nicole Valdes)
![A mountainous landscape is framed by trees at Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee during the spring of 2023.]()
Image 7 of 10A mountainous landscape is framed by trees at Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee during the spring of 2023. (Nicole Valdes)
![A hiker stands at the top of a waterfall at Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee during the spring of 2023.]()
Image 8 of 10A hiker stands at the top of a waterfall at Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee during the spring of 2023. (Nicole Valdes)
![Trees bud in Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee during the spring of 2023.]()
Image 9 of 10Trees bud in Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee during the spring of 2023. (Nicole Valdes)
![Trees tower above a forest floor at Sequoia National Park in California during the spring of 2023.]()
Image 10 of 10Trees tower above a forest floor at Sequoia National Park in California during the spring of 2023. (Robert Ray)
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."
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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 staff for their heroic mission.
She continued the annual tradition, often in person, until she passed away four years ago. 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.