The mountain “gateway” town of Old Fort, North Carolina, was well on its way to achieving a major goal: to become a hot spot for mountain biking and all things outdoors. Then nature, as one business owner put it, hit “the reset button.” A year ago, floodwaters from the remnants of Hurricane Helene inundated the town, washing out miles of multi-purpose trails and closing long stretches of the Blue Ridge Parkway, a tourist lifeline. Chad Schoenauer has reopened his Old Fort Bike Shop, but he’s doing more repairs than sales these days. Tourism spending last year was way off in the mountains, but many are hoping for a successful fall foliage season to hit the reset button again.