My hiking adventures within the Great Smokey Mountains National Park started in earnest in June of 2013 when I talked two of my sons, one daughter in law and a dear friend I worked with into hiking to Ramsey Cascades the highest waterfall within the park boundaries. Daphne, my friend still hikes as do I and my lovely daughter in law. It is one of those things that once you challenge yourself and succeed it just ups the ante. And we are so lucky and so blessed to live where we do. Hiking trails abound over all kinds of terrain. From national forests, state parks, the Appalachian Trail, to The Great Smokies themselves it is a smorgasbord and often the most difficult decision is where to go. Narrowing down the choices to one can be a challenge.
Last year’s 100 mile Centennial challenge drew me to the Smokey Mountains National Park. I earned my 100 mile pin, and my Centennial Challenge pin. I am hooked. I like to hike in the park when I go solo as well because I always run into folks and the Park Rangers are on top of things. I let family know where I am going and I know if I do not check in in a timely manner they will know where to send help.
It was a beautiful day. The rains have eased the oppressive humidity and the temperatures have been in the mid 80’s. I started up the trail with a bounce in my step and a smile on my face. I am not a really fast hiker. I am slow and steady. I am out to enjoy the trail. I made my way into the woods snapping some photos and enjoying the sound of the babbling creek. The forest in the height of summer is a beautiful blend of many shades of green and brown. I started to sweat and dipped my cool cloth into the Creek. The trail started to climb in a series of switchbacks and I was soaked with sweat by the time I reached the intersection with Deeplow Gap trail. I stopped and took a break. I always reach a point in every long hike when I question what I am doing there. I hit that early today. Once I walk that out I am good. I walk and all the little monkeys jump off my back and disappear into the woods. I have no time for the little chittering monkeys. There is a peace and magesty in the forest that lifts one above and transports one beyond the temporal worries. The hike becomes you, the trail, the climb, the descent, your body and your will. It transcends the physical, lifting you out of the ordinary into the extraordinary. And the experience is intimately personal even in a group you walk alone. The sights and the sounds, the wind in the trees, the crunch of the dead leaves under your feet, the smells that are of the woods and no where else, rich rotting vegetation, animal and insect, flower and fungi, it is all so different from the odor of modern life. It is a primitive smell that the ancient part of your brain recognizes and your soul breathes in growing in breadth and depth.
I continued my climb meeting a foursome of young hikers coming down. We passed and spoke greetings and each continued on our way. They were the only people I saw all day. At the juncture with Newton Bald I took another break then decided to go on to campsite 51 before turning around and heading back. That added another mile to my hike giving me 12.6 miles for the day. If I am going to maintain sanity during this transition I will need to hit the trail more. That was my conclusion of the day when I got back to my Jeep. Mingus Creek Trail joins the completed list in my trail log. It feels good to accomplish a thing.
MrsSmithsLifeUnexpected 