The Smokey Mountains

After I finished my boards on June 22 (longest 5 weeks of studying ever, I couldn't be happier that test is over with), Mark and I left for the Smokey Mountains! We planned an anniversary trip to a place where we could get away and spend some good quality time together. We rented a cabin and it was a great combination of relaxation and time outdoors.

Our cabin was spectacular, it had an amazing view and 2 porches with a swing and a jacuzzi. Ours was the one on the far left. It was so cute and cozy. We hope to go back one day.

The view from the porch. So pretty.

We got there on the weekend, so there were a lot of tourists in the park. Mark and I thought it would be a good idea to go for a harder hike because then there wouldn't be so many people. Mark looked up a trail that sounded a little tougher, but led to the tallest waterfall in the park. I love waterfalls so I was sold. Little did we know......

The preditor...Ramsey Cascades. The victim...2 unsuspecting and naive Dallasites with little hiking experience. We started off with our lunches packed and our 1 powerade to share (mistake #1). I also brought a few books to read when we got to the top (mistakes #2,3,4). We started off feeling great and excited about our first hike. The hike was 4 miles each way, so 8 total. In case you don't know, 8 miles in the mountains is much, MUCH different than 8 miles on flat ground. It was a little tiring at first and we saw some benches but decided to press on. After about an hour and a half, we came to a sign pointing us toward a smaller path- we had only just begun.

Can you find Waldo in the picture below?

We started up the smaller trail and it got really tough. Every step was uphill and we were drenched in sweat. We came upon a group of people and asked how far from the top we were, they smiled and said that we hadn't even started the hardest part. There was one point where Mark asked me if I wanted to turn back. I told him in a very serious voice, "I'm NOT going back." We were determined to finish. And finish we did! We finally reached the cascades and it was beautiful. We were beyond exhausted but pretty proud of ourselves for finishing. I was, however, wishing I had brought 3 fewer books and 1 more powerade. Oh well, you live you learn.

We stayed for a while, put our feet in the water and took some pictures. Then we realized that it was getting a little later in the day and we still had a 4 mile hike back to the car, so we started down. By the time we finished, we were fully exhausted and our feet were hurting pretty bad, but we came out alive! The soreness the next day is another story...

The next day we decided to go for a scenic drive and go to the highest point in the park, Clingman's Dome. It is only a 1/2 mile hike on a paved road to the top, so it was nothing to us. We took the rest of that day and the next off to rest and watch more of the World Cup.

After a few days of resting, we were up for another hike. We were more careful this time to read about the hikes- realizing that Ramsey Cascade's is rated as "strenuous" and we gained over 2000 feet in those 4 miles up. We went for Rainbow Falls, a shorter hike to the highest single drop waterfall in the park. It didn't disappoint!

The picture actually kind of dwarfs the waterfall, it started really high.

On the way down, we saw some giant catepillars. We loved all the nature around us, but were absolutely fine with not seeing a bear this time like we did on our Thanksgiving trip.

The Smokey Mountains is one of our favorite places now. We decided that it could be a neat place to take our kids one day if its possible. It was so fun to get away from the city for a while, have some fresh air, and appreciate God's green earth!