the family went to the gatlinburg area of tennessee for a week from june 12-20.....and i was licking my chops at the many Great Smoky Mountain trails. on our way into tennessee and just outside of the GSM, we stopped outside of cherokee, nc and hiked to Mingo Falls (130' tall waterfall). we then headed into the GSM on the winding Newfound Gap Road. the road goes up and down with 7% inclines and declines and sharp turns. we were quickly introduced to the great beauty of the GSM and the danger...we came upon an accident only minutes old where a motorcycle wrecked and other motorists were asking for help calling 911 and asking for towels. we stayed in a mountain-side cabin in wear valley (away from the tourist strips of pigeon forge and gatlinburg). on our first full day in tennessee we hiked Laurel Falls. i loaded 30 pounds on my back and we made it half way up the 1.1 mile trail when my 3-year old evan gave up. because this was a roughly paved trail, i left the backpack with the family and ran down the mountain and grabbed our stroller and ran it all the way back. my 2.2 mile round trip turned into 3.3 miles but i felt good. two days later after a trip around Cades Cove, i took my mom and step-father on the Abrams Falls trail with 20 pounds on my back. this is a 5-mile round trip that went up and down on rugged, rugged terrain that followed a river/creek for the first mile. during the hike, my mom heard a rustling up the hillside and my step-father saw a big bear. pretty soon we saw the mother bear had two cubs. i didn't plan the hike very good for three people and we ran out of water pretty early in the trip and i got pretty dehydrated and my shoulders started cramping. our last full day in tennessee was spent at the chimney area. we hiked a 1-mile loop at the picnic area with the family and then after lunch erin and i drove to chimney tops. this is a 4-mile round trip with some difficult rock climbing to reach the peak. the trail followed a creek up the mountain and gave tons of great views and photo opportunities. i had 20 pounds on my back and felt like a billy goat hiking a cliff. this hike was steep and rugged. i was very proud of my wife for making it to the rocks. the rocks were ridiculous with 2" to 4" ledges to climb 50' up to the summit. erin decided not to try the rocks, but i wanted to see the view that everyone talked about. as i started the climb (foolishly with my pack on), it started to rain hard. by the time i inched my way to the top, it was pouring. once i made it to the top, i looked around and saw nothing but clouds and i was completely soaked and afraid to take out my camera. i slid down the rocks, inch by inch, until i reached erin. we started down the mountain and the rain started to let up and i was kicking myself for not staying at the top longer to enjoy the views. we made it half way down and the rain started again....but this time it rained harder than i've ever seen in my life.....and then the lightning and thunder started....all around us. it got so dark on the trail that it felt like night time. erin and i did our best to run down the trail as fast as we could without busting our arses. it was one of the craziest experiences i've ever had. our feet and my pack were completely soaked.....i'd left my rain gear and gaitors back in florida.....and i got my first hiking blister. our drive back to florida was again a reminder of the danger of the GSM as we were detoured by the closure of the newfound gap road due to a crash that resulted in two helicopter evacuations.
