We are 8+ weeks out from John’s open-heart surgery and cardio conversion, and he is now off all restrictions. We decided to take a trip down to Great Smoky Mountain National Park. This was the first park we visited for an extended visit after John’s initial stay in Cleveland Clinic almost two years ago. The difference in his endurance was amazing.
We hiked every day we were in the park, anywhere from 5 to 9 miles. Elevation gains per day anywhere from 500 feet to 1500 feet. We didn’t take a single day off from moving our body! GSMNP is full of rivers, waterfalls, epic blue mountain sunsets, and rhododendrons. We missed the big bloom….if you are in the area, it sounds like Memorial Day weekend should be amazing. The park is so big….end to end can take 2+ hours of driving. The west side is very popular, so we spent a little bit of time there but concentrated most of our time on the east side which is just as beautiful but much less crowded.
We hiked Chimney Top, and I made it the whole way to the peak. It has been officially closed since the 2016 wildfire, but many take the trip to the top despite warnings. I met an 18-year-old guy from Uzbekistan on his first trip to the US. He had never hiked anywhere like this before and was a little afraid of the last 200 feet to the peak – it is a steep incline with a complete scramble to the summit providing the most spectacular panoramic views of the mountains. He followed me to the top and back down, and then asked me “How old are you?” When I told him 55, he said “Wow….that is amazing. You are incredible. Don’t ever stop.” And then he asked for a selfie with the crazy lady older than this parents that scaled to the top of the mountain.
We saw a few bears in Cades Cove along our drive (cute little cubs), and heard several while we slept outside our campsite. Our camping neighbors left out food and cups overnight at their campsite only to find the bears had their way with their stash while we slept. Apparently, there are 3 very brave bears in the campground the park is looking to relocate before someone gets hurt.
It has been a while since we have been hiking in such a populated area like GSMNP – it is the most popular national park in the US with over 11 million visitors a year. The adventure van (Samsara) was a great conversation starter as usual. We made some new friends from Canada, several from Ohio, and received some admiration from some folks for our adventuring. Sometimes we forget how spectacular it is to do what we can do. There are so many things in life not to be taken for granted.
The best part was being able to meditation next to waterfall after waterfall with no other humans around for most of the trip. Moss covered rocks, acoustically beautiful sounds from the babbling water, and serenity.
We are off for home…..we have a general rule not to stay in National Parks on the weekends – too many people! We wanted to get home to spend the weekend with our kids. It’s Mother’s day y’all….don’t forget!