Our main reason (so I thought) for going to the Smoky Mountains was to hike through the Smoky Mountain National Park! Let me just tell you-- it was BEAUTIFUL. We love to hike, and I'd say we were in pretty good shape (not professional hikers, by any means), as we had run our 1/2 marathon at the first of December (remember, we went to the Smokies right after Christmas). **Side note**I will also say that we couldn't have come at a better time, weather-wise. The town was so crowded for the post-Christmas season, but the weather was amazing! You'll notice in some of our pictures, I was hiking in a tank.** Anyway, I said that to say: some of those hikes are No. Joke. The views were SO worth it though! It was amazing to be right up there with the clouds.
On our first full day in the smokies, we packed a cooler for lunchmeat, and took off in search of a fun trail! We took off driving through the national park, and stopped at Mieg's creek, first. This came after we had been in the truck for a while, so it was really nice to get out and walk for a while (there was a trail that wound around behind the bridge you see in this picture). The rolling water over the rocks was truly breathtaking (I'll probably say that word six times in this post, but it really was).
Next, we did the Cades Cove loop. The Cades Cove loop is a MUST see for the scenic views of the mountains. There are just empty open fields (sometimes with animals in them) and the most gorgeous mountain backdrop behind you-- a great spot to stop and take pictures.
Within the Cades Cove loop, we did the 5 mile hike to Abrams Falls and back. The sign said Abrams Falls was moderately difficult, but we finished it in under two hours and stopped to take pictures and admire the beauty. Abrams Falls is only about 20 feet high, but the amount of water that rushes over the edge is amazing! I would say moderate would be accurate, but maybe I'm just comparing it to THE ultimate hike (that I'll get to in a minute)!
On our second day, we hiked to Laurel Falls first. This waterfall was a lot easier to get to, although very steep (but duh, you're in the mountains), but it was 80 feet high. Hunter and I climbed up above where it started (and got very strange looks from the passerby below) and got a pretty neat perspective that was different, since we were on top looking down. Lots of people were tugging their kids up this one, so it's not crazy difficult, but like I said, it was super steep. I was very concerned about the strollers people were hoisting up, but hey-- you do you! You can only see the top "tier" we'll call it, from this picture, since we were standing on the middle ground. There was another "tier" down below, making up the total 80 feet.
After driving a bit more, and a lunch break, we took off to do the Alum Cave Trail, which ended up being an 8-mile roundtrip (up and back down) hike. We were going up the WHOLE way, and then steeply back down on the way back. Our goal was to make it to the very top (Mount LeConte), but with it being December (dark so early-- not to mention how hard to tell time based on the sky because you're in the clouds), us not packing anything (didn't even have a flashlight), and being unfamiliar with the territory, we decided Mt. LeConte would have to wait til next time! We made it to a 5,350 feet peak! It had some BEAUTIFUL views.
I will share those below, but first let me interject (with some TMI) to say that like 3 steps into this trip, I already needed to go to the bathroom. (Not a problem for me to just step off to the side in the brush and tinkle, like I've done many times before, so I did that, but I needed to GOOOOO to the bathroom and wasn't wanting to use leaves as TP). So, I was kinda out of sorts, had stomach pain and a bit of a dismal attitude on our way up this giant mountain 😂. Hunter is sprinting at breakneck speed like some kind of superhuman mountain goat, and I'm several steps behind him grumbling in my head and thinking if we ever make it down from here alive, I'm never hiking again (HA! Not true!), why did we do this, what kind of crazy people are we?? It's getting dark and we have NO idea where we are, except WAYYY up here.
We meet a friendly family of hikers (real serious-- backpacks, headlamps, hiking boots-- they probably made fun of the two idiots with no backpacks or flashlights, or probably even water at this point 😆) who were on their way down the mountain from Newfoundland Gap, and we asked them about getting to the top before dark. We decided that probably wasn't a good idea, and kept hiking just a little bit longer. I'm huffing and puffing and can't even see Hunter... Once I get to a little more leveled-off spot, (5,350 feet to be exact) he turns around towards me and says "You know the real reason why I kept making us go higher and higher up here?", and I probably looked at him like 😒 "no, why?", (so you could see what I was made of???) and he proceeds to get down on one knee and ask if I WOULD MARRY HIM!!!! Y'all, this man had the engagement ring (without its box) in his shorts pocket (with a zipper) the WHOLE 4-mile (at this point) hike! UM YES, I WILL MARRY YOU! My eyes filled with tears, although I think I was too exhausted to cry crocodile tears (those came later, once it sank in a little more!) There's NO one else I'd want to hike up mountains with. This was so special, but even moreso because of the backstory. From the time we started telling each other "I love you", Hunter would say "Our love can move mountains, you know?" We always talked about how as long as we kept God first, our love would indeed move mountains. Well, we sure put that to the test, and our love can CLIMB those mountains, too! I pray that everyone experiences God's love that can move mountains!
Stay tuned for Part 3-- our Elopement!
xoxo,
ljh
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