Great Smoky Mountain National Park

My Rocky Mt National Park friend, Tyler, and I met up last night to go camping/hiking for the weekend. He came in from North Carolina and we met in the middle. I absolutely LOVE being out here. I have so quickly forgotten how much I am energized by being in the mountains. It was cold last night as it began to snow on our campsite. It took us the better part of an hour to get a fire going. But we had a stove to cook gourmet Top Ramen...yum... and PB & J. Our site was along a rushing river - you could hear the running water all night. We had good conversations about God and post modernism and Africa and volleyball and mountains.

This morning, we took a beautiful drive into the park. We caravaned in - and it was a sweet hour of driving through God's spectacular creation and listening to my current favorite cd by Patty Griffin. She's amazing. It was refreshing to be outside and be reminded of how spectacular the outdoors really are.

Tyler and I hiked 4 miles into Ramsey Cascades. We had trail and bridges and snow-covered paths and hundreds of icicles hanging down from rocks in the river. It was gorgeous. All I could think about was Cheley. Camp remained on my mind all day long - sweet memories of favorite hikes and backpacks. remembering certain challenges as well as successes; and all my friends. Sigh.

We enjoyed the waterfalls for lunch and booked it down to the trailhead. We drove further to Chimney Tops and climbed (SERIOUS altitude gain) 2 miles up and in snow and ice as fast as we could. We wanted to make it to the top before sunset. Mission accomplished.
We could see the country from all sides. The sun was bright orange and was just resting behind a distant peak. We slid (literally on my bottom) most of the way down. Glissading was fun; falling was not. Tyler and I set up camp, cooked Mac and Cheese, Pork and Beans, and Beef soup for dinner. We built a fire and sang with his guitar. I feel so alive out here. I love it all. I pray for more opportunities to play in the mountains.