National Parks

National parks, wilderness areas, forests, oceans, the wild places within our world, they all hold a special place in my heart. When I stand on the pinnacle of a high place or find myself in the bowels of the darkest cave, whether paddling down a wild river or feeling the thunderous motion of a waterfall, I feel most at peace. I feel closest to the God of creation. When I hear the gentle whisper of the wind through the trees, gaze at the endless night sky, or hear the lapping of waves on a shore, I am in awe. I think of the verses in the Bible that state that the rocks will cry out, and these wild places make me believe those words.

 

The other night, after our kids were in bed, Daniel and I were debating between putting our own exhausted selves to bed or watching mindless television. As I flipped the channels, I stumbled across an episode of a PBS documentary entitled "National Parks: America's Best Idea."

Grand Canyon

Within five minutes we were hooked. I have always been drawn to the National Parks, not only for their grandeur, but also for the stories that are tied to them. These experiences in the wilderness are the ones that stick with you for a lifetime.

Grand Canyon

The episode we watched reinforced this belief, as countless supporters of National Parks (biologists, writers, park rangers, etc.) shared personal accounts of visiting these parks as children. Each person had been profoundly impacted by their time in the parks. The people in the documentary all had similar experiences in childhood (around age 10 or so) when their parents loaded up a car and drove across the country, visiting as many of the parks as possible. These indelible memories were tied not only to the magnificence of the land, but also to their parents who took the time to take their children on an epic adventure.

Niagra Falls

I have only been to a handful of National Parks (though many of them are on my bucket list), but as a small girl I did get to visit the Grand Canyon with my parents. I don't remember the trip, but I have pictures to prove I was there. I hope to go back with my own children some day.

Lake Huron

I want to share a family adventure that my family embarked on about the time that I was entering adolescence. In my mind this was a catalyst for my love of the outdoors. I believe that I was about 12, and my family had recently transplanted from Ontario, Canada to Arkansas, when my great grandmother passed away. My parents made the decision to attend her funeral in Canada, and since it was summer time, they decided we should visit all five Great Lakes.

Lake Ontario

The Great Lakes are not National Parks but they have their own vastness and majesty just the same. I remember driving over the Mackinac Bridge, one of the longest suspension bridges in the world, as we crossed into Canada, high above the waterway that connected Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.

Lake Michigan

On this trip we swam, or dipped our toes, in all five Great Lakes – with Lake Superior being the coldest by far. I believe my mom was the only one to actually get into Lake Superior. There is something magical about watching your mother throwing caution to the wind as she runs into a freezing lake.

Lake Erie

In addition to visiting the Great Lakes, we camped as we drove through the province. The campground that stands out the most is Grundy Lake Provincial Park – you can read my full account of our experience here. To this day, any mention of this park conjures up memories of ridiculous amounts of mosquitoes. It was early summer and we were drowning in mosquitoes. My mom took my siblings and I down to the lake to swim while my dad set up camp. This translated into us holding our breaths and staying under water as long as humanly possible to escape the swarms.

Algonquin Provincial Park

As soon as our tent was up, we hurried inside and spent the next 30+ minutes killing everything that buzzed. We were all miserable, but in the end the story is among our fondest memories, and we all still love to camp. 

Rocky Mountains

After Grundy Lake we visited Algonquin Provincial Park. Obviously this was a park in Canada and not the United States, but I'm sure it had the same profound impact on me as a National Park would. I was young and impressionable as I decided that some day I would come back and take a multi-day canoe trip in that park. Twenty+ years later, I still hope that dream comes to fruition.

Rocky Mountains

In junior high and high school I had several opportunities to attend Wilderness Trek (a Christian camp in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado). On the four different trips I made, we hiked into back country to spend five days, and if the weather allowed, we would summit a mountain. My very first year I found myself on top of Mt. Elbert, the highest mountain in Colorado, and I was never the same again. I was convinced I would eventually make my way to the top of all 50 states. I no longer believe that will happen, but I continue to try (I have made it to 9 out of 50 high points).

Anthony Creek Trail (GSMNP)

Daniel grew up taking yearly trips to the Great Smoky Mountains, and has many personal stories that he relives whenever we visit the park today – including hitch hiking with his dad from the Chimney Tops.

Gabes Mountain Trail (GSMNP)

As adults, Daniel and I have formed many new memories in this park as well. We also had the opportunity to visit Crater Lake several years ago and those experiences have shaped, and continue to shape who we are. I just hope we have the chance to share these types of experiences with our boys as they grow up.

Crater Lake

As for the PBS documentary, I hope to watch the rest of the series, and some day, in the not-so-distant future, I hope to take our boys to stand on the edges of huge canyons and endless shores, and to the tops of tall mountains where their breath will be taken away. And just maybe, they will begin to dream their own dreams, as the beauty and majesty that God has put all around us begins to shape their lives.

Laurel Falls Trail (GSMNP)

Recipe for a Happy Birthday

1. Rent a cabin in the woods.

 2. Fulfill a lifelong dream.

3. Eat at good restaurants {those you love and some new ones for good measure}.

4. Take a hike.

5. Or two.

6. Meet friends for dinner followed by coffee and dessert. 

Dinner was at Tony's Pasta Shop & Trattoria – our only complaint is that we wished we had ate outside. The food was excellent. Afterwards we went to Rembrandt's Coffee House for coffee and dessert – definitely our favorite coffee house in Chattanooga.

Happy 30th Birthday Daniel! I am so thankful that I am a part of your life.

Our Walk In The Woods

Daniel and I waited until the last minute to pack our gear Friday night - we are such procrastinators. We knew we would have to be up to leave by 5:30 a.m. Saturday morning and that we really needed to be in bed early, but we found ourselves packing until midnight... so much for good intentions.

5:30 a.m. came way too soon. My hot shower did little to wake up my senses, but for some reason I volunteered to drive the first leg to the Smoky Mountains. I was hoping to make a quick stop at Starbucks on our way out, but of course we were running behind and Starbuck's wasn't open yet.
 

 

 

It is strange to be awake and driving so early. There was no one on the road. The humidity was awful and I couldn't get the inside of the windshield defrosted properly. Finally the combination of windshield wipers and freezing cold air blasting seemed to help. I felt bad for Daniel, he was curled up under a blanket, freezing, while trying to sleep.

 

I drove for what seemed to be forever. When the sky is dark, there is not much to focus on except the road. As the sun begin to peak through the clouds, fog became a problem. I finally had to stop for gas and to give myself a break. We swapped drivers so that I could get an hour of sleep before we met our friends.

 

  

I woke up to a blinding light - that is what it seemed like anyways. The fog was really heavy in the mountains, so heavy that you almost couldn't see and the sun was blasting through the fog so that everything was an intense white and blinding around us.

 

We made it to Gatlinburg and managed to get to our favorite Pancake House, while avoiding the strip. I hate the strip in Gatlinburg... it is the same as the one in Niagra Falls or Myrtle Beach. Daniel and I try to avoid these places where the throngs of people are so intense... if there is a Rippley's Believe or Not Museum, chances are it is not a place we want to visit for a prolonged period of time.

 

Anyways, we met Gwynn and Chuck for breakfast. I love the opportunity to catch up with friends over pancakes and coffee - this is one of my personal joys in life.

 

Soon we were headed on to Cosby, TN and our trailhead, the Gabes Mountain Trail. There is a loop here that includes Maddron Bald, but you need 2 nights to complete it and we only had one. We opted for an out-and-back trip which would have a total mileage of 10 miles.

Gabes Mountain trail does not offer spectacular views, but it was a nice walk in the woods. I was amazed at how green everything was, even though like North Carolina, Tennessee has not been blessed with much rain this summer. The mosses on the rocks were vibrant green and oh-so-soft.
 

The walk to camp was 4.8 miles with an extra 0.2 mile detour to a waterfall. The waterfall was a good place to break for a late lunch of tuna and crackers, but due to the lack of rainfall, was little more than a trickle. At the waterfall, we met some "frat boys" or as Daniel called them, "The AA Members of Tomorrow" (they were each carrying at least one 6-pack with them). They were headed on to campsite 34 that we would also be calling home for the night.

 

When we walked into camp, there were so many people - lots of the "frat boys" setting up tents and chopping up firewood. Big, burly guys that loved to make their presence known. They also had a radio playing a ball game. The whole sight made me cringe... I walk into the woods for peace and quite, not for the chaos of other people.

 

Thankfully Daniel and Chuck found some sites further down that were away from the chaotic scene before us. The site was nice and quiet and secluded from the rest. There was one other couple at a neighboring site and later in the evening a lone guy would sleep in a spot above us. I was happy that we would have the peace that I crave when in the woods.

 

  

Daniel and Chuck set up the tent while Gwynn and I gathered firewood. I would put sticks in piles and Gwynn would carry the piles up to camp. When I finally came back with a pile, Daniel wanted to know why Gwynn was bringing so much wood to camp and I only came back with a few sticks! I had to explain that I had been making the piles that she brought into camp.

 

Soon we were cooking our dinners and then making fire for the evening. We were under some really big trees, but above the trees you could see huge clusters of stars in the sky above. We enjoyed our campfire until 9:30-ish before finally bedding down. It was cool out, but warm enough to leave the fly partly off. I love to be laying on my back looking up at the stars.

 

  

I am always amazed at night noises. The symphony of bugs lasted well into the night. There were a few rustlings of something, probably small, poking around our campsite. Our food was hung in the trees so bears could not get at them. The night noises paused briefly for a few hours, before the early morning birds took up the chorus again before sunrise.

  

When sleeping outside there is an alertness that is always with you - especially when sleeping in bear territory. The adrenaline is always there, ready, just in case you need to use your instincts to fight or flight. It is a strange feeling, but it makes you feel alive in ways that you don't experience at home in a bed.

 

  

Morning brought more nice weather. We boiled water for chocolate coffee and soon were frying spam... what backpacking trip would be complete without fried spam? We were soon breaking up camp and Daniel and I headed up to the "frat house" to pump water from the creek.

 

  

I felt bad to learn that a father and daughter had had to camp beside all of the frat boys. The daughter could not have been older than 12 - if we had known, we would have invited them down to the lower section that was quieter.

 

  

Everyone was breaking up camp and we were all soon on our way, back down the trail. We took our time, stopping occasionally for pictures and just enjoying each others company. Hiking in the morning was nice - it was not so hot and the temperature was bearable... 80+ degrees in October is a little much (especially when our sleeping bags are rated for zero degrees).

 

  

Back in the parking lot, we encountered a couple whose car battery was dead. Daniel and Chuck helped to push the car into a place where it could be jump started. Ever since Daniel and I were stranded with a dead car in the middle of Pisgah Forest and we had to hitch hike out (with most people ignoring or refusing to help us), Daniel feels a calling to help others in need (I share this feeling and I am thankful that we can help out when possible).

 

Overall, it was a great trip. Hot showers and hot food always taste and feel best when you first come off of the trail. Sharing our backpacking experiences with others is always special and I am truly looking forward to our next walk in the woods.