One of my fondest memories of a trip i took with my brother Dale, and my then future husband David, was our backpacking experience the Spring break of our Sophomore year in college. We decided to hike part of the Appalachian Trail in Smokey Mountain National Park,Tennessee. We had never backpacked and camped that way before except for our bike camping trip so another "First" for the three of us.
The drive from Milwaukee to Tennessee was beautiful, as Spring had begun to show the green grass and flower bulbs, especially when we got into Tennessee.We left Milwaukee with cold snowy ground, to come to these green valleys of grass and even some flowers blooming already in the Park. Dale loved classical music, and one of his favorites was "Appalachian Spring" by Copland . So as we approached the park, Dale insisted we put on a tape of the this music for us to "drive to". Dale was a very feeling, sensitive, lovely soul and he always felt things one layer deeper than most I believe. This drive in, with this beautiful piece of music playing, was really something to set the mood of appreciation for these amazing mountains we were seeing out the car windows.
When we were kids, Dale and I had camped in Smokey Mountain National Park with my parents and I remembered what a beautiful park it was. There also has a neat restored pilgrim village in the park, where the "Christy" book was based.I had just finished reading that book before the visit with my family, so i remember walking around those old log buildings picturing the whole Christy story with my own two eyes.I wasn't much of a reader as a kid (later found out i needed reading glasses) but i still to this day remember the "Christy" novel with fondness.
When we arrived at the Park, we talked to the park rangers about our plans to use the "three sided shelters" for sleeping on the trail (which we had read about), but then we were sorely informed that the boy scouts had booked ALL the shelters on the trail for a big hike they were doing. OOPS!! So we decided to take one two man tent and two sleeping bags (vs. just the three sleeping bags we planned to take to use in the shelters). I guess we should have been forewarned by this first problem we encountered ,but we had planned this trip with such anticipation, that we were not about to let a sleeping issue change our plans now.
All along the bottom part of trail were small little creeks that we followed up into the mountains, some ending in huge waterfalls. Dale loved listening to the sound of water in a natural environment like in this forest, so he really loved that part of the trail. I remember some parts of the trail were very steep and we had to be very careful with our heavy packs, for if you lost your balance and fell you could have just slid down the whole mountain ,as no real fence posts to stop or guard you on the trail. I also remember getting my period for part of the trail on one of the steep climbs and i thought i was going to die that day in the heat with all that climbing with the weight of the pack and my stomach cramps. But Dave and Dale were so patient with me, encouraging me all the way up the trail that day( great kind-hearted guys both of them!!).
Another thing we didn't plan on was snow!! We thought we left that in Wisconsin, and we were going to enjoy a warm Spring hike...ha ha! But sure enough, in the higher elevations came winter again. I remember the three of us sleeping in that little two man tent with the two sleeping bags and we decided to put the one burner stove/heater in its metal holder and leave it on all night at the base of the tent( by our feet)to keep us warm. I don't think we slept too well that night, as we were worrying about knocking over that stove and starting a fire in the tent....but luckily it was ok. We slept with all the clothing on that we brought(as we had planned for warmer spring weather, but this was the mountains after all!). The next day I remember our shoes and gloves were frozen and so was our supply of water!!Cooking our breakfast was a bit discouraging ,to say the least, with that frozen water ;and putting on those frozen gloves and shoes after a cold night's sleep, well that was no picnic either!!
I think that was when we decided to cut our hike shorter than originally planned. It was on that third day when we reached the high point of the hike, and when we encountered the snow and cold temperatures, which we had not planned for adequately. We only hiked for three or four days rather than the week as we had planned for. I think we got a ride back to our car from one of the visitor centers at the high point of the trail, from a family visiting the park. Well, we were experienced campers but not expereinced backpackers, so this was a lesson learned. Although, this Spring break was a memorable time spent with Dale and Dave ,in a beautiful natural setting I will never forget.
One of my favorite photos of Dave and me, is one taken on this trip. It still hangs on the wall of our bedroom to this very day(30 years later). It was taken at an Old Mill in a park we stopped at on the way to Tennessee, and Dave is reaching over to give me a kiss on the bridge in front of the Old Mill. Dale took it from a distance so you can see the lovely countryside around the barn, and we are framed around the barn and this beautiful setting, me with my long, red hair and David with his shoulder length 70's haircut. It reminds me of college, dating, and most of all, this great trip with Dale. He always found adventures for the three of us to explore together. We were like "the three musketeers" ,so to speak.(Dale even lived with us the first year we were married in 1973.) We were always exploring natural areas together, a passion Dave and I still enjoy to this day.I always think of Dale when walking or hiking in a woods or park,as he left me a legacy of appreciate for all things natural- God's creations big and small.
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