Journal of the Smokies: 27th Birthday

Has it really been a month since I've turned 27 years old? I suppose so. It's funny how I've noticed time flying now, each year getting shorter and shorter as my relative sense of time expands. When I was a kid, days dragged on forever. Now, I actually have to utilize to-do lists or nothing gets done and I've wasted the day away. This is one of those lessons, I think, everyone learns but can't adequately be described until you yourself have experienced it.

Journal of the Smokies: A Lack of Hiking Experience

Note: Journal of the Smokies is a new feature on this blog. The Great Smoky Mountains is one of the jewels of the National Park System, and the park visited by the most people each year. It's also the most visited park by Andrew, and one of Erin's most frequently visited. From visits long past and recent we'll be sharing some of our thoughts and pictures. This will be a cross platform feature, as we'll be sharing pictures and short posts in the series on our Walk With Nature tumblr as well.

Since I began hiking in earnest again in October of 2010, I've hiked hundreds of miles in states from Virginia to California, and Florida to Michigan. I've hiked to the top of the highest points in Georgia and Tennessee, hiked all 600 steps at Amicalola Falls, and went to the top of Blood Mountain along the Applachian Trail. I've a hiked a lot of miles, but very few of those have been in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.