I just got back from walking Goldie up the hill from my new apartment. Up Up Up we go and I’m almost even with the Gatlinburg Space Needle. And it is at this point that I realize, I love this place.
I got here in a weird, wacky, way. I never would’ve imagined in my wildest dreams that I would be here, not in a million year. But somehow, magically, leaving and arriving all worked out. I am living in a beautiful mountain town, again….finally.
My dogs are settled in and I have stopped worrying about them when I leave each morning to go to work or on a run.
I am running and hiking and doing all the things that make me happy. I’m training for next year’s Leadville and feel like I’m on track.
This weekend I discovered there is an REI in Pigeon Forge. I could only buy online when I lived in NH. I walked through the store thinking of all the possibilities; and seeing all the winter coats, longing for winter. I bought maps and guidebooks and Nuun electrolytes.
That is my update. My next post will be about Mount LeConte. Thanks for reading.
I’m finally getting a bit more acclimated to the humidity and decided it was time to start running again.
The last three months I haven’t been running. I think I was burned out from running and life. I wasn’t excited about running. It’s amazing how a change of scenery can get you fired up again!
Now that I’m living in a mountain town and there are trails all around me – I’m excited to run Gatlinburg.
This week started with some runs from the cabin which means all downhill then all uphill to get back. It was challenging; these roads are steep. I feel like I’m building up my legs again and that feels good.
On Saturday, the goal of the run was to not die. The Gatlinburg Trail follows the river the entire way and is completely in the trees so no sun, which was nice. I took a bunch of side paths and meandered around the visitor center and then headed back to my car: uneventful. I ran 4 miles.
On Sunday I wore my running pack with a bladder so I could run a little farther. About a mile in, a couple warned me a big bear just crossed the trail ahead. A second person said it moved off the trail and I should be good.
I continued on and ran to the Cove Mountain trailhead. I remembered it from yesterday and wanted to try run/hiking it. The summit is 8 miles away but my plan was to explore the trail a little at a time. I would turn around at mile 3.
Then at mile 2.5 I stumped upon a bear on the trail. It wasn’t moving, it just looked at me. I instantly turned around and looked back at him a few times. Each time he was looking at me and wasn’t moving off the trail, so I headed back down. I passed a family going up and as I passed them going down I whispered to the dad that there was a bear on the trail ahead, and he yelled to his family ‘bear ahead’, LOL. They turned around too. Now that I look at the map from my run, I bet it was the same bear.
I ran back to my car without any more bear incidents and was happy to have a 15 mile week. I just need to keep the momentum and stay motivated to run. I have 23 weeks until the Houston Marathon but hope to do a few races leading up to it.
It’s taken a few weeks to get situated and get back to training after moving here. I’m getting more used to seeing bears and driving these windy, steep mountain roads.
This bear was at the cabin this week. He was smelling the trash I put out yesterday.The dogs are loving the deck and watching for wildlife. All is good here.
In a few days I’m heading south to Gatlinburg, Tennessee – the gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains. I’ll be right next to the Appalachian Trail.
Gatlinburg entrance.
I’ll be living in a mountain town again and I’m so incredibly happy.
I had high hopes of a Pemi Traverse and a Double Presidential this year. I broke the news to Greg that I won’t be joining him. [If you are reading this you better do it.]
I have not given up on My Grid. I know I’ll be back and I will finish the grid. Similar to starting my first 4,000 footer list in 1988, then leaving NH for 15 years, coming back and finishing it. And a second round.
I’m ready to start my new adventure down south. I’m so thankful for the new friends I made in the last five years in Concord. And, reuniting with old friends. We have mountain biked, hiked, ran, swam and walked all over New Hampshire. I am so thankful for them.
Vicky and Greg
It’s been a stressful few days getting everything moved and making travel plans. A few snafus like car breaking down, ER for dog and planning delays have set me back. But I’m back on track, and “God willing and the Creek don’t rise” I will arrive in Gatlinburg with my two dogs, and eventually all my things.
It’s so fun to start a job in a new place where I know no one. It’s exciting to start over and see what happens. All the logistics stress me out but it will be okay. I have so many new trails to discover. I have so many new friends to make. I have so many new mountains to climb.
Our original plan was to hike/run a Pemi Loop on Saturday. However, with the weather forecast I knew it was going to be a stress-hike, always looking for water with the heat and humidity. We opted for a Saturday Franconia Super Loop: Liberty, Flume, Lincoln, Lafayette and run back on the paved Pemi bike trail back to the car parked at Flume Visitors Center.
The hike up Liberty Springs was bug-free and humid. In the trees it was steamy! We would hike through hot patches and cold patches; there was no wind. The trail was pretty wet down low and then patches as we got higher.
As we climbed to the ridge we were hoping it would cool off and the wind would increase. The Higher Summit forecast was wrong all day, we thought. It was hot and muggy. It had to be around 70 on the ridge. We saw some monorail on the trails that made a few sections slippery and straddling it seemed to be the best option at times.
We saw people coming down from camping up high and we saw hikers coming from the south on the Osseo Trail. Small packs, big packs, all the crazies who were out on this day were having fun despite the hot temperatures.
When we got to Liberty it was undercast – so cool to see.
After Flume and Liberty we headed north on the Franconia Ridge Trail. Hiking towards Little Haystack is no joke. That is one tough climb. And it doesn’t even count as a 4,000 footer. If approached from the north, it is less than a 200 foot climb from Lincoln, however it is a killer hike from Liberty. The clouds cleared and we had beautiful views of Cannon, Owl’s Head and the Bonds.
As soon as we got to the top of Little Haystack we thought we were home free; hiking on the ridge makes you forget all your troubles. However, I was getting low on water and was eager to get to Greenleaf Hut and refill. On top of Little Haystack we talked to a US Forest Service Ridge Runner. She said the wind last night and this morning on Lafayette was fierce and loud. The High Summit forecast was correct up until late morning, when the winds all but died.
It was a slow hike up to Lincoln and then Lafayette. Our legs were toast but the views were fantastic.
We stopped for a break at the top of Lafayette and tried to piece together where we lost the trail in April when we were in white-out conditions. We both looked around the summit and remembered that we started to head to Lincoln the wrong way. We made the right decision to turn back that day.
The summit was warm today. The sun beat down on us despite the wind that picked up a bit. We headed down to the hut, resupplied with water, and down to Lafayette parking. The trail was very wet and my feet were feeling soggy. At the parking lot, we took the tunnel under the highway and headed back to our car on the paved Pemi bike path. About a mile on the path, my right foot started to hurt, badly. When I took off my shoe, the bottom of my foot was soggy and a blood blister was on the ball of my foot. I couldn’t walk anymore; it hurt too much. I’ve never had blisters or anything like this in all the years I’ve been hiking. Greg offered to run back to the car (2.1 miles) and pick me up. I said no the first time he offered, I could do this, I could figure it out. Then I tried to walk again, and accepted his offer. Thanks for saving the day, Greg.
This is from Greg’s Strava. My mileage was 2.1 miles less. Thanks for the save, Greg.
It was a good hike on a terrible weather day. 2 for 2 Mount Lafayette. Too hot, too cold, but we got it done. I’m happy to be done and hobbling a bit with the blister on my foot. Training begins for a Semi-Pemi in June, Full Pemi in July and a double Presidential Traverse in August.
