500 "New Miles" and Counting!

It hasn't been too terribly long ago that I wrote that blog post titled "GSMNP 900! No Promises, New Miles," but as of yesterday, I've reached the 500 "New Miles" milestone.  Once I started keeping track of this journey on the spreadsheet provided by Liz Etnier, author of the book that we use as one of two major references toward our goal, hiking all the trails in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has become an obsession. Counting the miles has been an impetus to get us out there more frequently than we would have without marching steadfastly toward our goal.  An occasional hike in the woods is one thing, but this drive toward a group goal is something quite different.

Do I let the goal ruin the journey? No! Being in the wilds of the Smokies with two of my best friends I've ever had in my life and enjoying what nature has to offer us is still the best part of every hike we do.  I love walking in these woods, along these ridge lines, listening to the calls of the birds or scampering of the boomers, taking in the breathtaking vistas, and listening to that still small voice inside me.  Putting one foot in front of the other when striving to reach the top of some steep climb, encouraging each other that we can DO this because we've done it before--those are small treasures provided by this quest.

And we ARE purists! We never take credit for having walked even any small distance that we haven't really walked.  If we get off the trail to look at a rock outcropping or whatever, we don't come out the other side and continue on.  We will even double back to the same spot we left the trail just to be purists in the effort.  I've hiked with one person in the past who, if she sees a trail sign, she's done that trail--her record keeping is terrible so her claim to have finished them all will be meaningless, no matter when she "says" she's finished them all.  Not us! Meticulous record-keeping is a part of the process for us.  There are many small snippets of trail that can easily be missed unless you're very careful and purposeful in this effort.  This book can help you in that in case you're interested in pursuing a similar goal.

According to Ms. Etnier's book, there are 791.9 miles of trail in my beloved Smoky Mountains.  I am fortunate to have hiked 500.6 of them to date.  Hopefully, the Lord will allow me to finish, but even if I don't ever finish, I have been blessed by every step in ways I can never relate here.

Iced In! When you can't hike, plan to hike!

On a day when Tennessee has declared a state of emergency as a result of the ice storm, all I can do is think about hiking instead of getting out there to do a little hiking. This storm is probably going to mean I don't get to hike tomorrow either, Saturday, as I had planned to--and that's a bummer!
A hiking addiction with a full-time job and family responsibilities means there's a great deal of time spent longing to be on the trail when you can't really get out there. But I've come to find that the planning that goes into a goal like hiking all of the trails in the Smokies is half the fun.

Every Smoky Mountain hiker should have a copy of Hiking Trails of the Smokies--probably considered by most to be the Bible of those who walk the trails of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This book gives trail descriptions of every official trail within the park boundaries, listed alphabetically. The trail descriptions include not only interesting things to see along the path, but also historical accounts of the region and stories of those who lived here before the park was founded. There are also elevation maps which mark all significant water crossings--something quite beneficial especially if planning a winter hike when water crossings can be cold at best and dangerous at worst!

But if you are considering planning to hike all the trails of the Smokies, there's another resource you MUST have--Day Hiker's Guide to All the Trails in the Smoky Mountains by Elizabeth L. Etnier.
Liz had divided the park into regional sections and has mapped out a way to do all the trails in the park as day hikes, albeit some of them very long day hikes. This book includes directions on whether you need one vehicle or two for a hike and suggestions on where to park them. It also maps out designations of "new miles" and total mileage hiked for those of us who are tracking those statistics as a way to show progress toward the goal. However, this book would also be an excellent reference for anyone looking for day hikes that most park visitors never consider--something that is of great benefit during the highest visitation periods of the year when the most popular day hikes are often crowded, far from the secluded retreat you might be seeking. The vast majority of the trails listed in this book will not be well-traveled. In fact, on most of the hikes we do, encountering other people is a rarity.

And then there is the question of maps. I have two--The Great Smoky Mountains Trail Map on which I highlight the trails as I have completed them, a visual record of my progress and also a reminder of all that which remains to be hiked. Now that's motivation! I know hikers who have laminated this map and hung it on an office or bedroom wall, highlighting it as they go. That would be a great way to do it too, but I just keep mine folded on my desk. I highlight each new trail almost as soon as I get home and unpack my backpack.

My second map is a waterproof topographical map that makes almost every hike carefully stowed in my backpack, just in case something goes wrong. After having made a wrong turn on the AT last summer resulting in a harrowing 20-mile hike that was supposed to be a 7-miler, I have made it a point to hike with this map. I purchased it right after that hike, and it is a staple in my backpack. This map has enough detail to be of great help in case you should get confused at a trail intersection or need to know the fastest way out of the wilderness to get help.
Between all of these resources, which can be found here, I can spend hours on a cold, icy day looking forward to and mapping out the hikes I hope to do in the coming weeks and months. I can think of better ways to spend a day--hiking would be choice number one! But if it's too cold and icy to get outside, this isn't a bad way to spend an afternoon.

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