North Carolina {Day 4}

We spent the last day of our trip hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park before starting the drive back to Florida. Read about days 1, 2, and 3 of our trip here - North Carolina {Day 1}, North Carolina {Day 2} and North Carolina {Day 3}.

Sunday, July 7

We picked a random trail off the map that was close by and decided to hike it. Bad idea. Actually, one of the park rangers recommended it to me. I guess I appear to know a lot more about hiking in the mountains than I actually do. Word to the wise...when hiking in the mountains, don't use a regular trail map. Use a topographic trail map so that you can see the change in elevation. This way, you won't be surprised when you end up hiking 1,400 feet straight up-hill for 2 hours. This Florida girl definitely learned her lesson.  

Smokemount Loop Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Yes, I am hiking in a tank top from Nantahala Brewing Company. Yes, I actually bought a tank top from a brewery. The best part is the back of the shirt which reads, "Water is for quitters". I definitely got some interesting looks from the other hikers.

The best part of the trail was this awesome bridge. The worst part was what lay beyond this bridge. 

I loved this log bridge crossing the river. Once you got out to the middle of it, it swayed a lot which was a little freaky but still super cool. Standing out there in the middle of the rushing river on a log less than a foot in width was a surreal feeling.

After crossing the bridge, the up-hill climb began. And when I say up-hill, I mean straight up. This treacherous vertical climb then continued for the next 2 hours. My legs were burning. Literally on fire. Actually, that description doesn't even do it justice. I felt like I was going to die. By the time we made it to the highest point in our climb, I wanted to hurl myself off of that mountain. I was so exhausted. If a black bear would have emerged from the woods in that moment,  I probably would have just stood there and let it eat me. I would not have had the energy to do anything else. Oh and it rained. And there were giant bugs swarming around me the entire time. Gotta love the outdoors. Eventually, we made it to the down-hill portion of the hike, thank you Jesus.

We did manage to complete the entire hike, over 6 miles! I know that 6 miles doesn't really sound that impressive, but I learned the hard way that hiking 6 miles on virtually flat land at sea level (Florida-style) is absolutely in no way comparable to hiking 6 miles on a steep incline at an elevation over 3,000 feet. Needless to say, I was a little winded when we got done. I will say that I was pretty proud of myself when I actually finished this hike since it was so challenging. Go me!

Despite all the rain and the part where I thought I was going to keel over and die while hiking, we had an amazing time on our trip. I can't wait to go back to the cabin again soon!