I'm on vacation this week in the Great Smokey Mountains. We rented another awesome cabin with two other families (Lee's and Weaver's). It has 4 levels with an elevator, 12 TV's, a movie theatre with leather recliners, and a refrigerator big enough to park a car in it! Yeah, we're really ruffing it! The best part is that Jeff, Katie, Zach (my nephew), and I flew down on ConnAir and got here in less than 2 hours.
We've been doing a lot of hiking. I love the mountains. God is such an amazing creator. I love to worship him through hiking and admiring is handy work! Yesterday we went on a strenuous hike to the "Chimney Tops". We got there early in the morning to avoid the crowd. The trail was steep and hard! It was 2 miles to the top and an elevation rise of 2000'. Here's a shot from the road. That highest point is where we hiked to! Do they look like "Chimney's"?
When we got to the top we saw these huge rocks.
As you can see from the picture above, it was quite a challenge to climb to the top of these rocks. About half the way up I couldn't find anything to grab hold of. I made the mistake of looking down and started to get really, really scared. This rock was basically a cliff with nothing around to break your fall that wasn't hundreds of feet down.
I looked up and saw my nephew, David, ahead of me. So I knew it was possible. So I said a quick prayer and kept going. Long story short, it was a very daring climb and one of the most adventurous things I have ever done.
Here is a picture of Braden at the top. Its one of my favorites. Of course he's "Mr. Cool". Not scared. Just having a great time.
Now, here's a picture of Jeff. Yes, he made it to the top, but he's being anything but cool. He is basically laying horizontal on a rock hanging on for dear life! This is not a joke. He was scared to move!
Its hard to tell from these pictures how high and how little room there was on the rocks. But, man!, what a rush! The view was a 360 degree panoramic scenic masterpiece.
Have any of you ever been there?
Here are a few more pictures.
Braden and Katie
(My nephew Zach Lee)
2 comments:
Wow! Enjoyed the photos, it brings back a lot of memories. Been to the Smokey's more times than I can count and have hiked to the summit of Chimney Tops 3 times. Once clear over to the second chimney. The view is incredible isn't it? On one hike I met an 83 year old woman who was just coming down from the summit. Now thats a goal to shoot for. Enjoy the rest of your vacation.
Hi Mike! It turns out we were in the same place at the same time! (We had to stay in a hotel though. :( No car-sized fridge!)
We have little ones, ages 7 and 4, so we have to hike a little milder right now. We hiked Grotto Falls this year and saw a bear on the trail! He walked right down the trail, so we got off to the side and let him pass!
It turns out that a few weeks ago, a bear mauled a boy on a trail between Grotto Falls and Rainbow Falls, he was ok, but it made us the more awe-struck by our bear sighting.
We have never hiked the Chimneys, but would like to. I showed my husband your pictures and now he wants to go!
Thanks for sharing!
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