Fall Break in the Smokies
Keeping with my 3 year tradition of spending Fall Break leading an Outdoor Recreation trip to the Smokey Mountains to go backpacking, I headed out this past weekend with a van full of new faces and came back with a van full of new friends. It may sound cheesy, but it’s true. There’s just no way you can go backpacking for 3 days with other people and not create some sort of a bond over the challenge of the hike, the community in hauling group gear and cooking food together, and the experience of something amazing.
Thursday: We met Thursday morning and packed all of our gear into the van and set off on a 5 hour drive from Nashville to Big Creek campground, which is just across the North Carolina border. Since we have a lot of time to kill, we put some lunch food in our daypacks and do a short hike from the parking lot to a beautiful swimming hole called Midnight Hole. There we leisurely eat lunch and try to hop from boulder to boulder to avoid the icy waters. In the end, two of us brave the cold and leap in! A delicious chili dinner and some campfire s’mores keep us warm that night!
Friday: We hike over 9 miles through beautiful falling leaves. Unfortunately, one of the participants’ shoes break (what?!?!), but we improvise by taping them with duct tape. We camp near a creek and purify our water through some carbon filters. Dinner is a surprisingly fantastic couscous veggie, chicken, and craisin (this is the key ingredient!) meal.
Saturday: During the day, we take a break at a crossroads, take a short nap, and find a friendly butterfly.Today we hike a steep 6 or so miles up to the top of Mt. Sterling where a fire tower greats us in fog. Despite the fact that I’ve been to the Smokies several times, I’ve never seen them looking smokier than they do today. We are literally hiking through the clouds. It has both an eerie and beautiful aura. The night is cold, so we eat Mac n Cheese and then some more cheese.
Sunday: We wake up and decide to all climb up to the top of the fire tower. Despite the cloudy haze, we are all greeted by a fantastic view of the Smokies. The picture doesn’t do it any justice whatsoever. What we see are various mountain tops shrouded in light peaking through the clouds. Afterwards, we hike a short, but steep 3 miles back down to our parked van and then head back to Vanderbilt.
I love this Outdoor Rec trip because not only do you get to go backpacking in gorgeous areas of the Smokey Mountains, but it is also long enough that you really get to know each of the other participants pretty well. I highly recommend going on an Outdoor Rec trip during your time at Vandy, whether it be a day trip, a weekend trip, or a week long trip — they are all amazing experiences!