Susan Donnelly

At the Jump Off.

Last weekend, my sister came up to visit for her birthday weekend.  Lately, I get to see her twice a year, not nearly enough, but this was worth the wait because she shared her birthday with me and I got to share a little of what I love most with her.

The theme was The Smokies.  After enduring Pigeon Forge traffic, a fun chance to catch up with each other’s lives and laugh at the good-hearted absurdity of it, we hiked Friday afternoon at Ramsey’s Cascades and stayed overnight in Pigeon Forge, in ready for a full day in the park on Saturday.

Saturday morning, we ate breakfast on the hotel veranda overlooking a creek.  Cool, crisp air, it looked like summer and felt like autumn.  Woo-hoo!  Let’s go!

We headed first to Clingman’s Dome since it’s de rigeur and has been years since either of us was there, but it’s hard to resist the scenic pull-outs along the way. We stopped en route to boulder around in a stream and take photos. Rhododendron, and a small meadow brimming with crimson bee balm, green-headed coneflower, pink joe pye weed…wow, this was going to be a great day.

Karen, Rob and I drove on up to the Clingman’s Dome parking lot to find fantastic views with a few well-placed clouds billowing over the ridgeline to accentuate the views.  We hiked the half mile up to the spiral observation deck at 6643′ with tons of other happy tourists busily filling the air with several different languages.  We were all there for fun of it and the view and somehow, everyone got a turn on the wall to snap photos of the view or lean over and look down.  Who says you can’t have world peace?!

Karen, the birder, spotted a cedar waxing and a slate-colored junco on the way down.  I didn’t even know the waxwings were still around.  Both birds cooperated for photos like they were on park salary (thank you!).  Splashes of bright red bee balm appeared in the surrounding meadows and the clouds parted so we could easily see Fontana Lake sparkling in the sun, and beyond.

We spread a blanket and picnicked  with other families in a wide, grassy median of the parking lot, just kicked back and revelling in the warm sun, green grass, and parade of people against the scenic backdrop.  I could have napped.  Can’t remember the last time I relaxed like this.

Then on to the main attraction of the day – the Appalachian Trail.  We planned to hike it from Newfound Gap northeast to a place called the Jump Off that none of us had ever been.  New trail for everyone!  

We took it at slow hiking pace, hoping to avoid aggravating Karen’s foot injury and once I got used to it, it was great.  We saw tons of new flowers and things I would have missed at running pace, including scads of Turk’s cap lillies and blue-bead lillies.  Plus, after two weeks of great discomfort, I’d had my SI joint manipulated into place (yet again…sigh…) Friday morning and I’ll admit I needed a hiking day for the screaming, sore muscles to relax out of their spasm grip.  If I’d gone running the next day, (my usual), I’d probably have slipped it back out again (also my usual).

We finally reached the Jump Off, and what a view!  We hung out for a while at the woozy-high drop off and debated over the map about which mountains and sights we were seeing way off in the distance.

We all talked and joked the whole way back about Central Snail Command (long story) and lolcats, and placed bets on how many cars would be left in the parking lot (Rob won, darn it).  Right on cue, we arrived back at the Newfound Gap parking lot in the middle of a flaming red sunset, ordered specially for Karen’s birthday. What a fitting end for a grand day.

The best part of it all was sharing something I adore – being somewhere outside as wild as possible, exploring a trail – with someone I adore.  Karen hikes a lot in Florida but this weekend, for a change, I got to share a little of what I see and love most about trail running. Strangely enough, we unexpectedly ran into three ultrarunner friends there on Saturday, none of them together, enough to joke that I recognized more people in the park than in the grocery store.  It was odd being there and not running, especially when friends were, but I didn’t feel any real pull or envy.  I wanted more than that to be there with Karen.

So many times I’m up at high elevation with Rob, soaking in the wonder of it all all and connecting with Life.  Renewing and recharging my batteries.  One of us wishes we could bottle the experience and share it with those we love and the other agrees.  I’d love to distill all the wonderful sights, that blissful rhododenron-y smell that means mountains and peace, the sound of warblers and waterfalls, the sudden feel of the wind crossing over the ridgeline above you into a neat package to send to loved ones far away.

But as impossible as it may be to share the absolute, 100%, full experience and joy of it, getting to share this much of it is definitely her gift to me!

Posted: Tuesday, July 28, 2009, 10:22 pm | Tags: Blog | Respond | Trackback