This week has been tiring, yet exhilarating. After leaving a little past midnight from Topeka on graduation night, I drove to Carrollton, KY to meet up with my buddy Craig from Fiji. We proceeded to hike into Smoky Mountain National Park, going between Tennessee and North Carolina numerous times. The hike was strenuous as I'd yet found my hiking legs for this season. Nonetheless the scenery and weather couldn't have been better. It was a good time to reconnect with my old friend who shares many of the same passions that I do.
After our 20 something mile loop, we found our last mile hiking out corrupted by hordes of old tourists, the stench of civilization at its peak. We quickly drove away, only to bathe for the first time at the visitors center which once again was crammed with people who likely couldn't hike a small hill and had probably only spent a few minutes actually looking at the smoky mountains between their camcorder shots and cheesy group photos. Oh well. In the wilderness of the A.T., the greatest trail in the world perhaps, we met a good number of thru-hikers who made me dream of the day when I accomplish the great 2100 mile trek from Georgia to Maine.
Otherwise I simply have a little more packing to do after Steve-O's wedding tonight. I leave in the afternoon for Alaska and will be starting my staff training on Sunday. Very excited, just wishing that after having gone on 4 major international multi-month trips I would have learned to pack before the night I'm leaving. lol. Thus is life.
Until next time,
Phil
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