The 900 Mile Hike Act VI/Scene 11: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 1978-2005 “She came to me, said she knew me Said she’d known me a long time And she spoke of being in love With every mountain she had climbed And she talked of trails she’d walked up Far above the timber line From that night on I knew I’d write a song With Carolina in the pines” Carolina in the Pines, Michael Martin Murphey
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or 26 years, Gail and I maintained a torrid love affair with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. And why not? After all, Townsend, Tennessee, the closest portal into the park from Birmingham, was only a 4 ½ hour drive from home, well within an easy weekend trip commute. Its many allures included incredible wildflower displays plus the largest, closest unspoiled remnant of true wilderness in the east. (As a matter of fact, over 90% of the old-growth forest left in the Eastern US is located within the Smokies!) And making it ridiculously affordable for us, throughout this time, I had a company car plus a company gas card so we could go whenever 287