Okay, disclaimer, this is the second night in a row that I’ve forgotten the pictures. I took them with this very fancy (i.e. not Rite Aid disposable) camera and since I also used it for our Versus cover story, I put all of the pictures on the VSC server. Unfortunately, I keep forgetting to email myself the pictures, so all of them remain locked in the office. I also realized this halfway back to towers and though I briefly flirted with the idea of going back to the office and getting them, it was quite cold and I was quite tired, so that just didn’t happen. 

But, positive note, I don’t need those pictures for this post because this is the preface of the backpacking saga. So many wild things happened on this trip that I cannot condense them into just one, or even two posts. But enough about how epic this weekend was in my outdoor education, let’s just jump right in and start at the beginning.

We accomplished pack out in an extremely timely manner and all hopped in the van to head off on our wilderness adventure last Friday. Rachel borrowed Liz’s boots for me for the weekend and I also borrowed a backpack from the storeroom. I had WAY too many clothes, but as I mentioned earlier, I had no idea what kind of clothes I was going to need with this crazy November weather, so I thought to myself “Why not, let’s just bring them all. Clothes aren’t that heavy.” Oh how naive I was on Friday, it’s almost unreal.

The drive itself was long but uneventful for the most part. We listened to a bunch of Reba’s CDs, I texted Chelsea when we drove through Cookeville (aka the city of champions) and I passed out against my backpack somewhere after Knoxville. What was truly wild was our drive through Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. Confession: I had never been to either of these places, I had merely heard of their lore and the stories I had heard did little to live up to the wildness of those two towns. 

We drove through at night which meant that there were Christmas lights and neon palm trees everywhere. I’m still baffled by the amount of pancake houses, wedding chapels, and mini golf courses we saw. There are no words.

Initially, we were going to camp at Deep Creek at a campsite that was a 1.7 mile hike in. That plan didn’t happen though because it was pretty late when we got to the Great Smokey Mountains National Park and I’m pretty sure even the most hardcore among us would have voted for sleep over a night hike. We got to sleep in tents which was so nice and warm! After lake Wilskills and the tarp vandals on the last climbing trip, that tent felt like a suite at the Plaza. I was warm, I was sheltered, it was perfect.

The next morning, it was a little chilly so I changed into my typical ridiculous camping outfit which consists of under armour leggings with about five shirt layers. Practical for sure, but I had my awesome Hilary hat and my mittens that could probably fit on the abominable snowman, so I was doing fine.

Breakfast was oatmeal and I steeled myself for a rough eating endeavor. Reba, Rachel and Matt had cut up apples and sauteed them in apple cider mix, so I decided to add some of those to my tupperware bowl. Then, Catherine suggested that I add the cider mix straight to my oatmeal (we forgot raisins and brown sugar…oops). And after that, my perspective on oatmeal would never be the same. Every bite was a warm, delicious explosion of apples. I thought to myself, “Wow, this is so good, I just want to keep eating it!” I ate the whole bowl without a single complaint, I believe I even smiled. It was definitely a 180 from other times where I’ve just grabbed a granola bar at breakfast and bypassed oatmeal all together.

Okay, so here’s a minor tragedy that I discovered today. In the spirit of procrastination, I googled Swiss Miss apple cider mix, hoping that maybe I could find it at Harris Teeter or Kroger and I got some awful news. Swiss Miss discontinued their apple cider mix! Just when oatmeal and I were working out our differences, forces bigger than either of us found a way to try to keep us apart. Well, oatmeal, I think we could have a good thing going and I’m not giving up, discontinued products be damned. I will find a new mix and either over break or when I get back and am trying not to go crazy with finals, I will recreate the perfect, apple oatmeal.

Post oatmeal and packing up camp, our crew drove to the Deep Creek trailhead, which is where our story continues. However, I cannot do that story justice without my pictures, so that will need to wait until tomorrow. But, just to keep you on the edge of your seat, I will leave you with a clue to where this story is leading, which is an epic battle of Vandy girl versus nature. And at one point, I looked like this:

How did I get to this point of flushed, bandana clad, angry looking, spandex wearing exhaustion? Oh, dear readers, just wait and see…