Ridgerunners: Stewards of the Appalachian Trail in the Smokies
There are many jobs that contribute to the preservation of Great Smoky Mountains National Park for future generations, like rangers who oversee backcountry campsites, park biologists who study the flora and fauna of this amazing region…
The slowest mile I’ve ever hiked
I have the curious distinction of being able to pinpoint precisely the slowest mile I’ve ever hiked: March 18, 2017, on Alum Cave Trail from the trailhead to Arch Rock. My oldest son, who had turned five the previous day, had requested to “climb a mountain” for his birthday. His mother and I decided to […]
Lessons in misreading a Smokies map
In my history classes, I try to teach my students that, as much as maps can reveal about a place, they can also obscure other important information. For example, a political map of Europe just prior to World War I can help us understand…
The magic of a first hike in the Smokies
Story and photo by Hunter Upchurch Inspired by a family trip to Douglas Lake in East Tennessee in the summer of 2016, I decided I wanted to give hiking a try. Though I had grown up spending lots of time outdoors in the rural Mississippi Delta, the main activities were hunting and fishing, neither of […]
