Dear Reader Column 10-01-07

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Dear Reader,

My husband and I are a little nutty. We love a mission: driving to five different stores, looking for the perfect potato peeler is our kind of fun. So before we went on our vacation to the Smoky Mountains, we decided that our mission was going to be hiking to a waterfall every day.

We do a lot of walking in Sarasota, Florida where we live, but we realized that since the Smoky Mountains are well over 4,000 feet above sea level and Sarasota is only 23 feet--actually where my house is located it's probably only eight--we thought we'd better do a bit of training before we left.

So our pre-vacation mission was to find a place to train. And so we went looking for a hill, an incline, a second story set of stairs, a bump in the road, anything that would make us do some heavy breathing, but the biggest "hill" we could find in Sarasota, was a little raised area in the driveway in our bank's parking lot. It isn't much more than an itty, bitty slope, most likely a driveway blacktop job gone wrong, but my husband and I were determined to be in "training." So after the bank closed, we put on our hiking socks and boots and climbed up and down the "mountain."

We bought a book on waterfall hikes in the Smoky Mountains and Juney Whank Falls was our first conquest. It was a beautiful day, we parked our car, checked the map and set out to climb a real mountain. We were both psyched. Step-after-step, we were really making good time when suddenly it dawned on me that breathing, something I don't usually think about, was quickly becoming my main concern. Man oh man, I could hardly catch my breath. I looked at my husband and he seemed perfectly fine, so I slowed down a bit, but kept going.

"Suzanne, look at this," my husband had stopped on the trail to admire what looked like a piece of bird poop to me, but he kept brushing away dark stuff, insisting it was a piece of crystal. When suddenly it dawned on me that he was admiring the "whatever" just a little bit too long.

"Are you pretending to see something interesting, so you can stop and catch your breath?"

My husband smiled, "You can't catch your breath, either, can you?"

So after we both admitted we were struggling, we continued up the mountain at a much slower, more reasonable pace.

The waterfall was worth the effort. It was beautiful and going down the mountain wasn't a problem at all. But we were both a little concerned, because the book rated the waterfall hikes from an easy level one to a very difficult seven. Apparently we were hiking wimps, because my husband said he'd made a point of starting out with an easy climb.

How could Juney Whank Falls only be a one? I couldn't believe it, but nevertheless, when we got back to the car, we both did some more stalling--because we were afraid to look at the book. But we finally did find the courage, and I'm happy to report that Juney Whank Falls is a six. And so we're not hiking losers after all!

*Yes, I have photos. If you'd like to see them, go to:

http://tinyurl.com/2ak7m4

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected] 
http://www.DearReader.com

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Comments

[Sharon]

Omigosh, that last picture should come with a warning for height wimps! :O

Six years ago, my husband and I were planning to invite friends to Dark Falls (Shenandoah Nat'l Park, VA) to witness our marriage vows. It seemed like such a romantic place in the park brochure. I forget how the descent/climb is rated, but I was so winded and so embarrassed about it that when my husband chatted away easily on the way back up, I could only nod and try to hide the panting. Back at the car, he tactfully suggested *our friends* might not be able to make it and maybe we should find another spot. We settled on the local courthouse---only 6 steps. ;D

[Chris]

When My husband and I visited the Smokeys 2 years ago, we went to the first falls with a ranger guide. If you haven't been and this seems like a good idea, think again. She was 21 years old and raced to the falls even though more than 1/2 of us were flat landers. Hubby had been to the smokeys in college and wanted to share it with me. When I got out of breath, I decided to go at his pace, much slower as he was looking at nature. As soon as we caught up with the group, the guide would take off, since those who live at elevations above sea level were rested. After the 2nd such stop we gave up trying to keep up with this Chick. When asked what we as consumers could do to save the Smokeys she said we should turn off the lights when we leave the room and that we didn't have to do anything as ridiculous as buying a hybrid car.

That girl soured the whole trip for us as we own (then and now) a RIDICULOUS HYBRID CAR. I payed about $80/month for electricity and water. I saved that same amt driving my ridiculous hybrid car.

The falls were lovely but we enjoyed the next falls more since we weren't racing and gasping. We found many lovely fungi and I learned about many botanical specimens. I even learned that my Hydrangeas actually were descended from the ones in the Smokys. Azaleas as well are from the Smokeys.

This was a few years after 9/11 so the ranger folk were a bit more vigilant than necessary. I had asked my hubby to pull to the side of the road as I spotted a bit of color. When I climbed the ditch to admire the flowers which he tells me were introduced by the settlers, I was hollered at for being there. "I hope you weren't thinking of picking MY flowers!" Since they were not in front of this ranger's house, I didn't think they were any more his than mine, and besides why pick what would be wilted within an hour. I was insulted by this behavior. I didn't enjoy it as I might have.