Great Smoky Mountains National Park - Andrews Bald & Rocky Top

I have NO idea why I just realized that although our website is pretty extensive we basically leave out a HUGE portion of who we are and what we do. We aren't like many other fitness websites or fitness "personalities". We don't count calories or macros. We also don't live in the gym.

More often than not you will find us outside hiking. We've been on some amazing hiking trips that I plan to post about in the coming months. Hopefully you find these inspirational and a way to get outside of the gym. Along with the new travel page we've also added a money page to the website in order to fully encompass what we are all about! We are very excited to bring much more than just workouts and recipes to you in 2016!

Back to hiking, a few weeks ago (Nov 20-21, 2015) we went hiking in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Scott had the day off on Friday so we drove up early. GSMNP is about three hours from us and we always leave super early to beat a lot of the traffic in the park. We were only there for two days but took advantage and hiked each day.

Hiking In Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Andrews Bald

3.5 Miles
Moderate

We did Andrews Bald on Friday afternoon for a short and sweet hike. It was only 3.5 miles and we loved it! The payoff was HUGE, especially considering it was such a short hike. Once we got out of the trees and onto the bald, it was breathtaking.

We posted the plank picture (above) on Instagram. I absolutely love the way it turned out with the mountains in the background. After resting and eating for a few minutes we headed back out to the car. One the way out we were talking about how this hike is a great one for someone just starting out because it's not too difficult (but definitely leaves you breathless in some spots!) and has great views.

After hiking we went into Gatlinburg, TN to eat dinner at Bennett's Pit Bar-B-Q. At Bennett's we wanted to just order a few pounds of meat because we don't eat any of the sides that most BBQ restaurants offer. This restaurant was just like a few others we've been to where they don't let you order just the meat while dining in. However, our waitress allowed us to order from the "to-go" counter to get just the meat and eat it at the table. I know that many of you always ask what we eat when we go out so these posts will give you a glimpse into that. We normally only eat out while we are traveling.

After dinner we drove to our hotel in Townsend, TN (we stayed at Townsend Gateway Inn). 

Rocky Top

11.5 miles
Strenous

On Saturday we woke up and set out to hike Rocky Top. Thankfully this was only about a 20 minute drive from the hotel. We started this 11.5 mile hike at the Lead Cove Trailhead. It was pretty difficult and basically uphill the entire way to the top. This trail does join the Appalachian Trail for a few miles so I had to stop and take a picture for my dad!

Once at Spence Field it was another 1 mile to Rocky Top where it was cold and windy. We actually talked about quitting and turning around but we, of course, didn't. We hiked all the way to Rocky Top and we are glad we did!

On the way back down the mountain we met the nicest dad and daughter hiking duo. They were doing a two night trip in the park. I love seeing families spending time together outside! We meet some of the best people hiking and I can't wait to tell you more of their stories!

After finishing the hike we headed back into Gatlinburg (after picking up some Red Velvet Fudge!) to eat lunch. We were going to eat at Mellow Mushroom but it was almost impossible to get to the restaurant with traffic so we ate at Texas Roadhouse instead. After lunch we made the three hour drive back home.

I hope that this post, previous hiking posts I've written (you can find those here), and future posts will encourage you to get up and start moving. Don't limit yourself to the gym, running, or classes. Almost all of my best ideas come from when I am outside in nature, completely unplugged.

Tallulah Gorge Sliding Rock Trail (Tallulah Gorge State Park - GA)

Hike Date: 07/28/2013

On Sunday, July 28th, we went hiking (Paige, Ashley, and I).  Scott was out of town for work and we wanted to do something outside so we decided we would go on a hike.  We went to Tallulah Gorge State Park (in NE GA) to do the Sliding Rock Trail.  They only give out 100 passes per day starting at 8 AM and they do not give out passes if there is a chance of rain.  There was only a 20% chance of rain when we woke up so we went ahead and made the hour drive and luckily they still had passes left!  We were on our way after a quick overview and safety class.  Yes, they tried to scare us away in the safety class!

The first adventure is going down 600+ stairs to get to the gorge floor and then you have to jump or climb across giant boulders to get to the other side.  I bruised up my arm pretty bad on one jump but we all three made it to the other side.  There was definitely strategy involved in making it, as you can see below.

There really is NO trail and there is no room for a trail because you are basically just beside the water and making your own way down.  We all brought tennis shoes (actually hiking/trail shoes) and water shoes.  We quickly changed into the water shoes in the beginning because most of the trail was wading through the water.  We all had packs on and fell or slid into the water a few times.  It was rough!  There was even a section where you literally had to crab crawl across a giant rock to get to the other side BUT it wasn’t that easy because it was slippery so it kept pushing us down towards the water so we were constantly trying to crab crawl and avoid being pushed into the water!

We finally made it to the sliding rock and had to make silly faces, of course!

The sliding rock was a blast (video below) but it was a pain to get back out of the water.  Our video didn’t take the first time so we had to go down twice.  It was so slippery I think we probably burned 200 calories swimming and sliding and climbing rocks to get back out!

After we finished swimming we had to make our way back out of the gorge.  That meant go back the way we came (no thank you!) or take another route which consisted of climbing rocks at a steep incline.  All I can say is that I am glad that my choice of cardio is walking at a 15 incline!  It was a blast!

We had a great girls hiking trip and burned over 1,000 calories!

Have you ever done the Sliding Rock Trail at Tallulah Gorge?