These Pumas are Made For Walking

I don't mean to imply that parts of Dolly(wood) aren't natural, but Ryan and I decided to do nature even more hardcore today by venturing out of Pigeon Forge, TN and into the Great Smokey Mountains. Unfortunately, I forgot how dreadfully unprepared I am for such an adventure.


Lesson #1: Before you drive into a national park, get gas. There are no gas stations in our nation's park system. I suffered for this mistake by 1) having to back track 5 miles to the entrance of the park and 2) paying $3.00/gal (for regular).

Lesson #2: Wear proper footwear.




With zero tread to speak of, my Tiger sneaks left me little room for error trekking through the mountains. Last week, I hiked through muddy Roosevelt Island in flip-flops, so I guess this is an improvement.



But maybe I should just take it as a sign that National Parks aren't quite my gig. After all, I did grow up a city kid.