Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

  We finished our trip to the Smokies with our longest-ever hike. Nearly 11 miles to one of the tallestmountains in the Eastern United States. For this hike, we set an alarm to ensure an early departure. I was concerned about parking for this popular hike, as well as weather and avoiding the crowds. We arrived to the trailhead just after 7:15am and started our hike around 7:30am. The first mile of the hike was pretty mellow. It felt like we were in a rain forest. I dressed in a tank top and shorts and felt a little cool to start but warmed up quickly. I brought a sweater for the summit. The first part of this hike was to Alum Cave (around 2.3 miles into the hike). The pictures online were impressive but seeing it in person was jaw-dropping.  I liked the first part of this hike (to Alum Cave) because it was broken into a few different segments. It took us 56 minutes to get to the Alum Cave and the time went by really quickly. The first segment was Arch Rock (around 1.3 miles in...

  Technically, this was not a hike. But we did cover 1.25 miles during the 75-minute tour.  Karel really wanted to visit a "cave" while we were in the Smoky Mountains and I came across the Tuckaleechee Caverns during an internet search. We were really impressed with all of the large mineral deposits (like the stalactites, stalagmites, soda straws and columns). Our tour guide provided us with a lot of really cool facts and information about this cavern and the history/story behind it.  Here's some information about the Tuckaleechee cavern from the website:   Tuckaleechee Caverns of Townsend, TN. Known as the “Greatest Site Under the Smokies” are the highest rating Cave or Cavern of the Eastern United States. Carved inside the earth’s oldest mountain chain and estimated to be between twenty to thirty million years old, the Caverns are rich in history and lore in recent years as well. You will find the “BigRoom” on one end of the tour that could almost fit a footba...