The Mountains are Calling (the sequel)

In 2016, the great Smokey Mountains became the backdrop to one of the largest Natural Disasters in the history of the State of Tennessee.  According to Wikipedia, (not a scholarly source) the fires injured 190 people and killed 14.  

It was not the result of one fire, but a cluster of fires.  The largest being the Chimney Tops fire which burned 10,000 acres (roughly 15 square miles). 

The fires began in late November; however, we hiked the Chimney Tops trail at the end of October.  In less than three weeks, one of our favorite trails changed forever.

We came back at the end of December to witness first-hand the devastation to our beloved National Park. We saw trees that were still ablaze on open roads. We mourned the loss of animal life.  We saw houses left to ash and ruin.  Cars that had burned so hot the tires melted.

“Everything you love is very likely to be lost,

but in the end, love will return in a different way.”

                                                                                                        Franz Kafka

In my life’s journey, I have experienced that same profound loss I felt during those fires. A Divorce, Disease, and Death, and the year 2020 😊.

This weekend, we ventured back to our favorite National Park as we do several times each year. It is different.  Pine trees are sprouting up over the once barren ground.  Black sticks of trees that are burned beyond recognition are being slowly engulfed by new life.

The scars are still on the mountainside that I love but they are softening with time.

For me, HOPE has returned to the Mountains.  Love has returned… only in a different way.