Photos of the week – scenes from our hike to Charlie’s Bunion during a vacation in the Smoky Mountains two years ago.

Last Sunday I skipped my “Photo of the Week” post due to the holiday weekend.  This week I’m back to the usual!

“Once upon a time”, in a faraway place known as the Smoky Mountains, Katherine and Casey decided to go for a hike.  Katherine loves hiking.  Casey does not, but being a great husband, he decided to go anyway.

With great optimism, we started up the rocky trail towards a mysterious place known as Charlie’s Bunion.

After what seemed like hours of hiking (according to Casey), we took a quick break to look at the scenery.

Gradually the trail began to narrow and we entered what appeared to be a scene from The Lord of the Rings.  I looked around expecting to see elves, but they appeared to be out for the day.

Suddenly, an eerie shelter appeared.  Legend has it that a dark creature lurks inside, luring hikers from the trail.  We tiptoed past in hopes that we would not disturb him.

(Icewater Spring Shelter – for thru hikers on the Appalachian Trail.)

Just around the next bend was the creature’s water supply.  (Icewater Spring)

We were relieved to be out of sight of the dwelling, and soon came upon some beautiful flowers.

The sky momentarily darkened as we drew near to our objective, the Bunion.

A spectacular view of the mountains awaited us!

Success!  We had reached our destination.  (Charlie’s Bunion)

After resting on the rocks for awhile and enjoying the view, we headed back the way we had come, creeping past the dark creature’s shelter and through the forest of the elves.

Once we returned to civilization, our day was brought to a happy close with a burger and fries from one of our favorite restaurants.

“The end.”

If you want to know more about Charlie’s Bunion (including the history behind the name), go here.

~Katherine