Sunday Morning at Spruce Flats: Carly and Aedan's Proposal
October 10th saw rain.
A lot of rain.
That made me worry because I knew that the next morning, Aedan was going to propose to Carly in front of Spruce Flats Falls in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Now, if you don’t know, there are actually some guides that say the trail to the falls is easy. Sure, it is not long - only about 1.5 miles roundtrip - but I would not call it easy. It is rocky. It is rooty. And it is narrow, with a steep drop to one side. I was fearful that add a lot of water the day before and you would get mud and slickness.
Well, I wasn’t wrong, not entirely. But careful footing and climbing - both up and down - got us there. Besides, some mild temps and Fa showing off its majesty in the Smokies, and do you really need anymore?
It was a little strange, though, for Carly and Aedan. They are long distance runners from Virginia. Carly explained to me, they are used to covering distances quickly. As in, simple minutes. So the notion of taking nearly an hour to go less than a mile was foreign to them.
But the Smokies provide that challenge. Its trails require you to slow down. Look around. Check out the scenery. Breathe in the mountain air.
And be patient - because the payoff at the end is worth it. Let’s have a look, shall we?
I think she’s happy, don’t you?
And the rain turned out to be a blessing in that it caused a nice flow over the falls!
By the way, Carly and Aedan did get a treat on their way up to Spruce Flats Falls - they met one of our local residents and her cubs. Who knows, maybe the mountains like to send their special blessings to couples with the presence of black bears!
I wish I could have been there to capture the bear encounter but here is something to see instead.
And it wouldn’t be one of my proposal posts if I didn’t give my usual signoff:
Mazel tov, you crazy kids!