Page 42 - SMH 2017 2nd edition

There is Healing in Them Hills

by Christina Zukas

My newfound love for the Smokies did not start with a perfectly laid out plan or the goal
of having an adventure. It all began as a means to get out of my heartbroken head space
and a desperate need to stop crying, if only for five minutes. I needed to somehow find
enough peace and serenity to make it through just one day, and gain enough mind-
clearing energy to try to start the next day with a fresh step.

Having only driven through the mountains once in seven months prior to my first hike, I was inappropriate-
ly dressed; I had zero knowledge of the well-known weather changes or proper bear safety. Armed with 24
ounces of water and my DSLR camera, I ventured out to walk a mountain trail and capture some photo-
graphs of a waterfall.

“There’s healing in them hills.” I heard this many times from folks at the beginning of my journey. I had no
clue what they were talking about, but figured they knew better. As the months progressed, the number of
stories I would hear from others who found the same heart-healing mountain magic as I did, was astound-
ing. Stories as diverse as crippling heartache, the death of a loved one, the heart-wrenching breakup of a re-
lationship, overcoming a drug or alcohol addiction, to debilitating/compounding health issues and PTSD.
It’s not a secret that physical activity, especially coupled with being outdoors and surrounded by fresh air,
has real “medicinal properties” but until you experience this for yourself, it’s a hard concept to understand.

Doing a simple internet search on ways it helps with varying degrees of physical, mental or emotional health
complications, will quickly prove that studies show that simply getting outside can do wonders for mind,
body and soul.

Seek out a picnic area, choose one of the many pull-offs along a main thoroughfare or pick out an easier
maintained trail and lose yourself in the sounds of rushing river waters or wind and birds dancing in the
trees. Or if you’re a more seasoned outdoorsperson, hop on the AT and allow yourself to be beautifully over-
whelmed by the intoxicating views from the Jump Off or Charlie’s Bunion. No matter what your interests or
physical activity levels are, there is something for everyone in the Smokies.
So if you’re searching for something more...something to help aid in your individual healing process, give
our Great Smoky Mountains a try. And maybe, just maybe, you too will find that there is in fact…healing in
them hills.

Christina Zukas Christina Zukas

42 Smoky Mountain Hiker