Yurtin’ In the Smokies

Since the day our blog came to fruition we knew that we wanted to obviously base the blog primarily on tall fashion finds but we also wanted to work in some other parts of our lives that we value so highly. So that brings me here, to our first travel post! Jenilee and I both love traveling and exploring this beautiful planet we live on, and try to see as many places as our budgets and time off allow.

So let’s dive in! This past weekend my mom, best friend/roommate/our wonderful blog photographer, and her mom and loaded up a truck and hit the road from Milwaukee to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The laughs started immediately as we all tried to cram everything we needed into every single nook and cranny in the car. We took on 6 hours the first night in order to crash in Louisville for a short time before finishing off the last 4 in the morning.

We arrived in the Smoky Mountains around lunch time and checked in at Imagination Mountain and unloaded our car and got settled in our Yurt. That’s right, our yurt. For those that are unfamiliar a yurt is a circular tent made of collapsible framework. Ours has two sets of bunk beds, a mini fridge, heat/air(thank goodness), and a small table. However, the best part was what was outside of our Yurt. Less than ten steps from the base of our steps was a little babbling creek, a fire pit and picnic table. We all loved hearing the sound of the creek as we slept and enjoyed our fires each night.

Once we were semi settled we loaded up and took off to get a short hike in before it got too dark out. We took off on our first drive up the mountain and began Grotto Falls. We were drawn to this hike because there is a waterfall you can walk behind and it was a shorter one to begin with. This hike was very moderate for the four of us and we easily made our way to the top and enjoyed the small waterfall and then headed back down to enjoy a bonfire.

We planned this trip with the goal to be as relaxing and work free as possible which for us means no cooking and no dishes. So we each prepared foil packs for the fire and just had to toss them on each night and then throw away the foil when we were done.  The first night of sleep was rough for us, Sarah and I prefer the air to be on while our moms would prefer it to be warmer. Unfortunately the air doesn’t reach the top bunks easily but freezes those on the bottom. So if you ever consider a trip like this-plan accordingly.

Day two was a rough start for us. We all slept quite terrible and that’s all there is to it. Therefore, we were slow to get going and everything just felt a little pushed back. We did a hike called Chimney Tops this day, which was very laboring on all of us. There are so many steps we weren’t anticipating and we all had a hard time catching our breath and I personally felt very out of shape. We choose this hike because of the wonderful views; however, due to the awful fires a few years back a large portion of the trail is still shut down to keep hikers safe. The view was still spectacular and well worth the climb but it makes me so sad knowing how much damage was done from the fires. It was also extremely disheartening how many water bottles, wrappers and other garbage was left behind. Anywho, I won’t make you all listen to me and my soapbox. We all felt our legs shaking on the way down and decided the base of the trail sitting on some rocks at the base of a waterfall would be the perfect spot for lunch. It was simply incredible sitting there listening to the water rush by and relaxing after a taxing hike.  

We wanted to do two smaller hikes this day but due to our late start (and some unexpected rain) this wasn’t in the cards for us. Instead we headed towards Gatlinburg and stopped into Sugarland Distillery and bellied up to the bar for a moonshine tasting. The minute we stepped up to the bar I committed to trying all 13-yes 13 flavors of the moonshine even though they didn’t all sound appealing to me. Most of the flavors were great but the real entertainment was the bartender. I can’t even describe the hilarity that came from his mouth. After tasting so many flavors we were all ready to buy a jar or two to take home to share with friends and family. After this we headed back for a different foil pack, fire, and a semi early bedtime since we were all feeling the lack of sleep from the night before.

The four of us were ready to take on day three bright and early. We got up, packed up our bags and headed to Ramsey Cascades for our longest hike. We started out and all of us quickly decided this was already our favorite hike. I cannot even put into words the beauty of this terrain or the incredible waterfall that was waiting for us at the top. This hike was close to 8 miles round trip but was much easier than the previous day. After we all picked up our jaws from the floor at the sight of the waterfall we unpacked our lunches on a huge rock and enjoyed another lunch with falls. It was so rewarding making it to the top and enjoying some rest before trekking down.

Unfortunately more unexpected rain was upon us but we set up our fire and got dinner cooking anyways. We got to enjoy the fire and dinner before a downpour quickly approached. All of us booked it inside and even though we were sad we knew it was for the best since we needed to get packed up and head out early. And early came quick. Our alarm went off at 6:15 and we all hopped up and tried to cram everything back in for our 11 hour journey home.

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You’ve heard us mention this chair before-but I wanted to show you how amazing it is for a taller frame (See her toe reaching to touch?). The back is so incredible high and supportive for my tall frame, the base where you sit doesn’t sag at all and it is so comfortable! They sell them in XL and regular!

If you like spending time outdoors/hiking/camping I cannot recommend this type of trip enough. I personally had never heard of a yurt before but once my mom mentioned it and I searched it online I was sold. I feel so lucky that I was able to go on this trip with my mom and both of our close friends. We shared so many laughs, memories and wonderful experiences in the mountains that none of us will forget.

I just wanted to throw out some products that I personally cannot camp without! This hammock, these lanterns, this headlamp, my camp chair shown above, this speaker , this portable charging stick, this water bladder for hikes, this backpack, these cups are perfect for coffee and cocktails, and my cooler!

Below you will see some of my very favorite hiking (and every day) gear. These are things I always grab for when I am going to athleisure, camping, hiking or even to a chilly movie theatre. One thing I want to note is when I ordered this backpack I originally a mens assuming that the fit would be better on my long torso and I was wrong. The women’s large was perfect and it was the perfect hiking pack-kudos to Patagonia for making it TTS!