The birdsong begins before my alarm, an overlapping chorus of tweets and peeps and chirp-chirp-chirps. It’s a comforting sound, a sound that sounds like home. Which it is, really. Over the past year, I realize, I’ve spent more nights sleeping outside than in. I roll onto my side and open my eyes. They fall closed. … More Big Miles, Big Bears

We pull into the parking lot at Clingman’s Dome in the early evening. Alanna keeps the car running while I take too long to gather my things. Her heater is turned up all the way. Outside, the sky sags dark and heavy, unrelenting rain. “I can take you back to Asheville if you want,” she … More In the Smokies I Sleep in Shelters, In the Smokies it Always Rains