Erin Flaig
University of Cincinnati
Mechanical Engineering Class of 2020
Hiking Away From Social Media
People usually go on trips to “get away” from their everyday lives. I’m hoping this experience will help do so literally and figuratively. In between semesters, I plan on going to Gatlinburg, TN for 4 days with my boyfriend to take some time away from my Cincinnati routine. While there I plan on hiking in Smokey Mountains National Park and exploring downtown Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. Being of the typical millennial generation, I constantly have my phone on me, and will admit I have somewhat of an addiction to it, whether it be scrolling through social media or browsing comedic YouTube videos. Looking back on my past couple of years, I feel like I’ve missed out on a lot that had been going on around me because I had been too busy with what I held in my hand. On family vacations, practically the whole car-ride I would escape to the games on my phone; waiting to get the destination but ignoring the journey there. With this experience, I hope to change my outlook not only on vacations, but life in general. During the entire trip, I will not use my phone other than to snap a few pictures of any awesome scenery, directions for if (and when) I get lost, and of course, I will keep it on me in case of an emergency. During the car-ride I plan on enjoying the view of the passing scenery, or simply have a conversation. While hiking, instead of focusing on trying to find the best angle for an Instagram post, I want to take in the scenery around me without looking through a camera lens. I will try to look at the little things in life that nature has to offer while taking a much-needed break from classes and work.
Day 1
The day started at 3 a.m., as the alarms went off and we were on the road by 3:30, stopping for a quick bite at McDonalds before getting on the highway. For the five hour drive down, I was really only awake for the last hour and a half--my boyfriend was a trooper and stayed awake to drive the whole time. Once we got down to Gatlinburg we found our hotel and verified our afternoon check-in time before wandering around the downtown strip and exploring. Given that it was still only about 9 in the morning there was a small amount of activity going on but we still got a good feel for all the local shops and attractions. We found a nice bite to eat at a local pizza place for lunch then headed down to Great Smokey Mountain National Park for some hiking. We found a nice hike to Laurel falls, where we then climbed around the rocks like children for an hour before heading back down the path to the car. That night we found a local favorite BBQ joint for dinner and explored downtown Sevierville that night. We were in bed by 10 that night, seeing as my boyfriend had been up sense 3 that morning, and slept like rocks. During the car-ride (once I was finally awake, it my boyfriend and I enjoyed some nice conversations talking about what we were looking forward to on the trip. I had a few urges to check my phone and scroll Facebook, but I made sure the night before to remove my social media apps from my phone's home screen to prevent me from "accidentally" opening one of them and scrolling. I feel like during the day, I gained a lot more physical connections to my boyfriend and the world around me. We talked a lot more and had more in depth conversations while we were waiting for our food at the restaurants and instead of scrolling my phone after we got settled into the room at the hotel, I found I nice book to read and enjoy. I feel like I gained a greater sense of "getting away" today without using my phone and it made me overall happier throughout the day.
Day 2
On Tuesday we woke up early and grabbed breakfast at the hotel before heading out to Clingman's Dome before it got too crowded. Clingman's Dome is the highest point in the Smokeys, and is a quick but steep hike up to a man-made dome that overlooks much of the park. Unfortunately, with the previous nights rain, a lot of the view was blocked by fog, but it was still spectacular to see. On our way back down to the car we took a slightly longer hike to Andrew's Bald, which opens up to a wide grass area overlooking a lot of the mountains. After a quick snack break we hiked back to the car, and headed back into town for some lunch and a burger place. We then drove up to Pigeon Forger and went horseback riding for an hour. I had never been horseback riding (I don't count riding a pony around in a circle) so the experience was really cool for me. They didn't allow phones while riding so I was really able to focus on my experience riding and the cool scenery around me. At the horse ranch they also had a small petting zoo where you could feed some of the animals. I faced my fear of losing a finger and fed the horse, goat and even laama, though I was still too chicken to try the emus, they looked a little mean. After we left the horse ranch we went to "The Island" of Pigeon Forge, which is basically a large shopping district with unique shops and some amusement rides. We browsed though a lot of the stores and grabbed a small bite to eat for a late dinner. We stopped at Subway and grabbed some sandwiches for lunch the next day, figuring we would take a long hike. Afterwards, we drove back to the hotel, and took much needed showers. I laid in bed for a little while and read before finally getting some sleep. When we were at the horse ranch waiting our turn to ride the horses, instead of scrolling through my phone, I walked around the ranch and looked at all the interesting horse facts they had posted. They were interesting reads and made me feel more confident to ride once it was finally our turn. I did have some urges to check my phone throughout the day, like at the ranch or waiting for our food at lunch, but they were easy to control and instead I found interesting and unique topics to talk about with my boyfriend. Not using my phone allowed me to learn a lot of cool and interesting things about horses, the National Park, and small things about my boyfriend I still didn't know, that I might not have learned had I been on social media.
Day 3
Wednesday we woke up, ate breakfast, and headed to the Smokeys. Along the way we saw signs saying the hike we were planning on doing was closed, so we decided to go on a similar one to Grotto Falls. The trail marker estimated the falls were about 1.7 miles away, and we made it there with plenty of time to spare. While at the falls, we saw you could go further past the falls another 3.6 miles up to the Summit of Mt. Leconte, and seeing that we had planned for an all day hike, decided to try it. About to hours into the all up-hill hike, however, it starts pouring, and several lightning bolts flash. Rather than head higher up the mountain we seek some refuge under some trees and wait out the storm for about 20 minutes before the rain start to let up. After about another 45 minute of hiking, we finally reach the top...and find llamas to our surprise. Come to find out we had hiked to a type of hotel that doesn't used electricity, no wi-fi, just you and the wilderness and some small log cabins, with a nice dining hall and chilled spring water. The llamas are used to transport supplies to and from the settlement, and travel up and down the very trail we hiked. We ate our lunch and looked out at a foggy view before descending back down rather quickly because one of the workers informed us another storm was headed our way soon. Got caught in the storm pretty much the whole way back, though it took us about an hour less to get down the summit compared to hiking up it considering we were practically running down the trail when the terrain allowed for it. In the end we found that the trail markers were slightly off --our step trackers told us we had hiked almost 17 miles! When we got back to the car we were drench, hungry and tired, but we definitely will remember that hike for a real long time. We drove back to the hotel for some nice hot showers and then walked to a Cici's pizza buffet for dinner. After that my boyfriend wanted us to get the fully Gatlinburg experience, so we went to Ole Smokey Moonshine and did a moonshine tasting. Some of the moonshines were alright, some tasted awful, but in the end, it was a really cool experience and we both came out glad we had tried it. To end the night we drove to Mad Dog Creamery for some ice cream, since that was the only thing I could talk about the whole hike back to the car, and then quickly fell asleep back at the hotel. Not using my phone today definitely helped me gain the full experience of getting away from everyday life and exploring what Tennessee has to offer. Even though I was tired, and sopping wet during our hike, I felt a great sense of accomplishment once we had reach the top. If I had stopped during the day to look at social media, our hike could have been delayed and we might have been stuck in even more rain.
Day 4
Our last day in Gatlinburg we got up, ate breakfast, packed up everything, and started our journey home. During the drive, we talked a lot about our trip, what we liked, disliked, and what we might do differently. We also talked about where we might want to travel next, where would there be cool hike or cool attractions and how far away they were. Time seemed to fly by as we talked and before we knew it we were getting hungry for lunch. We stopped in Northern Kentucky for some lunch at Fazolis (great bread sticks 10/10 would definitely recommend), and then drove the rest of the way back to Cincinnati. My boyfriend dropped me off at my house and the loads of laundry were started. Being back home was a little harder to control my urge to check social media but I think it was a little easier because I had already gone several days without it. Instead of scrolling my phone that evening, I cleaned up all of my travel bags and washed my clothes, talked to my dad about all the fun adventures we had in Tennessee, then sat down to read. I used to love to read growing up but since starting college I really had not read too much, being too focused on school and, well, scrolling social media. This trip really rekindled my love of reading and I plan on finding more books to enjoy in the next couple months and beyond.
In the Days That Followed and Beyond
In the days that followed the trip I saw just how much social media effected my life. I found that I had a lot more time on my hands that I would usually spend scrolling newfeeds. Instead, I actually got a lot of things done. I cleaned and organized my room which I hadn't had time for recently, and was able to get rid of a bunch of stuff I no longer needed or wanted. I got a lot of other things done around the house that needed to be done. At the gym, my workouts were shorter because I didn't scroll through my phone between each set. I paid attention to the news when watching with my dad rather than listening to it in the background. I was able to learn a lot more about what it going on in the community, and the world. I have regained my love for books and have already finished two in the time of the trip and the week following. It gives my mind a break while letting my imagination soar. Rather than putting this reflection off for a couple hours and then taking breaks now and again to scroll through Facebook I was able to sit down and start typing away. I really got a lot out of this experience. My urges to check my phone grow less and less by the day and as of now, more than a week after coming back from Tennessee, I do not have any plans to start checking the newsfeeds like I used to. I think I might slowly ease into social media, maybe only use one and delete the rest. I do think social media has some advantages for keeping up with long lost friends and staying up to date with birthdays and special occasions, but I do not feel the need to waste my time scrolling through random posts and videos anymore. I feel a lot happier without social media. It used to be that I felt like I needed to check it constantly to make sure I didn't miss any posts that someone posted or make sure I like certain people's pictures. This trip has made me realize that at the end of the day, none of that really matters. We are only given so much time on this Earth, and if we spend all day looking at a screen, how much are we really getting out of it? This experience has opened my eyes to all that the world around me has to offer, and how much I can learn and enjoy from it. I hope this experience encourages others like me to forgo the clutches of social media even if it is just for a day and see what a difference it can make in your well-being and interaction with the world around you.