Love is in the Air on Mt. LeConte

While Chris and I were on days off we helped celebrate the engagement of our two favorite llama wranglers. Chrissy and Alan are getting married in September. LeConte changes people lives in many different ways. It helped bring these two fabulous people together. They met in 2011 when Chrissy worked her first season as crew and Alan was leading the llamas up the mountain. The romance blossomed when Alan came to work on crew the next season. They later moved back to the llama farm and now spend their days hiking with their four legged friends.

I believe Norm asked how Chris and I met. I realized that through the years, the crews have posted their stories but Chris and I have not. So, here you go.

I met Chris while hiking the Appalachian Trail in 2000. I started the trail on the 25th of March by my self. Chris started the trail on the 20th of March with a friend who came down from Alaska with him to hike. Thank goodness for me, I was hiking faster and he took a few days off to wait for the boyfriend of the friend to meet up with them to hike for a week. The magical story continues when I started hiking up Shuckstack in the Smokies. I was hiking with another girl I met and we were watching out for one another. I would look back every now and again to make sure she was behind me. At one point I looked across a ridge and their was a person hiking behind me. A little voice told me that was the person I was going to marry. Let me just say that I was not used to hearing little voices, so it kind of freaked me out. Anyway, Chris hiked up and introduced himself and we have been together ever since. He likes to say that my pack was bigger so I could carry some of his stuff. That is why he stuck around. Anyway, we hiked a total of 600 miles and I tore the ligaments in my foot. I had to come off the trail and he followed me. We were married October 13th of 2001. I couldn't imagine any better life long hiking partner. We have covered thousands of miles together. Before you ask, we would like to go back and finish the trail one of these days.

We were married at a hostel near Laurel Falls on the Appalachian Trail.