Nobody tells you how loud the rain gets when you’re alone in the woods. Coming down from Mount LeConte, soaked through, fog swallowing the trail, I kept thinking about how easy it is to romanticize these moments—until you’re living them. Every step was a negotiation: mud, slipping rocks, the cold seeping in. I wanted to feel brave, but mostly I felt small and tired. The Smokies don’t care about your plans or your mood. They just keep being themselves, indifferent and beautiful and a little bit cruel. I took a photo halfway down—never posted it. It looked peaceful. It wasn’t. #Travel #TravelReality #HikingAlone