Journal
Essays and trail journals by Leah LaRocco.
August 6, 2018
This weekend I met up with two new friends to go for a walk in the woods. We're all from different places, traveling on our own unique paths in life, but hiking brought us together. A weekend was a great time for a short backpacking trip on the Appalachian Trail Read More
March 12, 2018
I've been thinking a lot lately about what goes into the cultivation of a rich inner life. Over the past several years there has been a reexamination of my faith and everything I believe, a stripping away, an unlearning, a rejuvenation of the very foundation of why I live the Read More
August 31, 2017
Welp. I was that guy this morning in the campground. I was so proud of myself for waking up at 5am in the pitch blackness of still-night. I got out of bed even though it was drizzling and I could hear large drops on my tent, plop…plop…ploploplop. I went back Read More
August 30, 2017
I recently camped alone for the first time in the Elkmont campground in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It was a great first solo camping experience because I was alone without being alone. I wanted to camp by myself to get over the fear of camping by myself. Baby steps. Read More
July 25, 2017
"Bear. Leah, there's a bear!" I look up from the trail where my eyes have been scanning back and forth for snakes to see a cub tumbling down a hill in our direction. I shout, "BABY BEAR, where's the mama?! We need to find the mama!" My friend Leann and Read More
April 5, 2017
Back around Thanksgiving when I was visiting family and half the people there were sick, I managed to catch a cold. A cold that turned into a sinus infection, that turned into an ear infection, that turned into sudden hearing loss, that turned into one of the most painful illnesses Read More
June 17, 2016
This past weekend a good friend from college and I headed out to the Smokies to hike on some of the mountains known for their flame azaleas and rhododendrons. The second weekend of June this year seemed to be a bit early for the flame azaleas, but we lucked out Read More
April 8, 2016
Today I saw a turkey running full speed up a grassy hill, head waving haphazardly back and forth like he was being chased. It was a hysterical moment in my morning and I found myself laughing loudly between NPR segments. I'm convinced he was just happy it's spring. As I Read More
March 15, 2016
As the weather warms up and I'm starting to sweat on my daily walks, I keep thinking back to a month ago when Rob and I headed to the Smokies again for some more winter hiking. Hiking in the winter has some serious advantages. There are less people, the views Read More
February 8, 2016
The weekend after Snowpocalypse 2016, we had sunshiny days in the 60s, so Rob and I headed to Sparta, TN for a 9 mile round trip hike to Virgin Falls. This is one of the state's most visited natural areas, so I wanted to go there before it got crowded. Read More
January 24, 2016
I've been thinking a lot lately about choices. Today I woke up, puttered around the kitchen for a while, read a book, started to take a nap, and finally forced myself to get out of bed and leave the house. We've had snow here in Nashville which has been a Read More
November 30, 2015
Coming back to real life after vacation is such a drag, like a shoot me, I wish I had some moonshine right now kind of drag. But muddle through we mustuntil the next vacationwhich is on Thursday, thank God, or I would have to find something high to jump off Read More