One Time At Running Camp: St. Cloud Heads To The Smokies

Running camp… that two word phrase makes many people immediately shake their heads and ponder, “Why does anyone want to do that?” Well, for St. Cloud High School, it’s a yearly tradition that just finished up its 7th annual trip.

Coach Kevin Harkema has been a fan of U.S. National Parks since he was a kid. He and his father have traveled to many of them together enjoying the grandeur of what our country has to offer. He has witnessed the the bears of Katmai NP in Alaska, lava flows at Hawaii Volcanoes NP, and sunrises over Acadia NP in Maine. As a runner himself, Harkema ran trails in Great Smoky Mountain NP to prepare for his season at St Cloud HS and at the University of South Florida. That family tradition of seeing the national parks is being carried on to his own children to this very day.

He began taking some of his XC runners to the Smokies in 2009 to get some hill training, base mileage, and of course some team bonding. What better place to go than to a park with over 800 miles of trails, and the most visited national park in the country with an annual tally over 9 million visitors! The group usually stays in Cade’s Cove which is an extremely popular picturesque valley with an 11 mile one way paved path filled with hills and curves galore. The cove is also noted for its wildlife viewing.

They decided to stay in Elkmont this year to be closer to the rest of the park. It was a new experience for everyone to be in a different campground. The downfall to Cade’s Cove was the proximity to everything else in the park… It’s 24 miles to the main visitors center. The speed limit of 35 and there is never a stretch of road that is straight for more than a 1/10th of a mile! You would need to plan an additional 90 minutes of travel into most activities throughout the park.

The group arrived on a Monday after a 12 hour drive, only to have to set up camp in the rain. Oh and by the way kids… as soon as camp is set up, you have a 40 minute run. Dinner was fantastic each and every night, the snacks were plentiful, and to everyones surprise, the bottled water was gone as the Gatorade sat almost untouched.

Tuesday morning brought on a 6 mile run though the Elkmont area. Don’t get too comfortable guys, after breakfast, they hiked up Chimney Tops. This is one of the most popular hikes in the Smokies (also a Harkema family tradition). It is a 3.8 mile (roundtrip) hike with an elevation gain of nearly 1500 ft. Most of which is in the last mile with over 400 rock steps to assist. The views on top were amazing as they ate lunch and watched clouds, literally, drift by. The kids were rewarded with a trip to one of several Go-kart tracks in Pigeon Forge for some competitive fun in the evening.

Due to extreme popularity of the afore mentioned Cade’s Cove, the park gives cyclist and runners a chance to experience the cove without auto traffic on Wednesday and Saturday mornings until 10AM. So on Wednesday, they made the trek for a nice long run on the scenic loop. Most kids did the 8 mile loop (via Hyatt Lane) but some were gutsy and did the 11 mile challenge early (Coaches too). It made for a perfect reason to rest in the mountain creek for a cool down. Abram’s Falls (another Harkema tradition) was planned for the afternoon hike. This 5 mile roundtrip hike gives you a great look at one of the parks many waterfalls. This particular waterfall is only about 25 feet, without the cascading water like you find at so many in the area.

Dollywood greeted the crew on Thursday, but rain was present almost all day long. It was quite a change being at a theme park with so few people. These kids have spent the majority of their young lives taking part in the heavily visited Orlando attractions. The roller coasters were a big hit, but the country buffet lunch was also enjoyed by all. Too bad they didn’t have sweet tea or banana pudding or it might have been the best meal of the entire week! The rain made camp a mess, but the kids persevered and ran another 40 minutes as the female chaperones took the soiled clothes to the laundry facility. What is camp without some unexpected road bumps to make the stories that much better.

The kids found a great trail for the Friday 6 mile run right near camp that took them 3 miles from camp, almost entirely uphill, but beside a creek for the entire run. The best part of the run was the downhill finish and of course a nice soak in the creek afterward. They got to see another waterfall near Deep Creek, followed by pizza in Bryson City, NC. The local elk herd comes out near dusk by the Oconaluftee Visitor Center on the Cherokee (south) side of the park. The kids really enjoyed watching the elk graze right in front of them.

Saturday was the last full day of camp. This is the day of the 11 mile loop challenge in Cade’s Cove. A full week of bonding and fun will be put to the test as their weary legs go for the toughest run of the week. With the exception of a few, everyone made it around, even the coaches. Once you get to the 5 mile mark at Hyatt lane, you are commited to the back stretch, as there is no turning back. The beginning has several long stretches by meadows and gradual uphill climbs. The ending has many steeper hills, more turns, but you are in the woods most of the time. All the campers enjoyed some ice cream before the afternoon trip to Gatlinburg to finish off the week.

This was the largest of the 7 trips so far with 23 campers taking part. It has become such a popular activity at the school that even Bulldog alumni (that are running in college) want to return to help mentor the young runners. No one enjoyed a 12 hour trek back to Florida, but they couldn’t help sharing stories and pictures via social media. It was a great experience for all, and will undoubtably set the tone for the new year with a young squad.

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