Visitor's Guide
Discover is an annual guide to living in Knoxville and East Tennessee.
Last month I was asked to write jacket blurbs for two upcoming books on the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The first was "Pursuit of Passion: An Insider's Guide to Fly Fishing in the Smokies" by Jim Casada. Shortly thereafter came "Sanctuary: Meditations from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park" by Greg Johnson.
I was happy to accommodate both requests. Sort of.
Oh, both are excellent books; I recommend them highly. Although written from different perspectives, these latest additions to the broad selection of Smoky Mountain literature will appeal to any park visitor, veteran or newcomer alike.
You couldn't ask for a more qualified trout guide than Jim Casada, a retired Winthrop University history professor and prolific outdoor writer who lives in Rock Hill, S.C.
Casada grew up in Bryson City, N.C., and has fished Smoky Mountain waters all his life. "Pursuit of Passion" offers a detailed how-to of virtually every stream and river within the national park, right down to directions to the best stretches and which fly patterns and tactics to use when you get there.
Johnson is a Sevier County native, works for Edward Jones Investments in Sevierville and also writes political commentary for the News Sentinel.
As the subtitle of his book suggests, this is an introspective venture Struggling through during the trauma of divorce, Johnson turned to the mountains for healing. He discovered that steep trails and misty vistas refreshed his body and soothed his soul like no medicine ever manufactured.
So why is my enthusiasm for these books tempered with a hint of hesitation?
Because I've got feet of clay, that's why. I've got the slightest of a selfish streak. We all do. We realize the more publicity our mountains receive, the more people will be attracted to them.
(For Pete's sake, I stand guilty as charged myownself. I, too, have written volumes - in newspapers, magazines and books - about the wonders of this region and then winced when others came to see for themselves. Life is weird like that.)
Both Casada and Johnson understand this paradox.
Casada admits he's an "equal-opportunity offender" by revealing some of his favorite trout streams.
Johnson seconds the motion. Consider the morning he finds himself alone on Andrews Bald:
"That's fine with me. More than fine actually - it's perfect. And by design. I left well before daylight to beat the crowds."
See what I mean?
But no one really need worry. The Smoky Mountains have an abundance of nooks and crannies, large and small, permitting discovery and rediscovery for generations of visitors to come.
Same with East Tennessee in general. Although I've been privileged to roam the valleys and highlands of my homeland for 61 years and counting, I'm forever amazed by heretofore unknown treasures that pop up.
Maybe it's a hiking trail my feet have never trod. Or a section of state park I've never seen. Or a fishing hole untested by my lures. Or a hunting mecca I never knew existed.
Speaking of which: My outdoor buddy Larry Cook just telephoned about a tract of land veritably bristling with turkeys. It's been under our collective noses for years, just waiting to be explored.
Sorry, but no further details will be offered. Blame Larry. Unlike those blabbermouths Jim Casada and Greg Johnson, he insisted this one stay on the QT.
Not so coincidentally, I concurred wholeheartedly.
Sam Venable's column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. He may be reached at 865-342-6272 or VenableS@knoxnews.com. His latest book, "Someday I May Find Honest Work: A Newspaper Humorist's Life," is available at bookstores, the University of Tennessee Press and online from the News Sentinel.
© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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