Mountain Men

This past weekend we traveled home for a special event. On Saturday, Mike (oh yes, he came home earlier than expected from Colorado!) and our friend Joe participated in the Fifth Annual Mountain Man March in Gatlinburg, TN.

We arrived at the race site at 0800 with a good hour for the boys to prepare for the task ahead. The race is a marathon....but in true Army fashion, it's a marathon distance ruck. (civi-talk: a ruck is a march carrying a weighted ruck sack. A ruck sack is a backpack of sorts. The weight is anywhere from 30 - 80 pounds usually.) The official rules called for a ruck weight of 35lbs. That's fairly light....NBD (No Big Deal) as the boys would say.

Ready to step off

Just getting back from Colorado and Ranger school, neither Mike nor Joe had trained a bit for this race. Of course, as infantrymen they don't need to. They should always be ready to march to their objective and that's precisely what they did. They kept a good pace most of the race, but slowed in the last five miles or so. That was okay considering Joe had just busted his knee in Colorado (he's pretty certain he tore his meniscus....ouch! And he did the race anyway....double ouch!!) They stayed together and finished the race just in time for dinner.

Finished!!

Mike's parents joined us at my parents home in the middle of Pigeon Forge for a steak dinner (fish for me and my special diet.) On the way back to Knoxville that night, I drove, and the boys fell asleep. Poor Joe looked like a toddler asleep in his car seat with his head all slumped over. Needless to say they had a good day.

The annual march honors fallen soldiers and the Gold Star families. If you are not aware, a Gold Star family consists of the immediate family members of a soldier that has given the ultimate sacrifice for your and my freedom. However painful it is to lose a soldier, there is honor in becoming a Gold Star member and that should be remembered. Events such as the Mountain Man March helps us to remember those that served and died protecting our way of life. Many soldiers at the race wore flags and marched in honor of Gold Star Mothers. Some even crossed the finish line with these moms.