Before she went missing, Susan Clements was hiking with her daughter on one of the most popular trails in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, less than a mile from Clingmans Dome.
When Nancy East's search and rescue team joined the effort to find her, she learned Susan was a mother to three children who adored her. What Nancy didn't know then was how much the search for Susan would impact and influence her own life's path afterward.
Two years later, Nancy and her good friend, Chris Ford, set out to improve the speed record of hiking all 801 miles of trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park while raising funds for hiker safety and preparedness.
While chasing the record, the duo faced tropical storm rains, swollen, unbridged creek crossings, injuries, night hiking, and wildlife encounters. Their arduous journey also became intertwined in one of the most rare human-bear tragedies in the park's history. Maintaining a positive mental attitude was their superpower through it all.
The enormous feat of endurance was one of the most grueling endeavors that Nancy, a mother and everyday athlete, had ever faced. However, the hardest things she had endured were in her past. The strength she gained from those experiences was now moving her forward, one difficult step at a time.
Chasing the Smokies Moon is a story of grief, hope, empowerment, and love, and the thread that binds them all.
Two lives lost too soon. When a search and rescue member's unresolved grief is triggered by tragedy, will a life-changing hike end in hope?
Great Smoky Mountains National Park, September 2020. Nancy East was determined to make a difference. After a heartbreaking SAR mission ended in the discovery of a body, the woman still grieving her own mother's passing felt compelled to help prevent more fatal hiking accidents. Partnering with a close friend, the middle-aged everyday athlete set out to cover the wilderness area's 800 miles of trail faster than anyone before to raise money for safety and preparedness measures.
Struggling with early injuries and intrusive self-conscious thoughts, Nancy confronted insecurities about her career, parenting skills, and her mom's fight with cancer. And as she persevered despite torrential storms and dangerous terrain, her crippling uncertainties began to transform into heart-healing peace.
Two lives lost too soon. When a search and rescue member's unresolved grief is triggered by tragedy, will a life-chan