When I visited Asheville, North Carolina, I did something I never thought I’d do. I decided, pretty much on a whim, to hike the Mount Mitchell trail. If you know anything about hiking in the Asheville area, you know that this hike has a reputation. At 6,684 ft. Mount Mitchell is the highest peak east of the Mississippi River. Locals refer to it as "the big one." And I was an absolute beginner. I was going to hike roughly 6 steep, quad-burning miles to the summit and 6 miles back down, knowing next to nothi[...]