Carolina Regional Event

EMERGE • CAROLINA REGIONAL GATHERING

THE SMOKY MOUNTAIN GATHERING

The Cabin • Gatlinburg / Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

WEDNESDAY, SEPT 30 — THURSDAY, OCT 1

Some rooms you can afford to miss. This is not one of them. We are taking over the cabin in the Smokies for two days built around one idea: put a great group of men in a place worth being, and get out of the way.

The morning is where the real work happens — masterminding around our One Sheets, no slides, no speakers, no filler.

The afternoon is where the group becomes a group: 200 horsepower, private mountain trails, and a whole lot of dust. Then, for anyone who wants it, we finish Thursday morning on the trail almost everyone in the Smokies puts at the top of their list — Alum Cave to the summit of Mount LeConte. You will not get another day like this on the calendar this year. Come.

WHAT YOU ARE SIGNING UP FOR

• A morning of masterminding — Hot Seats, One Sheets, and the kind of honest counsel you cannot buy
• An afternoon at WildSide — a guided off-road UTV run through private old-growth mountain trails
• Dinner and a fire for those staying the night at the cabin
• An optional Thursday summit hike — 11 miles, 2,800 feet up, and a view most people only ever see in photos

HOME BASE & LODGING
The cabin is our home base for the entire gathering — masterminding, meals, and the fire pit all happen there. Rooms at the cabin are first come, first served. Once they are gone, there is no shortage of cabins, hotels, and rentals within 10–15 minutes in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge — but the guys who stay on-site get the best part of the trip, which is everything that happens after 9:00 PM. Cabin address and room assignments will follow once we have a final headcount.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30
The main event.

8:00 AM Breakfast at the Cabin
Coffee on the deck, a full breakfast, and a slow start with mountains in every direction. Get here early enough to enjoy it — this is where the first real conversations of the day happen.

9:00 AM The Smoky Mountain Check-In We open the day together. Each man answers two questions:
• What has been a major win since we last gathered?
• What challenge are you carrying right now?
It takes about forty-five minutes and it eliminates small talk for the rest of the trip.

9:45 AM The Smoky Mountain Round
A rapid-fire round designed to get past the resume and into the man. Expect a few answers that change how you see someone you thought you already knew. 10:30 AM The One Sheet Forum & Hot Seats
THE HEART OF THE GATHERING
Each man walks the room through the essence of his One Sheet:
• Where am I winning right now?
• Where am I stuck?
• What do I want this room to help me think through? From there we pull two or three Hot Seats and put the full weight of the group behind one man and one problem at a time. Most men will never sit in a room where a dozen people who have nothing to sell them are working on their problem. This is that room.
12:30 PM Lunch at the Cabin
Eat well, change into what you do not mind getting dirty, and be ready to roll. Wear closed-toe shoes. They are required to drive or ride at WildSide, and nobody wants to be the guy who watches from the parking lot.
1:30 PM Roll Out to Pigeon Forge
We caravan from the cabin to WildSide — about a 25–30 minute drive.
Check-in opens 45 minutes before our tour, so we are leaving on time. WildSide — 1099 Laurel Lick Road, Pigeon Forge, TN 37863
3:00 PM The WildSide Run
OFF-ROAD UTV ADVENTURE
• COVERED FOR EVERYONE Ninety minutes behind the wheel on private mountain trails cut through old-growth forest — no public roads, no traffic, no waiting behind a tour bus. A guide leads our group, helmets and eye protection are provided, and we stop at overlooks along the way. The machines are 100–200 horsepower Can-Am side-by-sides in 2, 4, and 6 seat configurations, so you can drive or you can ride. Either way you are covered in dust by the end of it.
• Drivers: 18+ with a valid driver's license
• Riders: no experience or license required — just claim a seat
• Everyone: closed-toe shoes, and clothes you do not care about This is the part of the day people will still be telling stories about at the next gathering. 5:30 PM Back to the Cabin
Clean up, catch your breath, and regroup on the deck.
7:00 PM Dinner ON YOUR OWN
• FOR THOSE STAYING OVERNIGHT Dinner is at your own expense. We will pick a spot together — cabin or a table somewhere in Gatlinburg — but plan to cover your own meal. If you are heading home Wednesday evening, this is where we say goodbye. If you are staying, the best hours of the trip are still ahead of you.
8:30 PM The Fire Pit Forum We close the night around the fire with two questions: • What did today make clear for you? • What are you committing to before we gather again? Every time we do this, it ends up being the part guys talk about six months later.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1
Optional — and worth rearranging your flight for. Alum Cave Trail to Mount LeConte 11 MILES ROUND TRIP

• 2,800 FEET OF GAIN
• 6–8 HOURS Alum Cave is the most storied trail in the Great Smoky Mountains, and it climbs to Mount LeConte — 6,593 feet, the third highest summit in the park. You pass through a carved staircase under Arch Rock, out onto the exposed ledges of Inspiration Point, and under the 80-foot Alum Cave Bluffs before the final push to the top. At mile 5.5 you reach LeConte Lodge — the only lodge in the park, reachable on foot alone — where day hikers can buy a snack and a drink before the short spurs out to Cliff Top and Myrtle Point for the views. Early October is the window. Cool air, thinning crowds, and the first color coming into the high country.
6:15 AM Coffee & Depart
Coffee at the cabin, then we caravan to the Alum Cave trailhead on Newfound Gap Road (US-441) — roughly 30 minutes from Gatlinburg. We want boots on the trail by 7:30 AM so we are off the mountain with daylight to spare. Parking is limited and it fills early. Ride together where you can.

MID-AFTERNOON Down & Out

Most groups are back at the trailhead between 2:00 and 4:00 PM. Plan your travel home accordingly, and do not book a tight flight.
WHAT TO BRING FOR THE HIKE
• Hiking shoes or boots — not running shoes. The trail is rocky, rooty, and steep in places
• A Smokies parking tag — required for any vehicle parked over 15 minutes. $5 daily, $15 weekly, $40 annual. Buy it online in advance; most trailheads have no machine
• Layers and rain gear — the summit runs 10–20 degrees colder than the valley and is socked in with clouds roughly three quarters of the time
• At least 2 liters of water, plus lunch and snacks
• Trekking poles if you have them — your knees will thank you on the way down
• No dogs — pets are not permitted on this trail
WHAT IS COVERED
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 — ON US
• Breakfast at the cabin
• Lunch at the cabin
• The WildSide off-road UTV adventure — for everyone
ON YOU
• Travel to and from Gatlinburg
• Lodging — whether at the cabin or nearby
• Wednesday dinner for those staying overnight
• Thursday in full — meals, park parking tag, gear, and any lodging that night RSVP We need a firm headcount to lock in vehicles at WildSide and food at the cabin.

When you reply, tell us three things:
• Are you in for Wednesday?
• Are you staying overnight at the cabin? (rooms are first come, first served)
• Are you hiking Thursday? Vehicles at WildSide are booked as a block, so the sooner you answer, the better the machine you end up in.

THE SPIRIT OF THE GATHERING
This is not a conference. There are no presentations, no breakout sessions, and nothing to sit through. It is two days with a group of men who have decided that living intentionally is worth the effort — and who are willing to help each other do it. Come ready to: • speak honestly • work on someone else's problem like it is your own • drive faster than you probably should • climb the mountain SEE YOU IN THE SMOKIES