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Sometimes all you need is a walking stick and a little push up the mountain.

Just ask J. Greg Johnson, a native of Sevierville and local newspaper columnist who has now written his first book, "Sanctuary: Meditations from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park." It's part Smokies guide, part inspirational journal. And it's all coming from a man who said an ordinary drive home from work became the jump start his life needed.

Johnson, 51, graduated from Sevier County High School and Tennessee Technological University. He taught for a couple of years at Sevier County High and spent four years coaching football at Austin Peay State University. Then he came home to Sevierville.

His pivotal moment came in 1990, when Johnson was working in Knoxville and traveling Interstate 40 back home. He said he glanced out the car window and caught a magnificent view of the Great Smoky Mountains, and specifically Mount LeConte.

He was in the middle of a painful divorce, not really in the mind set to embark on a journey of discovery. But he went anyway.

Going the distance

"I thought to myself, 'I am going to climb that mountain tomorrow,'" Johnson remembers. "So I did. I walked up Mt. LeConte and for the first time in a long time I felt more at peace and more alive."

This writer said at that point he became hooked on hiking the trails that had been at his back door his whole life. He used to camp and horseback ride in these mountains as a child, but left it behind in adulthood. He was ready for a return.

Not only did he start taking regular walks in these woods, but Johnson also wrote about his experiences in a journal. His favorite places besides Mt. LeConte are Andrews Bald, Porters Creek and Thunderhead Mountain. He did most of his exploring solo, seeking out the serenity provided by a day at Chimney Tops and Charlies Bunion. He has hiked the Appalachian Trail through the Smokies and trails from Bryson City to Gatlinburg.

"Back in the early days, I just looked for the tallest and steepest and I walked those," Johnson said. "That has now changed a little bit."

He once put in a hard day on the trail and was preparing to bed down in the shelter at Mt. Collins. Johnson said he was always careful to keep a clean camp and remove all food away from the reach of mice and bears. He did, however, leave his toothpaste next to his sleeping bag that night. "The mice kept coming all night, nibbling at my toothpaste," he said. "I didn't get a wink of sleep."

Connecting the dots

Johnson shares plenty of personal adventures, recollections, reflections in "Sanctuary." The book contains over two dozen of his essays. He said there is definitely a spiritual connotation to his writing. Being in the Smokies, he said, gives him a sense of connectedness to God.

He has witnessed the sunset on the Serengeti in Kenya, watched the sun rise on Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and viewed the last light of day hit Lone Mountain in Montana. He's been to Yellowstone and stood beneath Old Faithful. "All of those were glorious, but nothing has ever matched the serenity and sense of place I feel in the Smokies," Johnson said.

The idea for "Sanctuary" came last year as Johnson became aware of the Park's upcoming 75th anniversary. He revisited his favorite spots, got out his journals and began putting it all together. The book contains over 80 photos, all of which Johnson shot with the exception of one taken by wife Diane.

The photograph on the book's cover was taken on a section of trail at the top of Mt. LeConte, after the climb up Alum Cave Trail. Here, the trail flattens out into a fairy-tale forest, the author said. It's like a hiker is being rewarded for making it to the top.

"We could have put anything on the cover but this was the picture of the journey," Johnson said.

This first-time author knows there are several other works out there on the Smokies, and he didn't try to imitate or replace them. He intentionally set out to give readers an insight into what backcountry hiking is all about in this peaceful setting. People who hike have enjoyed the book and it has inspired others to take a step onto the wild side, Johnson said. And people who have gone through painful experiences like his own find reassurance and renewed hope just as he did on that long trek up LeConte.

The healing powers in those rugged and secluded places can't be denied, Johnson said.

"For me, the Smokies are a spiritual place," he said. ... I am trying to capture those transcendent moments that happen on mountaintops and as you walk through coves. Those transcendent moments that transform us as people."