Author

John Quillen 40 posts 0 comments

John is a self-described orophile whose mountain addiction has taken him across the globe in search of fresh peak experiences. After completing all the Smokies trails, he sought high points both obscure and well known. With two remaining, he hopes to become the first Tennessean to complete the global Seven Summits.

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Secret
Waters

John Quillen
A guide to finding peace in the waters of East Tennessee. Story by John Quillen | Photography by Patrick Caveney & John Quillen Appeared in Cityview Magazine, Vol. 42, Issue 4 (July/August 2026) The drive out of Oak Ridge and…
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Departments

Death Road and Beyond

John Quillen
From Andes Summits to Bolivia’s Most Dangerous Ride None of us were prepared for 11 degree temperatures in the middle of June. Then again some of my team wasn't ready to be at almost 20,000 feet either. But here four of us found…
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Chasing Dawn

John Quillen
Hard-earned sunrises from Everest to Appalachia—finding beauty where few ever look Leaving a warm sleeping bag in the middle of the night is not my favorite part of mountaineering. I joke that we wake up before we go to sleep so as not…
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Departments

Through the Lens of Time

John Quillen
Unveiling the Smokies’ Hidden Stories Through Campbell’s Photographs I 've mentioned Frank Harvey in the past. He is descended from Smokies royalty, claiming the bloodline of Grandpa Carlos Campbell. Many have passed that overlook on…
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Porter’s Creek

John Quillen
Off-trail in the Smokies, remembering a friend's final bushwack to what's next My feet were dangling way too far from terra firma so I death-gripped a bending piece of rhododendron. The branch stretched with increasing gravity, and my…
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Departments

Bears in the Backcountry

John Quillen
An anecdote about wilderness kinship I had been trying to talk my friend, Kim, into backpacking for years. She was an avid hiker who was sufficiently fit to do the Spence Field turnaround in a day or a Leconte route via the Boulevard. I…
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