GSM Outfitters in Wears Valley, Tennessee.

A brand new business has opened up in Wears Valley, and as their neighbor just down the road, we're happy to welcome GSM Outfitters to the area! If you're looking for the right gear to enjoy the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, be it hiking, fishing, kayaking, etc. you'll definitely want to visit them beforehand.

Their press release is as follows:

"GSM has been started by Heather and Michael Shepperd. We were married on June 14th 2010. One of the many things we have in common is a love for the outdoors. When we met, my soon to be wife was getting ready for a backcountry trip with an organization call BOW (“Becoming an Outdoor Woman”). Their trip would be in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I was also getting ready for a trip to Tennessee. Once in Tennessee I planned to hike Ramsey Falls for the second time. I decided to invite Heather to come with me.

I have been coming to Tennessee my whole life. My mother was born here and as a kid we would come for vacations and stay on my great uncle Wayne’s farm. I have always had an appreciation for this state. Beautiful county and nice people make for a perfect place, in my opinion. Heather agreed to join me on the trip. Once here, she had the same love and passion for this part of the country that I had always known.

Following that trip, almost every vacation or long weekend revolved around the Smoky Mountains. We have traveled and hiked various trails in and around the Smoky Mountains from Cades Cove to Cherokee, North Carolina. We never seem to grow tired of waterfalls, lush forest, mountain trails, butterflies, bears or Tennessee. It took no time to decide that when we retired Tennessee would be our home. We started saving money to facilitate the process. Just over a year ago we had a 3 hour brainstorm meeting at our kitchen table to try to figure out a way to purchase a vacation home in the mountains sooner rather than later. We tightened our belts for several months, cashed in stocks and did everything we could to squeeze every nickel.

In October we made a purchase of a home in Wears Valley.

The thought of living in this area became a vortex we could not and did not want to escape from. We were obsessed with the thoughts of daily life in the mountains and the experience that would be more than a vacation.

Sadly in January my mother passed away. In the last year of her life she had moved from Michigan back down south. Once she passed away something clicked inside of me. I did not want to spend abbreviated periods in the place that felt more like home than the place I was born in. Sometime during this confusing mix in our lives Heather and I decided to go all in and pursue our passion of a life in Tennessee combined with our love of the outdoors.

That is when we decided to open GSM Outfitters and make this magnificent place our home. Please come in and see us at GSM if not to shop than to share in your mountain experience. If you are not able to make it into the store please join us on facebook at GSM Outfitters LLC or visit our website: www.gsmoutfitters.com.