Mt. LeConte

Mt. Leconte via Alum Cave Bluff

I was on the trail at 8:00 am carrying only a light pack with water, snacks, camera gear and rain gear.

The trail started off like many in the Smokys do, a nice maintained trail, wide and flat, and following along a creek, crossing it several times over foot bridges.

I was less than 30 minutes in when I ran across my first fellow hiker on the trail. As I approached I noticed he was a little bit of an older gentleman, maybe early 60's with white hair and a rather doughy build. He was standing there, either taking a break or just enjoying the rushing water of the trail side creek. I gave him the "Nod of Acknowledgment" and the cursory "Good Morning" or "How are you?" or some such nonsense of pleasantries that are exchanged in passing.

As I walked past him, he responded with "Can you take my picture?"

"Uhh, sure" I responded, stopping and turning back toward him.

He handed me his camera, a Nikon. I couldn't help but take a glance at the model while he positioned himself rather skillfully next to a nearby tree. It was a DSLR, a D3200.

I took the picture and handed his camera back to him. I couldn't help but notice that he was wearing bright orange board shorts and a white cotton tank. He had no backpack but was carrying a cooler. Yes, he was carrying a small cooler up the mountain. He wore a ball cap that said "Let's Get Weird".

At this point my curiosity was peaked and I asked him if he was going all the way to the top. (As many on this trail turn around at Arch Rock or the Cave Bluffs and do not hike all the way to LeConte summit.)

I was a little surprised when he said he was going to the top, but I wished him luck and started on again.

"I'll have you know," he called out emphatically. "I have two stints in my heart and I'm recovering from back surgery."

Now I know the type. I've seen it before. They want to tell you their life story or somehow impress you with their misfortunes. In these instances I try to be polite, but also try to separate myself from the conversation as quickly as possible and move along with the days business.

I stopped and turned back to him feigning interest. "But that's OK," he continued, now walking (slowly) beside me. "I have the finest neurosurgeons working on me."

"That's amazing" I said. "I'm sure this exercise will do you good."

I started to pick up the pace. "This is my fifth time time going to the top." He called out again as I tried to walk away from him. "Fifth time and last time."

My curiosity was peaked again (and I really didn't want to be rude), so I slowed and turned back to him once again.

"Ashes of my dad and brother are up there on the summit" he continued catching up to me.

"Then why is this your last time going up?" I questioned, this time with genuine interest.

"I got other things to do with my life." He gruffly responded.

"Like what?" I asked, a little taken aback at his tone now.  (I couldn't help but risk the further entanglement of myself in this conversation.)

"Going to build houses for the homeless" was his immediate and unnecessarily harsh response.

I said something like "That's good" and followed it quickly with "See you at the top."

I advanced my pace and moved away, (doubting very much that I would actually see him at the top and thinking that  most likely I would see him on my way back down, if I ever saw him again at all.)

A little ways down the trail I came to the first attraction of the day - Arch Rock.

I have to say it was a little underwhelming. I don't know why but I was expecting some monolithic archway resembling something you would see in Arches National Park, Utah. I envisioned lots of hikers/tourists sitting and standing around taking pictures and marveling at the arch.

The reality was there was nobody there and I didn't even realize at first that I had reached Arch Rock. On approach I just saw a cool looking (to me anyway -photo below) staircase and wanted to get a few pictures of it. Then I realized the staircase went through a hole in the mountain. This was Arch Rock. I dropped my pack, got out the camera and started snapping a few pictures.

Soon enough a rather fit young hiker came rolling by at a good pace. He gave me the "Nod of Acknowledgement" and said "Good Morning."

It then occurred to me that the roles had been reversed. Now I was the old guy just standing there by the trail. As he passed I almost called out to him, "Can you take my picture?"

But I didn't. I figured he had probably already had a similar experience with "Let's Get Weird".

I headed up the staircase, through the arch and on toward Inspiration Point and the Cave Bluffs.

It was approximately a mile from Arch Rock to the Cave Bluffs with a stop at Inspiration Point in between to snap a few photos. Unlike Arch Rock, there is no mistaking the Bluffs once your round the corner and they come into view. Your first impression is that you have stumbled onto some kind of ancient Mayan cliff dwelling. There is no cave here, just the huge overhanging bluffs. I don't think any of my pictures do justice to the size of the place. Here there were several people resting, and taking pictures. Some kids scurried up and down the staircases that ran along the complex. I didn't stay long as I knew I was still not even halfway up and the toughest/steepest climbing still lay ahead.

The rest of the trip up was a strenuous pull but eventually it flattened out as I reached the top and intersected with the Rainbow Falls Trail. From there it was only a short walk until the buildings of the LeConte Lodge began to come into view on my left side, and slightly below the trail.

The Lodge was more primitive than I had expected. Just a number of small cabins nestled in among the trees, making it impossible to get a good feel for the true layout of the place or a good photo of more than one building at a time. There is no plumbing or running water.

I rested on a bench for about 5 minutes, took a few pictures and then continued on toward the summit.

Before reaching the summit however, there was one more stop to make, the Mt. LeConte shelter. The shelter is built like all the other shelters in the park, a roof with 3 side walls. This particular shelter has had the fireplace filled in and a notice saying that open flame burning is not permitted at this location.

Moving on, I finally reached the large rock cairn that marks the Mt. LeConte summit. I stopped to take a few pictures, add my own small addition to the cairn, and savor the moment.  Mission accomplished.

There are no views from the summit, for that you have to trek on to Myrtle Point or Cliff Tops. Myrtle Point was where I was heading next. Onward I marched.

The views from Myrtle Point were a little disappointing due to the now overcast skies and low clouds. Maybe I would have better luck at Cliff Tops but I doubted it. The skies were getting darker and I needed to hurry up and start heading down before a storm rolled in.

Myrtle Point marked the "farpoint" for my hike on this day. It was now time to turn around and head back. Cliff Top would be a 3/10 of a mile spur trail out and back, but I was at least now heading back towards the Lodge and then down the mountain. I took the spur to try my luck with the views from Cliff Top but they were no better than at Myrtle Point. To top it off there were two yahoos out on the edge trying to fly a drone off the mountain. There were no views on this day and even if there were, I couldn't get a picture without them and their flying machine in the way. I greeted them when I first arrived, but they said nothing in return. I'm pretty sure they didn't speak English, or at least were pretending not too. I didn't stick around, the skies were getting darker and I had 5 1/2 miles and over 3,000 feet of descent to go to get back to the truck.

I was headed down at 12:50, having spent about 2 hours at the top all together. About 30 minutes into my descent, I see you know who coming up the trail towards me. It's "Let's Get Weird" still trudging along, cooler in hand. I gave him a quick word of encouragement as we passed but didn't stop. I couldn't help but wonder if he had plans to stay at The Lodge or maybe the shelter for the night. At his pace he still had an hour to the top easily and I was doubting very much that he could even make it up and all the way back down by nightfall.

I got caught in a few light showers early in the trip down, but nothing too bad. By the time I reached the Cave Bluffs, I was under a pretty good canopy the rest of the way and didn't get wet. I never even felt the need to pull any rain gear from my pack.

I kept pushing hard on the way down. Not wanting to stop for a break. I don't know why. I kept telling myself, to just slow down. I had all day and nothing to do for the rest of the afternoon anyway. But still I pushed on to the end. Some habits are hard to break.

It had been a strenuous hike, and I was quite tired. I walked out of the canopy and into the now bright sunshine (such is the weather in the Smokys) at 3:04 pm. It had taken me approximately 3 hours to the top. I had spent 2 hours at the various spots on top, and it had taken approximately 2 hours to get back down. My Garmin had clocked nearly 30,000 steps and 12.4 total miles hiked with over 3,000 foot of elevation gained and lost as well as over 3,500 calories burned. Somewhere in the middle of all that (I think maybe sitting on the bench at The Lodge) I had eaten a Clif Bar. My only sustenance during the hike but I wasn't really that hungry.

I'm already planning another trip for a winter ascent.