Bison

“Bison has never been to Gatlinburg, so I figured I would take him to see tourism at its best. :)

ENS, we may hike Laconte.”

“oh he is in for a treat..lol”

“Be sure and get him some grits and fatback to eat before his climb, he'll need the energy.”

“Treat him to breakfast at The Burning Bush, right at the edge of the Park.
One of the best breakfasts I have ever had.

...and an added perk is The Happy Hiker around the corner, where he can get his gear fix.
last edited: 3/14/05 2:55:11 PM”

“even though the Alum Cave is the best way up to LeConte, without crampons, it would probably be un-doable. What you could do for a really cool hike is, drive up to Newfound Gap and hike the AT to Charlies Bunion, check out the view, backtrack to the Boulevard Trail and then take the Boulevard to Mt. Leconte (be sure to check the view at the Jumpoff) and either backtrack on the Boulevard and AT back to Newfound Gap or if you can spot another vehicle in Cherokee Orchards, descend LeConte via the Rainbow Falls Trail or Bulls Head Trail. I'll have to look at the map, but that would be a huge day, 16 miles, but the elevation gain would only be 2000 feet since your already up high. Snow up on Leconte could be a few feet deep with drifts waste high, especially in the avalanche area below Myrtle Point on the Boulevard. A good place to get trail conditions is www.mtleconte.com. You maybe able to rent crampons at the Happyhiker in Gatlinburg and then you could go up the Alum Cave Trail and then back down, that would be an 11 mile day, but 3,000 feet of elevation gain. Have fun - take pics!!!!”

“the burning bush does not exist anymore. there is a restaurant in there, but it's not called burning bush anymore. :(”

““the burning bush does not exist anymore. there is a restaurant in there, but it's not called burning bush anymore. :(”
Gemini
4:49:58 PM

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!”

“Bit, you need to stay outta this.....:)

Ens, it is supposed to be snowing all week in the smokies, so you are right about Alum Cave. I have done Rainbow Falls trail in Jan before without any crampons, and it wasnt so bad. I have not done Alum though in colder months. Maybe we will rent some crampons.”

“Sorry, it was too good not to post....lol...

Hey, you could get one for Layla...”

“yeah, there will probably be quite a bit of snow up on LeConte, probably more than 3 feet on the summit and insane snow drifts. The high mileage suggestions I made yesterday would probably be undoable in the snow. If you can rent crampons, Alum Cave Trail is your best bet since it's only 5.5 miles up and 5.5 miles down. I did the Bullshead Trail last year in snow and it kicked my ass and that was just going up. We had to walk straight into the wind though. I'm thinking that you would stay protected from the wind on the Alum Cave side of the trail atleast most of the way up the mountain.”

““Is Campmor trying to tell us something?”

bitpusher
2:50:48 PM
3/15/05

That you should lick me? 8p”

“Ewwww...”

“Hey, you're the one who posted it...”

“Are we going here?

http://community.webshots.com/photo/47525762/47528155TBTvtN

or

here?
http://community.webshots.com/photo/47532402/47534911iEBmXY

or

here?
http://community.webshots.com/photo/47532402/47535480cfHnKA”

“Don't know that we'll go to Bird Woman, or Grinell Lake, but we'll certainly dayhike to Iceberg.”

“Its all so perty! How long are we car camping there?”

“Why don't you two exchange phone numbers?


:) sorry, had to say it!”

“We're car camping three nights.

I figure we'll camp the first two nights at Many Glacier and dayhike around there including to Iceberg lake and the Ptarmigan tunnel.

Then we'll move on to Bowman Lake where we'll meet the others.”

“Do we have to make reservations at the campsites beforehand?

TB - cant talk while working....but can write! :)”

“No, no reservations for the campgrounds.”

“its gonna be awesome!”

“I cant wait!!!

Roamy, we finally get to meet too!”

“You two have never met?”

“nope. Thought you knew that.”

“:) maybe sooner, if i shirk all my responsibility and go to Trail Days.”

“Bison - Come to the Old Loggers Path this weekend. 27-mile day hike on an awesome trail with a cool crew of mates and fantastic weather. Saturdaynight we're going to sit around a campfire with some beers and steaks and chew the chit. It'll be grand! Just what the doctor ordered.”

“jeebus, you should say 27 mile deathmarch!

Thats a full day!”

“now I know what Bison was getting away from.....27 miles.. .ENS, you da man!”

“we'll have daypacks on :)”

“we'll have daypacks on :)”

EarthNsky
5:02:41 PM

yeah....like that really matters....oy vey...I think I'll go and polish my spork....

BTW....have fun boys....”