Mt. LeConte..GSMNP trip report

“Friday 17th...ET and I arrived at NewFound Gap and began our hike to Mt.LeConte.
After taking in very nice views of the North Carolina side of the Smokies we arrived at Ice Water Spring shelter after 3 miles..a few other hikers were there already but no one we knew..The Ridgerunner(Smoky Mountain AT patroller) and Poohbear aka ask ET (an AT section thru-hiker)were among them...
ET and I took the AT to Charles Bunion overlook where we took in awesome views for quiet some time..didn't want to leave.
Back at IWS we ate our supper and laughed at tales of the trails before turning in.A beautiful sunset was ours to view..

Saturday 18th.. ET and I rose early and headed toward the Boulevard Trail to LeConte..we elected to not see the Jumpoff and enjoyed our 5.3 mile hike to LeConte..
We passed a rock slide with cables and a rock pile where the attempt is being made to make LeConte taller than Clingmans Dome..
We arrived at the shelter around noon and went to the lodge for water.. the llamas weren't there. :( There were three guys who stayed at IWS shelter last night that decided they got too cold and wanted a fire and beer tonight,so they headed down the mountain..No fire was allowed at LeConte shelter.
Not long after we got back to the shelter Ewker and Woodzie arrived via Boulevard Trail..Woodzie was doing a day hike..we taked awhile and Woodzie left to go back down via Alum Cave Trail..Great to meet you Woodzie..wish you could have stayed. :(
It was very cool on LeConte as the clouds moved in and out...so I sat in the sun to warm as I laughed my head off at two of the nuttiest guys I have ever met.. you guys kill me..lol
Soon Katibug arrived via Alum Cave Trail..good to see you again girl.
ET,Ewker and I went to Cliff Tops to watch the sunset..I have seen nicer ones in the past but the weather brought in rolling clouds that crawled over the mountains below us..and we even saw a rainbow.
A ranger pointed out the various mountains around us..very interesting.
Back at the shelter,Katibug had prepared a birthday celebration for me..YEA!!!!she had candle sparklers that I got to light,a very nice card and a fudge brownie..yum..Thank you Katibug..that was so sweet.
Everyone turned in with a very loud chorus of snoring going on..lol

Sunday 19th... I arose very early this morning to go to Myrtles' Point to watch the sun rise..SO SORRY Ewker I didn't know anyone else wanted to go.. my bad :(
That's a good reason to make the trip back again...k
The sunrise was very beautiful..this was my 4th try for me and was always socked in before...it is well worth the effort to get up and go..
We packed up and headed down Alum Cave Trail for 5 miles. Beautiful,cool morning made for a wonderful hike through Alum Cave overhang and Arch Rock..
Katibug gave us a ride back to our cars at Newfound Gap where we then went up to Clingmans Dome.. It was clear when we started up but quickly became socked in..we went on up Clingmans Dome Trail ..ET,Ewker and Katibug climed the ramp anyway but I stayed at the bottom and made pictures of them..
We were famished and devoured a lunch at the Back Porch Resturant in Townsend..

This was a wonderful trip in my opinion..we had great weather (Ha! ET).. and great company..TTer's ROCK

Feel free to add to this report guys, but ya'll don't believe anything ET or Ewker says...k lol”

“My pics Part 1

http://community.webshots.com/album/374129621HyrpbI”

“My pics Part 2..didn't know how to save two at the same time :(

http://community.webshots.com/scripts/editPhotos.fcgi?action=viewall&albumID=374233348”

“Very nice report, trekkngirl. Glad that you had an enjoyable trip. You have a great collection of pictures in the first set. For the second link it says:

An error has occurred.

You do not appear to be the owner of this album.
Make sure you are logged in.”

“better link for second album: http://community.webshots.com/album/374233348XVSJnZ”

“http://community.webshots.com/album/374233348XVSJnZ

I'll try this..

I was hoping to meet you on the trail nowslimmer.”

“Ha! Thanks HOI”

“trekkngirl - I've been thinking about you, but I'm back home in Florida. All the rain up there this Spring kinda dampen my spirits.

Those three little words you told me sure made me feel good.
last edited: 6/20/05 7:37:45 AM”

“{sigh} reading these trip reports kinda makes me miss the smokies.....

nice time yall had trekkngirl.”

“NS..what 3 little words..I'll say them again.. :)

Should have been there Roam Around..we did have a good time”

“Phew! (Wipes brow.) She's forgotten.”

“great pics t-girl. I had a blast with you guys this weekend. At least I got to see the sunrise thru your pics. I will get my pics up later this evening.”

“Sorry..NS..I'm getting old dear.
Cool Ewker”

“awesome pics tgirl....makes me "homesick" for old dearly loved stomping grounds for me.
looks like a beautiful trip and nothing beats that smoky mountain sunrise....thanks for the "feeling" of it in those pics.......


see you in the sierras pretty durn soon eh?”

“Thanks om..can't wait for the Sierras..woohoo!!!”

“great TR and pics trekkngirl.
hey ET!!!!!!

yeah...and I'll see ya in the sierras in a little bit!”

“Thanks Gem..see you in "THE SIERRAS""

hey ET!!!!!! from Gemini.. hmmmmmmmm you go, ET!!”

“Great pics, trekkingirl! Glad to have met you and Eric. Also met Katybug on Alum Cave Trail.

I posted this over on the " other" other side ;-). Here it is for y'all:

Saturday was absolutely the BEST day. Some folks from the "other side" were backpacking to LeConte Shelter for Saturday night, so I was able to arrange with Ewker to leave my car at the Alum Cave Bluffs trailhead and ride up to Newfound Gap with him. From there we hiked up the AT to the Boulevard Trail, and on to LeConte where we met up with trekkingirl and ET. Trekkingirl, ET and Ewker stayed at the shelter, but I went on out via the Alum Cave trail to my car. Total hiking distance was 13 miles. The day started out with total embarrassment for me. At Newfound Gap, before we started hiking, I needed to use the ladies restroom. A park service guy was in there cleaning; he told me to use the men's (no urinals he said - it would be okay). HA! He neglected to tell me the stalls were miniature (very short). Well, since I really needed to go potty, I took my chance. While I was sitting there doing my thing, in walks a fella who goes to the stall right next to me. He looks over and got the surprise of his day! His eyebrows went up, and fortunately for both of us, he looked the other way. I told him the park service guy told me to use the men's bathroom. No comment from him. I hurried out of there as fast as I could. All day while hiking, we "leap frogged" with this guy and his hiking partner. I just couldn't get away from him! And then at LeConte Lodge, he was there! Yikes! You can see his photo in slide #62 (the guy in the background with the mohawk haircut). Even when I finished the hike and was taking my boots off at the car, he showed up in the parking lot. I hope I didn't blush everytime I saw him. Anyway.......

The LeConte hike was certainly one of those "going to remember for a long time" hikes. Again the weather was lovely and the scenery was spectacular. Catawba rhododendrons were blooming, and there was a profusion of Clintonia Lilies blooming.

We climbed up the AT trail to the junction of the AT and the Boulevard Trail. We took the side trip to the Jumpoff and were rewarded with beautiful vistas and a small pile of bear poop.

Hiking the Boulevard Trail was a delight. It had been 20-25 years since I had hiked it, and I had forgotten how wonderful it was. Again, we were rewarded with great scenery and blooming rhodies. The last mile or so, just before Mt. LeConte, was steeper, but since I was carrying only a daypack, it wasn't so bad. We did have to cross one slide area that I had forgotten about. Made me nervous (couldn't look down). Clouds were starting to roll in, but nothing serious. About 1/2 mile before we got to the top of LeConte, we saw a HUGE pile of bear poop. It was a worthy pile, grizzly bear size.

At the top - High Top - we added rocks to the rock pile. There is a good humored effort to make LeConte taller than Clingman's Dome. LeConte is 50 feet lower; hence the rockpile. It needs to be 51 feet high.

We proceeded on to the shelter; trekkingirl and ET were already there. Ewker and I rested a bit, then all of us headed on down to the lodge. We refilled water bladders there, and looked around. When we went back up to the shelter, a couple of deer were hanging around for photo opportunities. After I ate lunch, I headed on down the trail and left the lucky threesome at the shelter.

My hike down the Alum Cave Trail was good, even though I did see the Bathroom Man again and again. I did see Katybug as she was climbing up to LeConte via Alum Cave. We chatted for a bit on the trail, then parted ways. Views were great, rhodies were beautiful, and I was a happy hiker.

Here's the photos:

http://community.webshots.com/album/371913871lcoGtx”

“I didn't know it was your birthday! Happy Birthday! You sure piced a great place to spend it.”

“So SexyGirl how old are you?”

“Old enough to know better but too old to care darlin' lol”

“Great pics and report woodzie..thanks for the email and flower IDs'..”

“Now thats my kind of woman”

“ok, I finally got some of my pics up, the other album will be later on tonight.

http://community.webshots.com/album/374771491cTIASl”

“Nice pictures Ewker..wow!!! I thought I took a lot..lol”

“Nice pics, ewker.
Photo #62" "Cables to hold onto in thw winter." What do you mean, IN THE WINTER??? Heck, I was hanging on to them and it was only June! LOL!”

“ok, 2nd batch of pictures ready. Good thing I have a digital camera or i would be broke.

http://community.webshots.com/album/374808130pofiKE

Hey ET, the path I mentioned to you was it. The other one is .1 of a mile more
last edited: 6/21/05 7:09:25 PM”

“Great Trip and Pics. Good one.”

“It was a good one refrigerator..

I like me birthday pics Mr.Eddy”

“Geez...what a lardass...no wonder I was huffing and puffing up the Boulevard.
And...is that Tim Conway in a couple of those photos...hahahaha....
This trail was a blast!”

“that was a great weekend, weatherwise. i was down at the house putting woodguard on everything i could for as long as the weather would allow. it didn't rain til monday-i can see the western tip of leconte even with the summer leaves. hey, that rockpile on topp is really just aiming for 6600 ft., which is why it usually hovers around 6-7 ft.”