Running late, I left my house at 6:15 a.m. which was the time I should have already been to pick Liz and Beth up at Dodgen Cabin Rentals on Walden’s Creek Road . They were getting concerned and were ready to call my husband Dennis to see if I was still in the bed. Beth is a co-worker of Liz’s and this would be her first hike. Yes, I did say first hike and Liz assured her it would not be a hard hike. (Hehe...that Liz.)

When we arrived at the Alum Cave parking area we could see Ed Wright’s group was already there. What a pleasant surprise, Lucas Bohanan a nice young man that I have known most of his life and whom now works with me at the bank was there and ready to tackle the mountain. And Cindy was there just as energetic as ever. It was so good to see everyone! I showed them the quilt I had made out of my LeConte tee-shirts (one for each year since 1999-the first year I hiked to LeConte.) Cindy took a picture as we held it up. We then all gathered together as Ed’s son Bill took group pictures which included: Ed, Bob, Austin, Charlie, Peggy, Laura, Mike, Tillroe, Mike W., Johnny (Mike’s friend), Liz Rowland, Beth (Liz’s friend), Cindy Beverly (Cindy’s friend), Brian, Lucas and me. What a nice group! We were on the trail at 7:15 a.m.

It felt so good to be back on the trail again! Lucas looked good in his toboggan and jacket but it didn’t take long for him to start shedding layers. It was a hot and humid day but we were fortunate to have a breeze blowing. Something we would try to grab and hold onto later in the day. A lot of rain had fallen in the last few weeks so with all of the water flow Austin and Charlie had a great day as far as salamander hunting went. We weren’t on the trail any time before they found a red cheeked one. Then one that had big bulging eyes. We reached Arch Rock at 8:10 a.m. where we rested, took pictures and of course, salamander hunted. Mike and Johnny had spotted a huge one at the foot log and they showed Austin and Charlie where to look. I think it may have gotten away. I took a picture of Liz and Beth looking back as they climbed through Arch Rock. I took a picture of some of the group and Ed coming around the switchback. At one point, we stopped to rest and wait on the rest of the group and Bob entertained us with an interesting story about one of their bicycle trips.

I had not seen Lucas since the beginning of the hike and wondered if he was at the lodge already. You know how these young ones are! It was on to Inspiration Point and by that time it had gotten very hot and humid. Even with the cloudy skies and frequent breeze it was almost unbearable. At Inspiration Point we rested and enjoyed the views. The boomers were begging for handouts. The New Jersey Tea bushes were blooming but I failed to get a picture of them. About that time, Lucas came back down the trail. He had been to the Bluffs and decided he didn’t want to go any further. I hope one day he goes to the top. While we were sitting there, two gentlemen came up the trail, one of them slightly overweight breathing deeply and as we exchanged “Hello’s” with them there were two lean male runners came running down the mountain. As they passed, Liz told the other two that they would look like that when they came back down. At that point, they weren’t sure they would make it back down! I took this picture of Lucas as he headed back down the trail bailing out on us.

Austin and Charlie would go on ahead with the ones hiking in front so they could salamander hunt while us slower ones caught up. A lot of rocks were rearranged that day, some of them being quite big ones. I even overturned some but didn’t have any luck. We arrived at the Bluffs at 10:45 a.m. Liz and Beth were at the front of the group and said they heard the Peregrine Falcons coming by Duck Hawk Ridge. One of the boys found this interesting rock that was shaped like Tennessee. It is a joy to watch Charlie and Austin as young as they are to have such an interest in the outdoors. I’m sure they got that from their granddaddy Ed. After a short rest we trudged on. It continued to get more humid as the day went on.

Just beyond the Bluffs there was an area of the trail that was littered with bright lavender rhododendron blooms. Nature at its best. A junco bird flew from the bank and with a little investigating; her nest was found filled with eggs. They do a good job camouflaging their home. Galax flowers were in bloom and lined both sides of the trail. The rhododendron and mountain laurel blooms were very pretty especially when they were grouped together. The views were gorgeous with the clouds rolling through.

When we all arrived at Gracie’s Pulpit, Tillroe said his goodbyes to everyone. He had not planned on going all the way to the top since he had recently had knee surgery. We wished him well. Whew, the Saddle with some down hill was a welcome sight! It was still cloudy but the views were great. After climbing the lower steps a group of women came down the trail. They had a bucket list and this hike was one of the main things on that list. I’m glad they got to mark it off. As I sat there, I got this great picture of the bucket list women as Brian took their picture. We trudged on. I say trudged because that’s what I felt like I was doing. A combination of the humidity and only going on two hikes this whole year was making my body protest against the steep climb. I wondered how Beth was feeling! (This being her first easy hike.) We trudged on!

Ed had not been feeling well and about 2/3rds way up the mountain he made the decision to head back down. We were all saddened by the news for Cindy had planned a surprise birthday party at the top for Austin and Charlie. I know that Ed Wright is a smart man who has hiked this mountain many, many times and I applaud him for making that decision. Ed and his daughter Peggy would start back down and the rest of the group would continue on to the top. Mike Williams and his friend Johnny had hiked on ahead of the group so they could go to Cliff Tops. It was Johnny’s first time to the lodge. Johnnie is back from a tour of Iraq and is studying to be a doctor.

We met Ron Valentine and Pam coming down from their early morning hike. It was good to see them. There was a lot of water at Trout Branch and as always it tasted mighty good! The clouds had Clingmans Dome Tower hidden, so the binoculars stayed in my backpack. By this time Beth was ready to be at the top, as we all were. Near the top I took a picture of a wood sorrel in bloom.

We arrived at the lodge at 1:00 p.m. I took this picture of the new sign posted close to the water faucet and one of the blackberry bushes in bloom. Cindy and I went to the kitchen for her to find Doug McFalls (one of the cooks who just happens to by my cousin) to check on the birthday cake. He had it all ready so we went back to the lobby to join the rest of the group for lunch. My bologna sandwich had never tasted better and the green onion that Mike Williams gave me made it that much better! After everyone had eaten, bought tee shirts and signed the log book, we headed to the kitchen for cake. Austin and Charlie were so surprised when they realized the party was for them. Cindy did a good job pulling it off and keeping it a secret. We sang “Happy Birthday”, ate cake, coffee and hot chocolate. Doug did a great job on the cake. He took the guys back in the kitchen to pose for pictures. It was a great party! We went out on the porch to enjoy the views and take more pictures.

Liz and I talked to Doug about schedules and when would be a good time for us to go up for a couple of nights and work for our stay. We are really looking forward to that. After getting the available dates we said goodbye and headed outside to take the obligatory picture of the date on the kitchen. I looked around and didn’t see any of the Wright clan. Uh Oh. I left Liz and Beth to catch up with the rest of the group. I wanted to be with them when they said the prayer at Betty Jane’s Staircase to Heaven. We decided to have the prayer on the hike back down, since the group was so scattered out on the trip up. I caught them just in time! It was an enjoyable hike back down, with Austin and Charlie finding more salamanders. I stopped to take a picture of Paul’s Face where we had just come from.

I’m going to try to tell this story that happened to Liz, which I think is pretty amazing. Liz and Alden had hiked Porter’s Creek Trail just the week before. They were at the end of the trail but Liz walked on a little further just to see if there was a trailhead sign. She didn’t find a trailhead, but what she did find was a man climbing up the side of the mountain onto the trail. He was doing an off trail hike and was on his way to the Appalachian Trail . Liz was relating this to Beth as they came walking across Grassy Slide and at that very moment guess who came climbing up the side of the mountain. That same guy! Talk about coincidences. It just about blew her socks off, and mine too, when she told me about it. When we were at the Bluffs, he came running down the trail and Liz introduced him to us. (I think she was relieved that I actually saw him, because she wasn’t convinced that I believed her story.) He was from Jefferson County but I can’t remember his name. He does a lot of off trail hiking and says there’s no way you would get lost if you use a compass and map. Hmm...I’m not sure that includes me. He looked in extremely good condition. The Great Smoky Mountains covers a huge area and for two people to cross paths in those circumstances twice in that short of a time.....amazing.

We tried to speed the hike up so Ed wouldn’t have as long to wait at the parking area but we were all pretty tired. Some of us heard the Peregrine Falcons just below the bluffs. Liz and I had fallen behind the rest of the group at Inspiration Point from taking pictures. We were lucky enough to spot four different snakes under the rhododendron and laurel bushes. They didn’t even move when I took their picture. The others had walked right passed them but didn’t see them. When I told Cindy about the snakes she said something like this: Oh my God! Thank you God for not letting me see them. I need to get down on my knees right now and thank God that I did not see them!! Cindy is hilarious. I later saw a large fungus along side the trail.

As we were going across one of the foot logs, Austin and Charlie found several more salamanders that were lying on rocks. I don’t remember for sure how many salamanders they found, maybe around 18, but I think they broke their record find. I took a picture of a leaf that somehow had landed perfectly on a boulder in the creek. We arrived back at the parking area weary and tired. That had been my hardest hike to LeConte and the others in the group agreed with me that it had been hard for them too. I will blame it on the humidity. Thank you Bob for the cold drink and Ed for the peach. After we visited awhile we said our goodbyes until the next time. Beth assured us that there would be a next time for her. It had been a fun day with friends hiking and salamander hunting and yes, it was another great day to take a hike!!