LeConte Lodge via Alum Cave Trail
Connie Houk, Liz Rowland, & Jimi Rowland
January 18, 2010

It was Martin Luther King Day and I was off from both jobs so I jumped at the chance to hike to the Lodge. I read Doug McFalls Mount LeConte blog daily and it makes me almost homesick for the mountains. He is the winter caretaker and does a great job with the daily postings and pictures portraying the life he lives while up there. Check it out when you get the chance..... www.lifeonleconte.com.

It was an exciting morning before I even arrived at Liz’s house. I was pulling out on Hwy 441 from Veteran’s Boulevard when two female runners ran across the road right in front of me. I slammed on my brakes as they looked at me in astonishment. I sure am glad I saw them in time! Next I saw a gray fox run across the 4 lanes of 441 in front of Ruby Tuesday’s. Thankfully, I arrived at Liz’s with no fatalities or injuries.

Liz rode with me and her son, Jimi, followed in his jeep. There were a lot of fallen trees by the roadside on Newfound Gap Road. The Park Service had been busy clearing trees due to the wintry weather. There were just a couple of cars in the lower Alum Cave parking area, where lots of plowed snow was piled up along the side. We were on the trail at 8:10 a.m. This would be my 24th hike to Leconte, Liz’s 23rd and I’m not sure about Jimi. Thinking that most of the snow would be gone at the lower elevation we were really surprised after crossing the first bridge and seeing the trail was solid ice. After putting on yaktraks we continued on. Jimi was really happy and showed off his Leconte toboggan that he had purchased at the Lodge last summer. He felt it would come in handy and I think it will today! It felt so good to be back on the trail! The air felt crisp and fresh especially walking along Stynx Branch. The yaktraks gave us good traction as we walked over the ice and snow with no problem. All of the snow and rain had made the creeks full; we took lots of pictures. Here is Mother and Son posing for a snapshot. The rocky trail just before the first foot log was solid ice but again we went slow and didn’t have any trouble crossing it. Next we came to a large blow down across the trail. I crawled under and Liz and Jimi slung those long legs of theirs over like it was nothing. Trail maintenance will have a lot of work to do after the winter thaw.

We stopped just for a few minutes at Inspiration Point before heading on to the bluffs. I couldn’t help but think of the last time I stood in this very spot and Ed Wright was sitting right there on the rocks next to Tillroe. I sure do miss him.... Bittersweet. I’m sure anyone that knew Ed will think a lot about him when hiking this mountain.... they go hand in hand. By this time the climbing had made me hot and I was down to short sleeves! Just before the steps going up to the bluff we took a cold shower from the water dripping off of the rock ledges. That cooled me off real quick. I took this picture, looking back down toward the bluffs at the water drops. The sun made it look like crystals dropping from above...very pretty. We passed one male hiker that told us due to the icy trail he had turned around about 300 yards above. I don’t think he had crampons or yaktraks on.

When we arrived at Gracie’s Pulpit there was an icy wind blowing. We did not hang out there long...too cold. I had to put my long sleeves back on and they didn’t come off the rest of the day. The other two had not taken theirs off. Awwww.... The blessed Saddle...I love it.... going up or coming down!

After climbing over a couple more blow downs we came to the lower steps. Jimi agreed with me that from the lower steps to the upper steps is the least favorable section of the trail. It is ok, but does not have the views that the other sections have. After crawling under another blow down we met and talked to two male electricians from Alabama. They have been going to the Lodge for the last 10 years and I think they said they do some electrical work during their stay at the Lodge. Anyway, they seemed to have enjoyed their stay. One asked if I was Doug’s cousin that hiked with Ed Wright and I was so proud to answer him with a yes. I feel so privileged to have known Ed. And what a coincidence! We were in the same area that Ed had made the decision to turn around and head back down on his last hike. Hmmm...... may be insignificant but it made me stop and think about it.

Of course, I had to take a picture of the dead tree against the blue sky and this one of a frozen foam formation. As you can see, Trout Branch was frozen solid with Jimi standing in front of it. It was a little tricky getting across it.  The cable was frozen in the ice so we held onto the top of the ice where we could grab hold as we made our way across it very very carefully. It had thawed some on the trip back down which made the traction a lot better.

We met three lady nurses from Vanderbilt Hospital making their way down the mountain. They warned us of deep snow and icy spots.  The views were fantastic! We could see Clingmans Dome Tower, the weather tower, and Newfound Gap Road. Under Cliff Tops we started noticing that the trees had ice and snow frozen on them. I took this picture of Jimi just before the short climb to the level section. Awww.....love the level section too! Liz and I were slow climbing and stepped to the side to let one lone male hiker, Andy Dinkgrave pass us. I saw his picture later on Doug’s Website. He passed us again later on the way back down.
    
The snow was very deep but frozen so we walked on top of it. Sometimes we would hit a soft spot and sink down to our calves. In this picture of Jimi he is standing in some one else’s footprints so you can tell how deep it is, and this one of just the footprints. It was absolutely beautiful! Liz and I were taking pictures of the winter wonderland like two crazy women. Liz took this picture of Jimi acting silly...he is such a hoot! We arrived at the Lodge about 1:00 p.m. After stopping by the restrooms we went up to the office balcony to take pictures of the views. It was so clear that we could see Douglas Lake, the Red Roof Mall in Pigeon Forge and on and on and on. The thermometer read 34 degrees. Then it was on to see if we could find Doug and we finally spotted him down behind the kitchen. It was a pleasure talking to him and reminiscing about some of our family. He inquired about Ed’s website and I told him the family planned on keeping it going. I am so thankful for that.

The time went by way to quickly and it was time to go. We had stayed a total of one hour on top. After saying good-bye to Doug and making a quick bathroom stop we were headed back down Alum Cave Trail about 2:00 p.m. We passed several hikers on the way back down as they were headed to the top! We hoped each one had a safe trip up and back down. It was a speedy but enjoyable hike on the way down. When we came to Trout Branch the ice had softened up enough to allow us to get better footing. This was the only section of trail that made me feel uneasy on the way up. Jimi had carried a hiking stick in his pack all day (only to pacify his mother). It finally got caught on a blowdown and broke….I think it is safe to say that he won’t have to worry about carrying it again. This picture was taken of him riding rodeo with his broken stick.  We didn’t see or hear any activity from the Peregrine Falcons. We stopped at Inspiration Point for a quick snack.

Someone on the trail had put their creativity to work and just below Arch Rock they had written Doug’s name on the ground with sticks. And then these two little snowmen greeted us as we walked by. I especially liked the one with green curly hair.

We were back at the car about 5:30 and so glad we had a safe trip. LeConte is absolutely breathtaking clothed in its winter coat of snow and ice.  Another trip is already in the planning for March so stay tuned.

 It was........another great day for a hike!!