MtLeconte.com Hike

(Note from Ed Wright. When I returned home from the hike my computer was dead so the write-up of hike 1301 will be delayed until the monster is repaired. Sorry for the delay.)

Thanks Ed, for letting me write several paragraphs following your "attention-holding description" of your departure from Florida, your pre-hiking experiences with Tillroe and the unforgettably "tardy" Hardee's in Cherokee, NC. We all look forward to reading these fun episodes and viewing your fine pics, which actually lay the foundation to your great hiking write-ups with more outstanding photos!!!

After several phone calls on Tuesday evening, I was delighted to find out that Jeff Matthews father, John Matthews, from Cincinnati, Oh would be joining us for the Hike. I arrived at the trailhead around 6:46 a.m., after spending several minutes photographing the moon at the Gatlinburg By-Pass John Matthews was already at the trailhead when I arrived. After the "good morning" greetings, I snapped a photo of John while we were waiting for Ed.

At exactly 7:01 a.m. my hand started waving with excitement...Ed's Cadillac appeared, with a good-looking Moody, Alabama gentleman behind the wheel, racing like NASCAR, into the parking lot. It was Tillroe Smith, navigating the white vehicle, and it was Tillroe who set the tone of laughter at this early morning hour!!! It took 3 attempts for Tillroe to back Ed's car into the first parking space at the trailhead. I was really laughing hard while taking this photo!!! Tillroe calmly informed us that he must be blind, since "I can't see the parking lines, so holding the door open is helping." Great going, Tillroe.....you and Ed arrived safely!!!

After exchanging introductions with John, John asked everyone to sign his hiking pole. Tillroe made sure that he was equipped with an apple and maybe even a peach from Ed. We then proceeded to the trail for the standard "start of the hike photo." We switched camera persons and took another. Ed began his 1,301st hike to the lodge at 7:09 a.m., followed by John Matthews 1st hike, Tillroe's 338th hike, and my 10th hike. The temperature was approximately 52 degrees, over-cast and humid.

One of the advantages of hiking to the Lodge on any given day is meeting all the wonderful hikers, exchanging names and enjoying a few minutes of conversation. (photo of Ed with Craig from the National Parks)

After photographing the rhododendrons at Inspiration Pt. and taking a quick break there, we proceeded to the bluffs. Ed and I captured the usual Eye of the Needle photo. Ed stayed behind and took wildflower photos while John, Tillroe and I proceeded ahead. We arrived at the Bluffs and met a very nice family from Pennsylvania, Debbie and Craig Stauffer with their children. We managed to squeeze in another quick break while enjoying the cool air. We continued our climb, enjoying the cool breeze as we hiked upward. John Matthews was in the lead, I was directly behind him, followed by Tillroe, then Ed. I no sooner looked up and spotted our favorite veteran hiker to the Lodge, namely Ron Valentine. It is always so great to see him and spend a few minutes talking to him. I was really glad that John had a chance to meet this very fine gentleman; Ron has been hiking the trail for years and probably has hiked over 1500 + times to the Lodge. In the midst of all the excitement of seeing Ron, I managed to get a perfect photo of he and Ed together.

Now that I'm done with incorporating my two cents worth to Ed's write-up, I'm going to let Ed continue on with our fun adventure of meeting the people and getting to the Lodge!

Ed will post his write-up pf hike 1301 at a later date when is computer is repaired.