Hike 1279 7/7/03 with my son Bob and three of my four grandchildren. Bob’s son Austin, who just turned 5-year-old a couple of weeks ago. This would be Austin's third trip to the lodge and back. My daughter, Peggy’s, two children Laura, a student at the University of North Carolina and a member of the rowing team and Michael, a 17-year-old Lacrosse player at East Chapel Hill High School. They finished fourth in the state this past season. Laura and Mike have hiked to LeConte seven times. Bob’s wife Lisa rode up to Cherokee, NC with us but could not hike because of problems with her feet. Pat and Peggy drove over from Chapel Hill but visited with Lisa and Bob and Lisa’s youngest son Charlie, while we hiked.

Bob and Lisa drove their four door truck and I just sat back and enjoyed the ride. This would be Bob's first hike on his new replacement hip. I had mentioned to Bob several times that I would like to drive over the suspension bridge south of Brunswick, Ga. It looked great from I-95, but I would just never take the time to drive over it. Bob, being an adventuresome type, took the detour and headed for the bridge. We stopped along the way and took pictures before driving over it. I was surprised to find that the clearance from the water is 250', according to Bob’s GPS.

It was a nice detour and when we reached Savannah, it was time for lunch. Bob and Lisa chose to go to the new Hooters there. One of the loveliest waitresses tried to teach Austin to use the Hoola Hoop. The food wasn’t bad either! After a long drive, we arrived at the Comfort Inn in Cherokee, NC. My daughter Peggy and the others from Chapel Hill were already there. I was assigned a room next to the swimming pool and had a nice view. Austin and Charlie really enjoyed the water. Peggy. Laura, Mike, Bob and Pat came over and watched the boys in the pool before they set their sparklers off.

I asked the hikers to be ready to leave at 5:50 a.m. so that we could hit the McDonalds when it opened at 6:00 a.m.. We did get away on time and ate breakfast plus bought food for lunch at the top. I ordered four breakfast burritos’, two home fry paddies and two coffee’s. We were on our way by 6:15 a.m. and arrived at the trailhead at about 6:45 a.m. It was mostly clear and 60 degrees as we left the trailhead. After a few pictures we headed up the trail. The Rosebay Rhododendrons were in their full glory and although I did take one picture, I saved the best for the return trip when the lighting would be better but alas it was raining lightly and I had my camera put away.

Austin was really interested in turning rocks over to see what he could find. He also used them to throw into Alum Creek and Styx Branch. I took my first rest at Arch Rock. Living in the flatlands takes a toll on hiking muscles. As we continued our climb toward Inspiration Point, I found a snail, probably getting ready to deliver the mail. Austin found it very interesting. The rhododendrons and mountain laurel were well past their peak at Inspiration Point. Everyone had a good rest and Austin tried to entertain a boomer squirrel. The boomer was only interested in handouts. A man from Knoxville came by on his way down from spending the night in the LeConte Shelter. Tillroe Smith from Moody, Alabama overtook us and joined us for the hike. Tillroe is a great friend.

I paused long enough on the way to the bluff to take a picture of the Eye of the Needle across the abyss on Little Duck Hawk Ridge and some Galax blooming at the base of the bluff. It was a tough climb for me to reach the rocks under the bluff that provide several nice places to sit and rest. While we were resting and refreshing ourselves at the bluff, I saw two guys down the trail. I decided that it was Ronnie Holbert from Morristown, TN and Joe Fleming from Kingsport, TN. I knew these adventuresome hikers from my web site and by e-mail. Ronnie was celebrating his birthday by hiking with us. We were flattered that Tillroe and they would join us on this hike. Happy Birthday Ronnie and many more to come.

After we resumed the hike, I stopped and took pictures of Rugles Indian Plantain and a view from above Little Duck Hawk. We were overtaken and passed by a couple of young ladies from Portland Oregon on their way to the top. As we continued to climb toward Gracie’s Pulpit, I did find some mountain laurel that was worth photographing. Gracie’s pulpit, named for the late Gracie Nichol, is the halfway point to the lodge. We took another break and enjoyed more refreshments. Austin continued to do a great job looking under rocks and throwing them.

After passing the saddle, we met Ron Valentine, from Gatlinburg, TN descending from his early morning hike. Ron is a great guy and if the truth were known has probably 2500 or more hikes to Mt. LeConte. It was good to see him again. He had also hiked yesterday because he thought that I would be hiking on July 4th. We chatted a while before continuing our upward march. We met a young volunteer who works at the lodge before reaching the new log steps. She cleans and washes dishes, just to help out and to get a chance to stay at the lodge. We met a couple from Orlando, FL and a young man with a digital camera that looked like mine. I yelled at him to please stop. He was from Irvine, CA and was photographing flowers. He promised to e-mail me a copy of his pictures. His camera was an Olympus, 10X optical, like mine, but with a higher resolution. After passing the three-mile location we started meeting folks that had stayed overnight at the lodge. We first met a group from Orlando, FL. And then a group from Huntsville, AL. One lady was wearing an Auburn University cap so I had to take pictures of her and her group although some of them wore caps with the University of Alabama insignias.

I took pictures of Mountain St. Johns Wort, just below the upper steps. I was pleased to see that the trail maintenance crew had removed the rock slide from the steps. Austin continued to turn rocks over and found several salamanders. Bob photographed one of them on Laura’s arm. The clear skies were starting to become cloudy by the time that we reached Grassy Slide. Austin had to wash a rock in Trout Branch. The view of Clingmans Dome was not too good but Laura, Mike and Austin had a great time even with the clouds moving in. Bob took several pictures of Laura and Mike as we ascended Betty Jane’s Stairway to Heaven and he photographed a Wood Sorrel. The Carolina Dwarf Rhododendrons were nicer here than they were back down the mountain. I took a picture of Love Vine and more Dwarf Carolina Rhododendrons near Margaret’s Place. I also photographed several Wood Sorrel blossoms before reaching the lodge.

The lodge was socked in and 69 degrees. I stopped by the rest room before refilling my CamelBak to get rid of the awful tasting Cherokee water. Too much chlorine!! Mike and Austin took a well-deserved rest in the swing when Ron Underwood dropped by for a visit. He is a crew member and stayed as caretaker last winter. After taking a picture of Ron and Austin, I went inside the office, signed the register, photographed the weather data. Two young guys from Knoxville dropped in. The taller guy attended the University of Tennessee while the bare chested young man attended Webb Prep School. I then returned to the porch to eat my lunch and visit with Laura, Mike, Tillroe and Ronnie and the other hikers. In the meantime Bob showed Austin the newspaper article posted on the wall of the office about my 1,000^th hike to LeConte. He was obviously impressed with his grandfather’s accomplishments.

I refilled my CamelBak as we started to leave and took the occasion to make more photo’s. Ronnie Holbert took a family portrait outside the office. The hike down was uneventful except for the thunder back on Mt. LeConte. Bob took a picture of Laura, Mike and Austin at Margaret’s Place. I took a picture of four folks from Wears Valley near Pigeon Forge that were carrying laminated maps from my web site. I also photographed an Auburn alumnus who recognized me from the spread in the Auburn Magazine last summer. I got a six pager in color. Several of Auburn’s astronauts have not rated any better than that. Bob took a picture of Austin washing a rock in Trout Branch before he threw it.

When the light rain started, I put my camera away and just made my way down the mountain. I offered a spare poncho to everyone but the rain was so light that no one took me up on my offer. We stopped for a half hour at the bluff and Austin played while we let the thunderstorm pass. Near the trailhead, a young man called my name. It was Jonathan Fuller from Knoxville, TN. He had just graduated from the University of Tennessee. We first met on 7/11/97 on my 1,008^th hike. Here is the entry from that meeting: Near Trout Branch, I met the first of twenty-four overnight guests from Knoxville, TN. One teenage boy wanted his picture made with me. I asked "Why?" He replied, because "You’re the man." . I met him many times after that. He is doing his 263 hike to LeConte this afternoon. His best round-trip time is one hour and 52 minutes. It took us nine hours and a half today. Bob did really well on his two new hips. To Austin Laura and Michael it was just a stroll in the park.

We said our good byes to Joe and Ronnie and took off to Cherokee to met those that stayed. behind. Tillroe followed us in order to meet Pat. The traffic in Cherokee was simply at a standstill so we back tracked and came out by the Blue ridge parkway.

This was truly a wonderful hike. Perhaps next Year Charlie will join us. Thanks Tillroe, Joe and Ronnie for taking time to make this hike great. Happy Birthday Ronnie.

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