1291 5/11/05 My oldest son Bill, suggested the timing of this hike. I was a bit concerned because a week before the hike I had a terrible nose bleed and lost a considerable amount of blood. I felt very weak but was determined to make the hike. I had not hiked with Bill since October 20, 2001 so I especially wanted to hike with him.

 

Bill rented a new Lincoln LSC for the trip. He drove up from West Palm Beach and picked me up at 5:45 a.m. We headed north at a good pace. We arrived at the Comfort Suits in Cherokee at 5:15 p.m., checked in and headed out to Tillroe Smith's Place. No Tillroe. so we went back into Cherokee and devastated the AYCE (All You Can Ear) bar at Big Bobs. We retired early. During the night a funny thing happened but I slept right through it. Bill, being a smoker went out on the balcony to smoke. Well seems as if he locked himself out and could not wake me so he climbed over the balcony, (good thing that we were on the first floor) and made his way into the lobby in his shorts. He talked the male clerk into a new key. Incidents like that would want to make you quit.

 

After a fast food breakfast at McDonald's, next door, we headed north toward Newfound gap in a real ground fog. The fog was not so bad that we missed a grazing elk. As we continued up the mountain we drove out of the fog and had a fairly nice view of the pending sunrise. We could see rows of hazy mountain tops stretching to the horizon. The layer of fog at the lower elevation was also prominent. I was hoping to get the actual sun rising at Newfound Gap but that was not scheduled this early so I just took a nice gander at destination for the morning, Mt. LeConte.

 

We arrived at the Alum Cave Bluff Trailhead at about 7:00 am and found Tillroe Smith waiting for us. Somehow he had missed us at McDonalds so OPEC sold some more oil. By 7:05 we headed up the trail. The weather was a nice 45 degrees. 

 

We took a short photo OP break at Inspiration Point. I took a picture of Bill and Tillroe and Bill thought that he should return the favor by taking a picture of Tillroe and me.   A young couple from the Chicago area was descending from their morning hike to the bluff. The guy was carrying a large tripod and the lady was carrying a large camera. They didn't seem eager to chat so we all continued in our own direction. We continued our climb toward the Alum Cave Bluff. I paused to take a couple of pictures of the Eye of the Needle and to look and listen for the peregrine falcons that nest just below the Eye. No falcons were seen or heard. We paused very briefly at the Alum Cave Bluff and then continued our climb.

 

I stopped above Little Duck Hawk Ridge and took a couple of photographs. I managed to take a photo of Tillroe as he neared the closed manway over Little Duck Hawk Ridge.  I also had a good view of Big Duck Hawk Ridge as I topped the new steps. We stopped at Gracie's Pulpit for a snack. The four peaks of Mt. LeConte were clear. Our destination for this hike was just beyond Paul's Face near Cliff Top. Gracie's Pulpit is named for an old time hiker to LeConte, Gracie McNicol, This spot is the half way point to the lodge in distance as well as elevation change. At this location the trail actually heads down and drops about 100 feet before reaching the saddle and starts climbing again. This is a welcomed respite while going up but it is a tough 0.4 miles upon the return trip.

 

A short distance above the saddle the new log steps come into view. As we continued our climb, we paused at the three mile point. I took a picture up through the trees. I looked up the trail and along comes the champion hiker of Mt. LeConte, Ron Valentine. Ron was returning from his early morning hike to the lodge. We chatted with Ron for several minutes before we each continued on our merry journeys. A short time later we met Mike Howitz from Amanda, OH. Mike has hikes posted on my web site.

 

I was feeling weak from the loss of blood last week and had to take several rest stops. As I was resting at one stop, I was suddenly surrounded by four beautiful ladies. I thought that I had passed out and was dreaming. It turns out that the Late Paul Dinwiddie's daughter Nanci Dinwiddie Travis with her friends Missy Smith, Melody Stallings and Brenda McNew were actually there. What a thrill to see them again. I have known Nanci and Missy for many years.

 

I took another rest stop at Shirley's Rock. Old VIP (Volunteers In Park) friends Mac McNutt and Phyllis Henry with a new VIP Stuart Taylor, overtook us on their way to the LeConte Shelter to do latrine duties. They hike up each week and keep it presentable. Now that is dedication and a S****y job. Thanks folks. I was a VIP for ten years or more for the Alum Cave Bluff Trail. I worked closely with Phyllis and Mac along with hundreds of others. I was saddened to hear that an old hiking friend Jean Lambert had died. She was a dedicated hiking lady and will be missed by friends and family.

 

Lots of flowers were out at all elevations but I decided to save the lower ones along the trail for my return hike because better lighting should prevail at that time. I stopped near the upper steps and photographed a couple of clumps of Bluets and some Spring Beauties. I met a couple from Chattanooga, TN at the upper steps. Some clouds were forming as we passed Grassy Slide. Clingmans Dome was still nice to look at. As we climbed, Paul's Face was a prominent landmark. I took another break below Cliff Top. I looked down from my perch on a stump and saw a family of fungi growing. The last really taxing climb is Betty Jane's Stairways to Heaven.

 

The lodge was mostly clear and a nice 62 degrees. After filling my CamelBak with fresh water, I went into the office and signed the register. I signed as hike 1292 but found out when I returned home that it was actually Hike 1291. Oh Well. I'll do hike 1292 next time. I returned to the porch and ate my lunch and visited with Tillroe Smith, Dennis and Velva Chapman from Jacksonville, FL. Chris Virden, the lodge manager, was away on vacation but his assistant, Rusty, came over and sold T Shirts. I bought one for Bill to reward him for the hike. 

 

As we left the lodge, we met several hikers. One was an Englishman, Morwyen Thistlewaite, who teaches Math at the University of Tennessee. I recognized him by his Phyllis Diller Hairdo. I have met him dozens of times before while hiking to Mt. LeConte. We cruised down the trail and did not take time to chat with many people. My camera started displaying a message of "No Power" even though everything seemed to be OK and the screen was bright. We stopped two miles down and I changed out the battery and memory card. It was a Christmas gift of a couple of years ago. Tillroe Smith offered me a candy bar and said that if I didn't take it he was going to eat it himself. I refused and told him that if he said that if I didn't take it he was going to throw it away, I night have eaten it. He countered and said that that he had an extra banana and if I didn't take it he was going to throw it away at Gracie's Pulpit. After we passed the saddle, there were lots of Witch Hobble in bloom. I took another shot of Cliff Top before reaching Gracie's Pulpit. We paused for a snack at the pulpit and I ate the banana that Tillroe had offered me earlier.

 

As we descended further down the mountain, I got a nice view of the parking lot where our vehicles were parked. Just before reaching the Alum Cave Bluff, we met two ladies from Fort Lauderdale, FL heading for the lodge. They were regular readers of my web site. The view of the Eye of the Needle was nice so I took a close up view to see if I could see any peregrine falcons but no luck. I noticed that the Sand Myrtle was ready to burst into bloom near Inspiration Point.

 

The Dolly Parton Peaks were in great form as we descended from Inspiration Point. There were lots of Painted Trillium as well as Yellow Ragwort along the sunny side of the trail. We met five backpackers from Knoxville before reaching the first footlog. They were heading for an overnight at the LeConte Shelter. A spread of Canada Violets were seen at the first footlog.