Hike 1286 8/25/04. I made this my usual two day trip from, Jensen Beach , Florida to Cherokee, NC. I spent Monday night, August 23rd at the Ramada Inn in Waterboro , SC. As usual they gave me a superbly located room on the ground floor at the coupon price. After a good night’s rest and partaking of their hot breakfast, I headed Toward Cherokee, NC. I stopped at a fruit stand in Hendersonville , NC and bought a peck of great peaches and locally grown apples. I also stopped at Wal*marts, east of Asheville and bought a lot of stuff that I could have done without. I then went to Shoney’s, next door and indulged myself in their buffet lunch before driving to the Best Western Motel in Cherokee. I arrived at about 2:00 p.m. After Shasta assigned a pool side room and I left, she came chasing after me and gave me a message from Nick Sansone. Nick had e-mailed me from his home in Orlando , FL that he wanted to try to do the hike to the LeConte Lodge with me. I had encouraged him to join me. His room was directly across the swimming pool from mine.

After I put my gear into my assigned room, I walked around the pool to  Nick’s room and knocked on the door We chatted a while and I adjourned back to my room to rest up after the long drive. We went to dinner at Big Bobs in Cherokee. Later, I drove Nick out to Tillroe’s camper but I knew in advance that he would not be there.

We agreed to meet at Hardee’s the morning of the 25th, directly across the street from the Best Western, to have breakfast before heading to the Alum Cave Bluff Trailhead. Nick wanted to drive separately because he had envisioned a night of fun and frolicking in Gatlinburg after the hike. We arrived at the trailhead at about 6:45 a.m., put on our packs and took off for the lodge at 6:55 a.m... It was cloudy and 53 degrees as we left the trailhead. Hiking was easy but after a fourth mile, Nick stopped suddenly and announced that he had forgotten to bring his water. I offered to share the two quarts that I was carrying rather than have him retrace his step and add a half mile to his trip. We paused for a picture of Nick at the first footlog and again at Arch Rock before continuing our climb.

We took a short break at Inspiration Point and took a photo opt before going on. We stopped on our way to the bluff to take another picture of the Eye of the Needle. Nick did fine climbing the steep approach to the bluff and we took a well-deserved break under the bluff. After a short rest stop and sharing water, we proceeded past the top of Little Duck Hawk Ridge. At this location we enter the clouds and visibility was limited. We took a snack and water break at Gracie’s Pulpit before heading for the saddle and then up the next climb. The improvements that were recently done by the trail crew, were highly appreciated, including the extension of the Log steps.

We took a water break at Shirley’s Rock and were overtaken by two park rangers, Tom and Glenn. They were heading to the lodge to participate in the wooly adelgid eradication program. Before reaching the upper steps, we met Ron Valentine, the all-time champion hiker to Mt. LeConte . Ron had left the trailhead at 6:00 a.m. and reached the lodge at 8:22 a.m... Wish that I could do it that fast again. After Nick and I chatted with Ron for a long while, we went our separate ways. It is always a pleasure to meet Ron and I wish that he would bring Ray Ogle back up with him. I stopped occasionally to take pictures of Joe Pye Weed, and pink turtleheads. I photographed grass of Parnassus and closed gentians at Trout Branch. The fog was thick along Grassy Slide and there were no distant views. I continued to find beautiful clumps of grass of Parnassus and closed gentians we continued to hike in the mist.

Nick was ready for a break at the foot of Betty Jane’s Stairway to Heaven. I shared my last water with Nick at this location. The clouds continued to be thick but I did spot more closed gentians and some goldenrods before reaching Margaret’s Place. I found a pretty Russula fungus at the site of the Old Horse Gate. From that point to the lodge, it was easy hiking.  

The lodge was socked in and about 56 degrees. I stopped to admire Dave Pitt’s fine carpentry work on replacing the sway backed old wood shed with a new structure. Nice work Dave! I met Josh, a crewmember from the upper peninsula of Michigan , as I filled my CamelBak with fresh water. I asked Josh to have someone come over and sell Nick a T-shirt and cap. Chris Virden, the lodge manager, came over and made the sale. We then went to the porch and visited from Michael and Kelly Kilian from Norlina, NC  while we ate our lunches.

After lunch, I walked around the lodge and took pictures of flowers. Nick wanted to meet Alan Householder, the llama driver but Alan did not show. In the mean time, I took pictures of monks’ hood; green-eyed Susan’s and white snake root, and more monk’s hood flowers by the old laundry building as Dan, a lodge crew member, relaxed in his easy chair. To kill time and give Alan a chance to arrive with the llamas, I took Nick down to the spring. He was in no hurry to leave this 50-degree weather and head back to Florida . I don’t blame him but I knew that a long drive awaited me after returning to my car. We finally headed back down but not before a trip to the rest rooms and taking a picture of filmy angelica ready to bloom and invite bees and flies to lunch. I also suggested to Nick that he should drink his fill of water because we had to share my two quarts on the trip down.

After an hour and a half we headed back down the trail. We paused for a photo of Paul’s Face before moving on down the trail. I saw one tree at Grassy slide showing good color. It seemed to be yelling “Look at me!” like most people do. The clouds had lifted so I took more pictures of closed gentian and grass of Parnassus . We met Randy and Tammy Henderson from Charlestown , IN at Grassy slide. Nice couple. Nick posed for a picture at Trout Branch. He was doing really well for a flatlander. Before reaching the upper steps, we met three young gentlemen from Columbus ,Ohio . They were really making tracks. I was surprised that they did not pass us before we reached the trailhead. Near the Log Steps we met two grand gals from Birmingham, AL One was advertising the Crimson Tide from the University of Alabama and the other was sporting Auburn University clothing. I hope that they are friends and not typical fans of their respective universities. I gave them a big War Eagle and we moved on down the trail. Oh by the way, some folks think that War Eagle has something to do with supporting WAR. Not true. It is the Auburn Battle Cry in Sports and has to do with a real eagle.

We stopped at Gracie’s Pulpit for a rest and a snack. I had bought one of those one use and throw away camera’s in an attempt to get all four peaks of Mt. LeConte that soared more than 6000 feet in one shot but it really did not do what I hoped. I guess that I will have to get Diana Strech to blend two pictures for me. I paused above Big Duck Hawk and Little Duck Hawk Ridges to make another photo before continuing to the bluff. There were several folks at the bluff. One red faced young man from Dayton , OH was just arriving. Looked to me like he had really been hiking really fast. Wish that I could do that again. I took a few pictures with the throwaway camera before we moved on down the trail.

I stopped to take another photo of the Eye of the Needle. I even used the new camera to capture a wider angle. Again, I was not very pleased with the $9.00 purchase. We stopped for a rest and to feed the Carolina Junko’s and resident squirrels at Inspiration Point. We continued to meet people on the trail heading to the lodge for an overnight stay. Nick’s energy faded at the 3/4th mile point. I busied myself by taking pictures of small waterfalls on Alum Creek. We did reach the trailhead by 3:45 without being rained on. Nick really did a fine job for a first time hiker. I bet that he could write a list of things that he learned on the hike. I will post a list submitted to me by Dr. Steven Davis from the Wake Forest University School of Medicine:  

Top Ten Things I Learned from Hiking Mt. LeConte (July 2002)

10. Playing tennis twice a week and lifting weights three times a week, does not adequately prepare you for a 5-mile climb that rises 3000 vertical feet to a height of 6500 feet, particularly when it is your first hike in twenty years.

9. A McDonald’s sausage and egg biscuit is not an adequate carbohydrate loading item.

8. When hiking on a hot July day, figure out what you need in terms of clothes, food, and water. Then apply the following: halve the clothes and food, and double the water. The guy seen on the trail with the “Hike Naked” shirt may have had the right idea.

7. A patient hiking partner ranks up there with an honest car mechanic, a teacher who explains things more than one way, and a dentist with small hands.

6. Twenty dollars is not too much to pay for an ice-cold coke, especially at 6000 plus feet.

5. Stewed beef and mashed potatoes can be considered a five star meal when someone else makes it for you in a mountain top lodge.

4. Whoever invented the necktie and high heels also invented the double bunk bed. However, the latter is better than sleeping outside in a lean-to, especially when there is a persistent bear roaming about.

3. Ninety five percent of hikers are Robert Fulguhm’s kind of folks – they still remember what they learned in kindergarten – they are friendly, they share, and they appreciate what they have. Even “gearheads” are harmless, and they may be on to something if it lightens the pack load.

2. While God may not live at the top of the mountains, he/she surely summers there.

And the number one thing I learned from hiking Mt. LeConte :

1. I would go again tomorrow.  

We had a very nice hike and I bet that Nick will hike it again. I know that I plan to hike in September and October. Want to come along? By the way, I think that Nick was too tired to go into Gatlinburg for Fun and Frolic!! To show how youth rebounds, I spent the night in Waterboro, SC again. Nick drove home to Orlando!

The day after posting my hike, Nick wrote me the following E-Mail: