Good morning, Ed.
Well, our group of 17 made it to the
top of Mt. LeConte the same day we left! We had a ball. There are now
several more people in love with the mountain. Here's the story from
mine and my husband, Pat's, view. Pat and I have been hiking to the top and
spending the night since 1998. We love it.
(I'll let you add in the photos if
you don't mind, I haven't learned how to do that yet)
July 16, 2006 6:10am,
on the way from the motel in Gatlinburg.
6:24am, stop for Sunrise
photo with Balsam Point of Mt. LeConte in the background.
7:20am, we pass the
"Bear Face" tree.
7:25am, we cross the
first foot log. So far we are the only ones on the trail.
7:29am, we cross the
second foot log.
7:32am, we stop and
take a little break. It's Jason and Bev's first time going to the top so
we stop and talk a lot about the trail and what to expect. We have been
planning this trip since last year and are all PUMPED up about it.
7:40am, we arrive at
Arch Rock. There we always stop take pictures and have a snack.
7:59am,
we cross the 3rd foot log.
Oh,
did I mention how beautiful the rhododendrons were?
That was an added bonus. I didn't realize that they would be blooming!
Gorgeous! I took a lot of photo's of them. We have not hiked this trail
in July. So beautiful.
8:42am, We can
see the Eye of the Needle. Where we take more
pictures. Ooo and Ahh at the view...what a day to be in the woods.
8:47am, We are
at the Bluff Steps. 8:54am,
The Bluff. YEA! Here we take our "goofy" pictures. It
really looks like we leaning over, huh? Thanks to come college
"kids" one year who showed us this, we now have our
own "fun" pictures of the trip.
9:22am, we are
at Gracie's Pulpit. Time for another snack and
rest for a few minutes.
9:47am, we arrive
at the steps which start what we call "The Forevers". It seems
like you just go up and up and up forever. But finally at
10:30am, we are at the next steps and
"The Forevers" have ended..yea!
At 11:00am we are at
the Grassy Slide. 11:13am, We
can see Paul's face.
At 11:48am WE ARRIVE
AT THE LODGE!! 4hours 48minutes
It was good to see that Henry
Neal was back from Iraq. Thanks, Henry, for protecting us.
The sunset
was great and we had the privilege of having Ranger
Katie give a talk about the mountains there on Cliff Tops. She was
great! Thanks, Ranger Katie. That was an added bonus.
Well, I feel like I've said so much, but I haven't even scratched the surface
of how much we enjoyed ourselves and our friends. Thanks to the
"crew" on top for making this one of the best times we've had!
Thanks to our friends who went along for a great "ride". I must
mention them all by name: (thanks for indulging me) (we all had "Trail
Names", but I'll save that for another time)
Karon and Ricky
McCravy, Jason and Bev Perkins, Randy and Melissa Belcher, Robby and Janet
Weber, Billy and Nancy Dial, Lynn Pope, Rita Pope, Deloria Pope, Lisa and
Terrell Nail, and of course my hiking buddy and husband for 33 years, Pat
Lawley.
We can't wait to go again...God
Bless!
Jeanie Lawley
(Ed, I didn't realize how many
pictures I was sending...feel free to edit as you please, and where you
please...thanks so much for letting me share our adventure)
Good Morning Ed,
We hit the trail at Newfound Gap
parking lot at 7:30 am. Beautiful
crisp morning. Our hike started
out on the
Appalachian trail
to the junction with the Boulevard Trail.
This trail kept us up in the clouds
most of the day. It is a
trail through a very dense and lush forest.
We are in the midst of a drought back home (
Mt.
Olive
,
Alabama
) and had forgotten what “green” looks like.
We were certainly reminded of that on this trail.
We stopped around 11:00 for lunch and a short rest.
Then on to
Mt.
LeConte
.
There was one tricky place that gave
me the willies, but I don’t think bothered anybody else.
When we crossed this slide the clouds had completely obscured
everything. I could barely see
the trail. By the time the rest
of the group got there it wasn’t quite so bad.
I just knew if I stumbled I was a goner!
It took us 6 hours and 45 minutes
to make the 8.5 mile hike, which I think is pretty good for such a large
group. Note to fellow hikers:
We don’t think the “little brown book” - Hiking Trails of the
Smokies - paints a true picture of this hike.
Or maybe it’s just us? We
only met 6 people while on the Appalachian trail and only 2 people on the
Boulevard Trail, they were staying in the shelter at Mt. LeConte (with the
bear). I was surprised that we
didn’t meet more people. I
thought we would meet some people come down from
Mt.
LeConte
, but not so on that day.
We joined up with Pat &
Jeanie, Jason & Bev at the lodge and had a great supper, a good
night’s sleep, too much breakfast, and then the whole group hiked down the
Alum Cave Trail. Rick (my
husband) and have hiked to the bluffs a number of times, and up to
Mt.
LeConte
last year, but somehow never managed to take a picture of the bluff.
This trip I made sure to get a picture.
We made it back down in 3 hours, 35 minutes. The creek at the
end of the hike sure felt good on a bunch of hot, sore, tired feet!
Karon aka Ms. Wheezer
NOTE: Not sure about the pics - hope you get them okay. Sorry,
but like Jeanie, you'll have to put the pics where they belong.
Thanks!
Love your website. God Bless!