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Paul
and Jeanne Sanders’ Hike to
My wife Jeanne and I arrived at Gatlinburg July 27 from
We hiked the ACB trail in 2004, and the Trillium and Bullhead in 2006. This time we thought we would hike the solitary Bullhead up, and then the delightful Trillium down. We arrived at the parking lot at 7:15. The ground was wet from an early morning rain, yet the sky was clearing. There were 8 vehicles in the lot, yet not a person to be found. We put on our packs, locked the Jeep, and headed out. After we walked a few feet, we heard the sweet sounds of the creek, the rushing waters, and Jeanne on the spot, changed her mind, and said, “Let’s take the Rainbow! The creek sounds so beautiful.” Just like that, we changed our plans, and decided in a second to take the Rainbow up, instead of the Bullhead. So much for planning. We took photographs of the trail sign, (his and hers), and began our climb.
Well, the Rainbow Falls Trail is every bit as difficult as we had been told. A park ranger told us that it was “unrelenting,” and that was a good choice of words, as Jeanne could attest to. It went steeply up and up the entire way, with enough rocks and roots to send us flying if we weren’t careful. However, it was a beautiful trail, and the sights and sounds of the creek followed us as we headed up. It was a dark trail, too, and we enjoyed the feeling of being closed in by wilderness.
By 8 a.m., we made our first switchback, on a high ridge, with the creek and valley below. We continued on, and crossed several footbridges, (again, his and her photos, and one solitary footbridge, continually ascending until we reached Rainbow Falls at 9:30. We were hiking slowly, but that was more to enjoy the creek & forest than because we were decrepit and out-of-shape, which, of course, we were. We found the Falls to be beautiful, of course, and running full of water, which surprised me due to the drought. We rested by the footbridge there for about 20 minutes, whilc I put a band aid on my left heel. I cursed both my heel and my boot. Didn’t know which to blame the most.
At around 1l:30, probably 4 or 5 miles up the mountain, Jeanne began to really get tired and weary, and truth be told, I was too. It was indeed tiresome, the continual up and up of the rocky trail, and it was quite warm too. I thanked God more than once that it was Jeanne’s idea to take this trail, instead of mine. No matter how tired she got, she couldn’t blame me!
12:45 found us standing next to a trail sign saying “Mt. LeConte .6”……….at this point, we were willing to just call it a day and camp out on the spot, but seeing that sign renewed our sagging spirits, not to mention our aching bodies. We trudged wearily on and at 1:30, we made the lodge. People who hike up there know the feelings that wash over them when the Lodge buildings are finally sighted. It is a moment of exhilaration I can scarcely describe. Anyway, we staggered to the office to check in, and after giving the worker there an ear full about how tired we were, he said, “follow me to your cabin; it is only about another mile up the mountain!” He was not funny.
We had cabin #9 on the outer fringe of the area, and we loved it, as we knew we would. We gratefully lowered our heavy packs to the floor, took a quick sponge bath of sorts, and felt wonderful about reaching our destination. The office thermometer read 60 degrees at 2 pm. Having settled into our cabin, we hiked to Cliff Tops, our favorite place up there, if we had to choose one. There were clouds moving thru so the view was not what it could be. However, even with clouds, the views are ever-changing and always interesting. We went on to High Tops, added our rock, and then on to Myrtle Point. (Notice the misspelled trail sign)! It was cloudy, but hauntingly beautiful still. And back at the Lodge we continued the time-honored tradition of having our photos taken at the Dining Hall with the date posted over our heads.
We rested up a bit before dinner on our front porch, and then played backgammon at the camp office. I won’t say who won. The dinner was, as usual, delicious, and afterwards, we hiked again to Cliff Tops. Cloudy yet exquisite is the best way I could describe it. Lots of folks were there, and the spirit and closeness we all felt with each other and the mountain was evident.
The next day was a restful, leisurely day. We again visited Cliff Tops, several times, as each time up would afford a different view, a different outlook, on the mountain scenery. We trekked to Myrtle Point again, and hiked a bit on the Boulevard Trail as well. (Egad! Cables on the Boulevard, like the ACB)! A thunderstorm rocked thru mid-afternoon, with great flashes of lightening, lots of thunder, and of course, rain. We watched the whole show from our front porch; clouds drifted in, by, and thru us, and we felt like we were on the top of the world.
After dinner, we were again back on Cliff Tops and the clouds came and went. I was amused and impressed by some of the comments a few twenty-something's uttered while up there. One young man said, more to himself than to anyone else, “so this is where God lives.” Another young guy said this is “the coolest moment of my life!” And finally, a young lady who was staring at the mountains and the clouds all around her said, with a sad note to her voice, “I never want to go back to the city again.” I was touched by the simple eloquence of these young people, and how the mountains so obviously moved them.
Here we are still at Cliff Tops, and Jeanne is checking her watch to see when the bus arrives.
The staff workers warned us during dinner to keep food properly put away, and leave nothing outside. Seems the black bears have had a lousy food harvest this year, and bear sightings were at a higher level than normal. Several people we talked to had seen a bear on their trail coming up. Filled with these bear stories, I awoke that night at 3 am, and lay there thinking, . . . .mmmm…….our cabin is on the outskirts of camp……..right next to the woods. If I were a bear rummaging about for something, our cabin is the first place I would investigate. Then I wondered if the wire covering our cabin windows would really keep a determined bear out. Then I wondered what my options would be if a bear burst into the cabin………..imagination can run rampant in the dark hour of 3 a.m. Anyway, I heard no sounds, and ventured outside only to be greeted by a full moon rising over Cliff Tops. A memorable sight.
The next morning we had our wonderful breakfast, and headed back down. This time we did indeed take the Bullhead, which would give us different views than the Rainbow, plus land us back to the parking lot where our vehicle waited. We have come to believe that the Bullhead is vastly under-appreciated. We ran into a volunteer ranger who said when he is wanting to get up or down the mountain in a hurry, he takes the ACB, but when he wants views and flowers, and to really enjoy the hike, he takes the Bullhead. I quite agree with him. The views going down were lovely; we had lots of gorgeous views of clouds and mountains. Plus, the Bullhead has lots of variance as far as hiking grade. Lots of ups, lots of downs, and even some level places. And we did see more blooming flowers (A yellow-fringed Orchid and probably a Maryland golden Aster EAW) than we did on the Rainbow; our only regret is that we had no clue what these flowers were called.
On the way down the Bullhead we began to see very obvious
signs of a bear, right there on our trail. I will not give graphic details,
but it was obvious a bear had been there, and not very long ago at all.
We saw several signs, and heard some large animal in the dark woods off
the trail, but as luck would have it, a bear never materialized. I am sure he
was there close by, though, and saw us, but he probably just shuffled off to
the side. All in all, it was a great hike down, despite the bear fear.
We did ford running streams across rocks 4 different times, which I
found puzzling as my
We reached the end of the trail at 2:05, crossed the neat footbridge over LeConte Creek, and were back at the Jeep by 2:20. Our backpacks almost leapt by themselves into the vehicle, and I took a photo of a tired but happy Jeanne resting on the Jeep. This overnighter was not as exciting or dangerous as the 2006 hike, when we trooped down in ice and snow, but it was just as fun and satisfying. The mountain can get its grip on people, and that is why many of the same people return each year. As for the trails, I think we prefer the Trillium, and especially the Bullhead, for the views, and especially for the solitude. These trails are not nearly as well-traveled as the ACB. We love the ACB; who wouldn’t?? Yet we get this sense of solitude and of being deep in a mountain wilderness more with the other trails. Anyway, we definitely intend to make another trip up there in 2008, but Jeanne has firmly stated there will be no hike UP the Rainbow.
We returned to the “city,” tired, happy, and somehow spiritually and emotionally restored. The mountain, for me, has a way of renewing my energy, and helping me focus on what is real. Standing on Cliff Tops, staring at the ever-changing mountain landscape, one does indeed get the feeling that this is “where God lives.” Thank you, Ed, for allowing us to post our humble journey, and having the patience to figure out what photo goes where. More importantly, thanks Ed for your website. It means a lot to a lot of people.
P.S. Since I did
mention bears, I thought I would include some photographs of the intelligent
beast. Hiking on a trail in the lowlands a couple of days after our
LeConte adventure, we came across this big black bear looking for
food under the rocks of a creek. He
let us take pictures and watch him for quite some time. It was a
wonderful ending to another beautiful time in the
