1,078 2/21/98 Alum Cave Bluff Trail alone on a cold, cloudy, 32 F day at the trailhead. Most of the snow had melted from the lower part of the trail but there was lots of ice. I guessed that the fresh tracks on the trail belonged to Ron Valentine but they did not. Instead they belonged to Dick Dickenson from Powell, TN. He had his spotting scope mounted at Inspiration Point to try to see the peregrine falcons but he had not seen them today. He had seen two red shouldered hawks though. The ice below and at the bluff was bad but I managed to cross safely without crampons. Beyond Gracie's Pulpit, the snow covered the trail with a new half inch snow fall from last night. I donned my crampons at the three-mile point because of the ice. The ice was bad at Trout Branch and Grassy Slide but the crampons allowed me to hike past it. Just beyond West Point View, which was shrouded in clouds, the trail was blocked by ice and snow. As in my last hike, I chiseled away until I established foot holds and exposed the cable. Because of the deep snow and ice, I had to get on my hands and knees to reach the cable and cross. I did the same in a half dozen more places before reaching the site of the Old Horse Gate. I could see by the tracks in the snow, that Wayne had been out walking around in his snow shoes.

I found Wayne in the kitchen cleaning the place up for the expected arrival of Guy and Janice Charleville plus Dave and Jonathan Picone from New Orleans. They will escape the Mardi Gras crowd and be caretakers for the week. Wayne may do a few days of backpacking. I tossed him the Knoxville News-Sentinel newspaper and ate my lunch. He served me three cupfuls of coffee to warm me up and to help wash the turkey breast and cheese sandwich down. I stood over the heater to warm up more while he went back to his cabin to change clothes.

It was 19 F and clearing outside and only 35 F in the kitchen. He volunteered to go ahead of me and to remove the obstructions in the trail with a shovel. He also gave me a letter to mail to Kyrie Walker, a former staffer. She is attending art school in Baltimore, MD. I wrote a greeting to her on the outside of the envelope. As Wayne cleared the last obstruction, we met a man and three ladies from Kingston, TN heading up the trail. I thanked him for his good work and continued my hike down. Near Grassy Slide, I met a couple from Knoxville and a couple of UT students. At Trout Branch, I met a man from Kodak, TN and a couple from Louisville, KY. A short distance later, I met six more UT students. At the top of the Double Steps, I met Dave Picone and his fifteen year old son Jonathan from New Orleans. I also met Greg Donahue and his lady friend from Pigeon Forge, TN. Below the steps, I met two men from Crossville, TN heading for the LeConte Shelter. A man from Knoxville came up as we were chatting. They plan to stay tonight in the shelter tonight and head for the Ice Water Springs Shelter for tomorrow night. Further down the trail, I met more UT students, and couples from Maryville, TN and Cocoa Beach, FL. I then met Guy and Janice Charleville, from New Orleans with their soon to be 14 year old nephew, Jonathan Perkins from Arabi, LA. Jonathan is making his first hike to Mt. LeConte. He has asthma and that was impeding his hiking speed. Guy and Janice hoped that I would hike again before they leave Friday. I then met a young couple from Asheville, NC, heading for the shelter. I had met them on previous hikes. They were followed by two couples from Sevierville, TN. Before reaching Gracie's Pulpit, I met three couples from Atlanta, GA, also heading for the LeConte Shelter. Before reaching the bluff, I met two couples from Knoxville and two couples from south of Toledo, OH. At the bluff, I chatted with couples from Clinton and Knoxville, TN. I removed my crampons after descending the steps below the bluff. I met two couples from Daytona, Beach, FL and two couples from Gatlinburg. Dick Dickenson had left his spot at Inspiration Point. I did meet a young couple there. She was a UT graduate and lived south of Jackson, TN. He was a Mississippi State graduate and lived in northern MS, near the TN state line. I then met two young UT students from Memphis heading to LeConte to do some hiking using their snow shoes. They said that they had head mounted flash lights to hike down by tonight. I met four more guys from Knoxville and a young couple from Maryville, TN, that I had met several times before. At Arch Rock, I met an adult couple from Knoxville with two grown gals and a guy. At the bottom, I chatted with a lady from Bryson City, TN. As I descended, I continued to meet UT students and folks from Knoxville, Sevierville, Gatlinburg, Winchester, TN, Asheville and Tupelo, MS. I also met a group of ten young adults from Lexington, KY with a couple of more UT students. I also met a man named Ralph and his wife from Oak Ridge. Before reaching the trailhead, I met a young couple from Bogota, Columbia and a couple from Birmingham, AL. I met 137 hikers and 10 backpackers today. 7:10.