Mt. Leconte

[mdwest]

I took my old, tired, broken butt up Mt. LeConte yesterday... 13.4 mile round trip via the Trilliam Gap Trail... some awesome views.. and while the trail absolutely smoked me (due to the length).. it was not horrible (only a couple of steep inclines.. for the most part it was just a really long walk uphill with a slight grade)..

For those not familiar with LeConte.. at 6593 feet, its the highest peak in TN.. 4th highest in the appalachains.. and there is a really cool, old, rustic lodge about 1/2 mile from the peak... that people pack in to and stay at (we didnt).. that is only accessible by trail... the lodge literally gets resupplied by llama trains.. there are no service roads.. etc...

My knees, back, and ankles hate me this morning.... but it was worth it...





(please excuse the terrible cell phone pictures..)..

 

[Monsterdg]

Awesome treck; love the views. The deer is wondering why you are on it's path...

 

[YodisMatt]

Awesome man, I am jealous when I see my friends in CO go hiking just about every weekend.

 

[UpInSmoke]

Very cool brother. Love taking trips up to the Adirondacks every now and again

 

[mdwest]

The deer is wondering why you are on it's path...

The deer was funny.. we first spotted her about 75 yards up the trail.. she saw us almost immediately.. but didnt care that we were there at all.. she just kept on walking down the trail toward us.. when she got about 15 yards away she turned and went into the woods maybe 20 or 30 feet.. and started eating.. but still didnt care at all that we were standing less than 15 yards away from her..

I "blew" at her.. like I often do when hunting (get the deers attention.. and get them to stop in their tracks for a second to see what the hell is going on..).. all she would do is look up from eating.. peer over at me for maybe 2 seconds to see what I was doing.. then would go back to chomping on grass...

 

[mdwest]

Awesome man, I am jealous when I see my friends in CO go hiking just about every weekend.

Youve got to be a stud to hike the rockies...

We have a tiny cabin in southern colorado... it sits at about 9200 feet.. just walking around our property or doing light work there gets me winded..

In my younger days I would have liked to do some of the 14K+ peaks in Colorado.. these days I am soooooooo happy that most of the peaks around here are between 4500-6000 feet... thats about all my tired old butt can handle

 

[derwood]

Awesome! Sounds like a great hike. TN is one of my favorite places, need to make more time to get down there and explore.