For the Love of Words: Mt. LeConte...Pt 2

At the Lodge...........................Enjoying the view on the trail up

At Myrtle Point

What a beautiful day! I could not have imagined a better day to spend outside for all daylight hours! I met Caitlin and Emily around 7am to leave Knoxville for the Smokies. We hit the trail right around 9, and didn't get completely out of the park until well after dark :-) The ice was incredibly beautiful, and with each turn of the hike, the views got better and better than the ones before.

We all were a little surprised by how out of shape we were. For 3 people who have hiked Mt. LeConte several times, not to mention all the other hiking we do... I think I'm safe to speak for all of us that we were a bit sore come Sunday! I think we made it past the 1/2 way mark (roughly 2.5 miles) before running into any real ice, but not much further. We stopped and pulled out the crampons! It is very interesting to hike with four one inch spikes coming out of the bottom of your boots! It's great when you're on ice or mud, but those things get in the way on rock or hard soil. This was my first experience with them; I definitely would not have been able to make it all the way up (and especially down!) without them.

Once we made it up the mountain, I was THRILLED that we were not socked in. Every other time I've been on the mountain it's been so hazy I can't see more than 20 yards in front of me. These pictures hardly do it justice, but getting out to Myrtle Point (an easy hike about a mile past the lodge) and seeing what it has to offer.... Really put me in awe of it's Creator!

On the way down, we had an encounter with a grumpy bear. He was very aware of us, but on the other side of a thick wall of laurel. We heard a snort, and a bit of a growl, one that seemed to say, "HEY! I would normally be sleeping, but I am awake, and this is my territory... You should probably go now..." It wasn't very threatening and it did not sound like it was going to attack or anything, but bears are supposed to be hibernating right now, so that one was probably hungry. We started talking LOUDLY, picked up some rocks, made noise, and quickly left the area. The bear never showed himself. Very curious how obvious it was we all wanted to see the bear, but really knew better than to stick around... :-)