Getting Wild: Backpacking on Mount Leconte

At 6593 feet, Mount LeConte is the third highest peak in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. However, from its immediate base to its highest peak, Mt. LeConte is the tallest mountain in the Eastern United States, rising 5301 feet from its base near Gatlinburg. We chose to backpack up the Alum Cave Trail, which is the shortest, but steepest route up the mountain. We gained 2,763 feet in elevation along the 5.5 mile trail.

The forecast for the weekend was rain all day Saturday and Sunday, with highs in the 40's and lows in the 30's. That didn't deter us. We arrived at the trail head at 11 am, to find clouds, but no rain. The trail follows the Alum Cave creek for about a mile, and at the 1.3 mile mark, we reach Arch Rock. Arch Rock is basically a huge hole cut into the softer rock by thousands of years of freezing and thawing water.

From Arch Rock we move along a ridge on the side of the mountain to Inspiration Point, which provides amazing view of Little Duck Hawk Ridge and 'The Eye of the Needle'. The Eye is essentially a hole in the rock near the top right of the ridge.

Just past Inspiration Point, at 2.2 miles, is Alum Cave -- more of a concave bluff, about 80 feet high and roughly 500 feet in length. This turned out to be a very beautiful spot to stop and enjoy lunch.

Alum Cave has some interesting history behind it. The Epsom Salts Manufacturing Company was established at Alum Cave in 1838. Until it was sold in 1854, the company mined Epsom Salts, which was used by mountain folk to dye homespun clothing a reddish brown.

During the Civil War, the Confederate Army mined saltpeter out of the cave in order to manufacture gunpowder.

The trail from Alum cave to the summit is the most grueling section of the trail. Over 2.5 miles of steep grades, wet slippery rocks and boulders to scurry over, and plenty of mud. That section of the trail seems to never end. All in all, the hike up the mountain took almost 6 hours. The climb is well worth it, though. Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate, and we didn't get to see the amazing sunset and sunrise we had hoped for. Check out this link for the sunset we hoped to see, and this link for a typical sunset.

We settled into the shelter, then headed down to the Leconte Lodge to warm up around the fire in their office. Once we were warm, we headed to the Cliff Tops, where you would normally watch the sun set. We then walked back to the shelter, had dinner, and settled in for the night. It started pouring, with thunder and lightning. The rain stopped after a few hours, and the wind started - must have been 20-30 mph. The temperature dropped to a low of about 31 that night. Thankfully, I was nice and warm in my sleeping bag.

The next morning, we hiked about a half mile to Myrtle Point, where we should have seen an amazing sunrise. All we saw were gray clouds. Oh well. We packed up, and headed down the mountain. The descent took only 2.5 hours - and the clouds started to clear around noon.

All in all, it was an amazing trip. Even though we were deprived of a gorgeous sunrise and sunset, and didn't see a single bear, I really enjoyed the adventure. I'll have to go back later this year when the weather is more agreeable and the bears are more active.

Google Maps - GPS Trail Log