Alum Cave Trail

The Alum Cave Bluffs are a major attraction in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Families with children and walkers walk this hike of about 3.7 km and back. Other hikers like us climb the beautifully located and well maintained Alum Cave Trail further up to Mount LeConte Lodge, Cliff Top, Mount LeConte Summit at 2,010m, Myrtle Point and back to the parking lot at Newfound Gap Road. Mount LeConte Lodge is 1,938 m above sea level. Construction of the lodge dates back to 1925 when the Great Smoky Mountains Conservation Association established a camp here and construction of the lodge began a year later. Today the lodge is under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service. Overnight stays at the lodge are very popular, the waiting list for 2022 is already closed. The accommodations are simple, without electricity or water, and yet they are comparatively expensive (http://www.lecontelodge.com). Despite the bad weather in the morning, we start the hike at the trailhead parking lot. We are lucky to get a parking space for our vehicle. Along the beautifully situated Alum Cave Creek, the path climbs slightly upwards. We cross the mountain stream several times and also smaller streams on simple wooden footbridges, a tree trunk with wooden railings and reach Arch Rock through the mist-shrouded forest, later Inspiration Point with its beautiful rhododendron bushes that are still in bloom, and the Alum Cave Bluffs , an overhanging high rock cliff at approx. 1,500 m. After a short rain shower we continue up to Mount LeConte Lodge, a small village that has fallen out of time for us and is bustling with lodge guests. The sun is showing up on the cliff top nearby, suitably for us, and we have some distant visibility for the first time today. Our trail continues to LeConte Peak in dense forest and on to Myrtle Point, a crag with views south and west. The sun is shining on the way back down. Maybe we should have started the hike later? We probably wouldn't have gotten a parking space then.

d1, 9/29 The idea of visiting the Great Smoky Mountains National Park had been forming in my mind for some time. As someone who enjoys exploring national parks—having already visited several iconic ones—I felt it was time to add the Smokies to my list. My previous park visits include Zion, Yellowstone, Arches, the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Sequoia & Kings Canyon, Crater Lake, Olympic, Joshua Tree, Shenandoah, and the Everglades. While the East Coast of the United States isn't as renowned for its national parks as the West, two stand out in the eastern half: Acadia National Park in Maine, and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which straddles Tennessee and North Carolina. Located in the southeastern U.S., the Great Smoky Mountains National Park lies along the ridgeline of the Smokies, part of the larger Blue Ridge Mountains, which in turn belong to the Appalachian Mountain chain. The park features some of the highest peaks in eastern North America, such as Clingmans Dome, Mount Guyot, and Mount Le Conte. The border between Tennessee and North Carolina runs through the heart of the park, with the famous Appalachian Trail cutting through on its journey from Georgia to Maine. In 2021, the park attracted 14.1 million visitors, making it the most visited national park in the United States. With that in mind, I set off on Wednesday, embarking on a 9-hour drive to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, where I had arranged to stay for two nights. By early Thursday morning, I found myself at the trailhead of the Alum Cave Trail, ready to hike Mount LeConte, the sixth highest peak east of the Mississippi. The trail, which passes notable landmarks like Inspiration Point and Alum Cave Bluff, eventually leads to the summit (picture 43). After reaching the top, I planned to take a break at the Myrtle Point overlook (picture 46+), and then head back, stopping by Cliff Top (picture 50), another breathtaking overlook. d1, 9/29