Alum Cave to Mt LeConte backpack - day 2

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
8/14/2022	6.2 extra miles	?	148'	1.9 mph	597

Parking: 

• Alum Cave Bluffs Trailhead, Gatlinburg, TN. Arrive early. By 8 am there was only roadside parking available.

Maps:

• Great Smoky Mountains National Park East (for navigation)
• 100 Favorite Trails of the Smokies and the Carolina Blue Ridge (for directions)
• Gaia GPS app

Directions:

• From the Mt LeConte Shelter, continue to the Mt LeConte summit and then keep going to Myrtle Point. Return to the shelter. Continue on the Rainbow Falls trail past the lodge and to the Alum Cave Trail. Take the Alum Cave Trail back to the parking lot.

Carolina Mountain Club Challenges:

• 100 Favorite Trails #23 Mount LeConte via Alum Cave
• South Beyond 6000 Challenge, Mount LeConte

I got up a couple of times last night to see if I could see the meteor shower, but it was too cloudy. In the morning, I woke up at 6 am from my alarm. And decided I really didn't want to get out of my cozy sleeping bag. But at 6:15, I saw some head lamps from people walking down the trail to Myrtle Point. I decided to wake up and just get it done, lol. I woke up Eva, and off we went in the dark to hike to Myrtle Point.

We didn't talk much, half awake. We got to Myrtle Point, and there were maybe half the number of people we saw last night. Only one kid and everyone was quieter. I assume that's because they weren't caffeinated yet. So, sunrise ended up being a nicer experience than sunset. It was enjoyable and made me forget that I had woken up early to hike there in the dark.

Back to camp where we had a relaxed breakfast and continued talking with the 2 folks at the shelter. We ended up hiking all the way back with the woman we had met at the shelter. I told her I was leading a hike in the Smokies in October in case she wanted to join me. She was a wealth of information about the Smokies.

Again warning - an excessive number of sunrise photos. I didn't take many photos on the hike down.

Mt LeConte summit

Alum Cave