The countdown is on for our trip to Mt. LeConte in September.
Mt. LeConte is in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee, elevation 6,595 feet. The shortest trail is 5 miles long, climbing nearly 3000 feet in elevation from the parking area.
We made reservations a year in advance to stay at the rustic 1925 lodge at the top, the only access is by trail. After reaching the summit, popular activities are watching the sunset and rocking on the front porch. The accomodations include hot and hearty meals, rough-hewn cabins, flush toilets(!), no electricity, no showers.
But as the case with many hiking trips, the journey is the destination. The changing vistas as we rise in elevation and the sights seen along the way are what it is all about. Of course, with our luck, the clouds will be at ground level overflowing with rain (to keep us cool, of course). Hopefully, the weather will cooperate and our stamina will get us there.
Trail to Mt. LeConte
LeConte Lodge
We can never know about the days to come
But we think about them anyway
And I wonder if I'm really with you now
Or just chasin' after some finer day
Anticipation, anticipation
Is making me late
Is keeping me waiting
~Carly Simon
