Mt. Leconte Hike (Great Smoky Mountains)-Ascending Via Alum Cave and Descending Via Trillium Gap
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- Опубліковано 21 чер 2022
- For Derrick's birthday, we took a hike up Mt. Leconte, in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
There are 5 trails that lead to the summit of Mt. Leconte. They are:
Appalachian Trail to Boulevard Trail
Alum Cave Trail
Rainbow Falls Trail
Bullhead Trail
Trillium Gap Trail
On this hike, we ascended on the Alum Cave trail, and descended on the Trillium Gap trail. We encountered some beautiful scenery on the way up, and at the top. We also visited Grotto Falls on the way down.
At the top, we visited both vantage points from Mt. Leconte...Cliff Tops and Myrtle Point. Stay tuned for our experience, and what we thought of the trails.
The short music clip is "Mountain Music", by Alabama.
I have arthritis in lower neck and back..though after going on Keto and eliminating grains (bread), the arthritis has improved significantly. I learned a lot from a nutritionist 4 years ago when I had nutritional testing done. She told me right off that I had a high cortisol level, as well as insulin resistance. Our body talks to us, and maybe there is a nutritional issue as to why you’re having pain in your knees and other areas you mentioned. My advice is go this route before jumping to seeing a specialist. Y’all did an amazing job hiking this. I don’t think I would make it, but I sure did enjoy seeing it here. God bless.
Cutting out the refined carbs and grains really does help. Sugar is the absolute worst. I was on a sugar binge for the last few months and every joint in my body hurt. After about a week off the sugar I feel so much better. I have a hard time doing full Keto but I wish I was able to. Dr Ken Berry used to be my primary care doc till his clinic burned. You've probably seen his UA-cam channel. He's a great doc.
@@dandtintennessee7675 Yes, I subscribe to his channel, as well as Dr Eric Berg, Dr John Bergman, and Dr Peter Osborne.. Happy healing.
Y'all are so funny!! I love the video!! You both bless my heart!! Love you both....God is good!!! 🙂🙏❤️✝️
Thank you for sharing your long hike up to Mount LaConte. The flowers were so pretty. You had a nice down once you reached the summit. The views you showed us were spectacular! Your vlog is the first one I have seen of someone making it to the summit. Wear your t-shirts with much pride in your accomplishment!
Thank you so much for watching, and for your kind words. We are very glad you enjoyed our video.
That's a butt kicker of a hike! Great Job! I would never wear boots when hiking, except in the dead of winter. Altra or Hoka trail sneakers are the way to go. Over 95% of thru hikers on the 2.200 mile Appalachian Trail wear Altra or Hoka trail sneakers. You all are awesome; I'm glad I found your channel.
Thank you for watching, and I'm glad you enjoyed it. We appreciate the kind words.
The main reason that we wear hiking boots instead of shoes, is the issue of twisting our ankles. With all of the rocks and roots on that trail, it's a very real thing. I've actually done it several times on hikes like that.
Great hike 😊 enjoyed going with you. Thank you. God bless
Thanks so much. Glad you enjoyed it. It is a tough hike, for sure.
Awesome video, y'all. So cool you went for it and did it. Keep up the great content. Thanks.
Thanks! Will do!
So peaceful and breathtaking
That's a beautiful hike. Tough trail. While you were there we were at Natchez Trace State Park for my birthday... on the 18th..
Take care,
Doug
We went to Myrtle Point for the sunrise first time we went up. It really wasn't clear enough to see much. You guys should absolutely spend the night in a cabin. We will be staying for our 3rd time this August. What a blessing to be able to do it. And yes Trillium is a long long long walk... especially going up..but it's nice and private.
If we do that hike again, it will definitely be to experience the cabin, sunrise, and sunset.
I thought Alum was a very scenic trail. Did not care for Trillium at all.
@@NCMemoryMakers Alum is the most scenic from what I hear. Trillium is long and rough and seems like most of the elevation gain is at the end. I did like that we had the trial to ourselves. We plan to take a different train this year. Not sure which yet.
Thank you for taking me along on this wonderful hike! The scenery and views from up there were beautiful. Your right that Sony really is nice. Hope you enjoy the rest of your week! 🤗💕
Hey there MamaBears. How yall doing?
The bird you were wondering about by the
lodge was an Eastern Towhee...🙂
Thank you for the info. The only thing I could come up with at the time, was a Baltimore Oriole. He was black and orange, and that's the only bird I knew with those colorings.
Such a beautiful place
Absolutely magnificent! TY 😊
Glad you enjoyed it!
Oh what else is neat out there if you have a macro lens, take pics up close of the mosses on rocks and they have tiny tiny flowers on them in spring/summer! Tiny flowers and plants grow in tiny tiny places outa cracks in rocks and just any tiny places. Nature is so amazing! Be careful!
Beautiful
Thanks for beautiful views and you two are a beautiful couple
That is so sweet of you to say! And you are very welcome. It is our pleasure to bring these videos to our viewers.
This is the first video by yall that i have watched! You two are so fun and about my same age! I will be doing this same hike in june and cant wait to purchase my I Hiked It shirt too!🤗
Hope you have a great time. It is a tough hike, no doubt. But very worth it. Thanks for watching!
I’ve hiked it. Loved it. Very dangerous in certain areas the further you go up top. I almost panicked lol but I said to myself ( I’ve came this far ) and I kept going. I’m taking the rainbow trail next time.
The Rainbow Falls Trail would be my 2nd favorite trail. You do get to see the beautiful waterfall.
The definitive Alum-to-LeConte video. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for watching and commenting.
Really enjoyed the hike. Sorry about the blisters that Shawnasi got. Are you both over the soreness now and ready to go again?
Brenda and I hiked to Grotto Falls in 2020. Beautiful waterfall. We got there early and enjoyed it for about 30 minutes till it started getting crowded.
We are over the muscle soreness, but she still has blisters, and her knees are still kind of sore. But getting better.
We are discussing maybe doing another long hike in the fall.
Grotto Falls was very nice, but she was just in so much pain by that time, we didn't really stay there long.
Thanks for the hike enjoyed watching y'all beautiful Place
We were there almost on the same day (we completed the Tour de LeConte on June 20) - hate we missed you! Nice video!
Thank you. Wish we could have seen you, too. It's beautiful up there, but it was a tough hike.
This is my second time watching this video clip as I plan to hike Mt. Le Conte next week. I saw your Galinburg video as well. Thank you for your videos. They are beautiful and very informative. I am not confident but as I am watching this, I am so excited and I feel like I can do it. Haha.
You can do it. I won't lie to you, it is a tough hike. But my philosophy on that, is that you just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other until you get there.
When you get back, we would love to hear about your experience. We hope you have an enjoyable and safe hike.
@@NCMemoryMakers you guys are so so sweet and cute. I will definitely update. We are planning to take Alum Cave trail only. Thank God, the weather is nice next week. Thanks again for your wonderful videos,
WOW 😮 guy’s, that was one of the best if not the best Mount Leconte hiking video I’ve ever seen! Outstanding job you too👍 Thank you for the knowledge drop as well. Me and my wife are headed to Colorado to do some hiking there. We will definitely try and do that hike the next time we are that way. I look forward to seeing your next adventure/video. God Bless! I’m 53 myself Brother!
So, we are the same age! I'm just happy at my age to be able to do that hike. I'm a stage 4 cancer survivor, and I was diagnosed in my late 20s. Been cancer free for well over 20 years, and every day is a blessing.
Thank you for your comment and your kind words.
Excellent Video!
Thank you for watching!
Really enjoyed your video
Thank you for watching, and for commenting!
I felt like I hiked it with you two!! Great narration
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it!
Yea the steps will certainly wear you out. I was 30 pounds lighter and much more fit last time we hiked Alum... May take me a while to watch the whole video.. haha
I super enjoyed this video. I found out the hard way that if you have had any kind of back surgery like I have when you do the hikes going up is not the issue it’s coming back down as my surgeon explained to me after I did kind of a simple hike back to Laurel Falls. I couldn’t hardly walk for almost a week so I don’t do any other hikes down there. Unless it’s a pretty easy hike. I admire you guys for doing this hike and happy birthday! I will be spending an entire week down there coming up pretty soon! 😃
Thank you for watching, and I hope you have a great vacation when you visit.
You're right (at 7:15ish) that it's mountain laurel. I'm from PA and that's our state flower. From what I've read, though, in the Southern Appalachians they tend to call mountain laurel "ivy" and they tend to call rhododendron "laurel."
Arch Rock, we're not stopping. Alum Cave Bluffs, we're not stopping... that was too funny. That was one strenuous hike, I don't know how people do it. I'm glad y'all were able to do it. The views were breathtakingly beautiful. Shawnasi, I don't blame you, I would not hike that mountain again. I hope your knees and feet are better today. It does seem like the mileage on that sign is wrong, maybe you should ask them about it at one of the ranger station, maybe they need to correct it. Enjoyed the video as always, thanks for sharing your adventure.
I went to the Ortho Dr about my knees Monday since I've had pain before coming down on hikes. They said I need to do some quadriceps stretches and build my legs muscles up more... and losing some extra weight would be a plus too! I'm thankful it's nothing worse. I love our adventures and I'm thankful we're able to share with friends. Thanks for watching!
A beautiful hiking video. We hiked Alum cave trail which was fantastic and a work out especially coming down but I'm not sure I could make it to the top of Mount LeConte.
It does get tougher after you pass Alum Cace Bluffs. Well actually, it descends for a little while, but then it gets really tough as you make up all of that lost elevation. But I am 53 and overweight, so I'm sure you could do it. You just have to pace yourself and take your time.
I am a big fan and I love their you tube videos and there two Yorkies are so cute ☺️
Thank you so much for watching, and for commenting to let us know you enjoy our channel. We really appreciate it.
@@NCMemoryMakers next time y’all go Gatlinburg Tennessee try a place called Calhouns it’s a restaurant and they have really good food
@@NCMemoryMakers Derrick and Shaughnessy , I just celebrated my mom 5yr anniversary of her passing and I just lost my father this year he heart attack i loss him in march of this year . Denise
@@kathrynmathisen9614So very sorry for your loss, as well. Losing her mom this past March, has been very hard on her.
@@kathrynmathisen9614 We've eaten at Calhoun's a few times. Just not since we started doing these videos.
They found an active magma chamber in that mountain a couple years back we love it up there
The part about the magma, was actually posted on April 1st, on one of the Smoky Mountain pages, as an April fools joke. There actually isn't one. But the article was so convincing, a lot of people thought there was. But it said at the end of the article, that it was done as an April fool's prank.
But yes, it certainly is a beautiful mountain with beautiful scenery.
Which trail is the most strenuous the trillium gap trail or the alum cave trail? I have really enjoyed this video-best of all I have seen of Mt LeConte.i am definitely a subscriber now!! I understand about Osteoarthritis I have it in both knees and am a candidate for knee surgery as soon as my heart doctor gives me the clearance. Thete is no way I could do these hikes.i think that I why I enjoyed yours so much:the flowers,the views,showing the trail and
The different views of 441,clingman's dome,Gatlinburg and the other areas! Thank you great job
Thank you so much for watching, subscribing, and letting us know how much you enjoyed the video. We appreciate that so much!
As for which is the most strenuous, we really thought Trillium Gap was tough. And keep in mind, we were DESCENDING on that one. We have never taken it going up, so we can't say how tough that is. It did seem that it was pretty much all downhill, except for a few spots, and that would mean it is pretty much all uphill if you were ascending that way.
There is no trail to LeConte that is not strenuous. But we feel that Alum Cave is the most enjoyable...Its the shortest and the most scenic, in our opinion. Rainbow Falls is also a good one. Bullhead and Trillium Gap are our least favorites. Some people love Trillium. We did not. My wife has knee issues coming down, while I am fine going down. But I also thought Trillium just seemed to go on and on and on, and I would have sworn it was 10 miles, rather than the 6.7. That's just how it seemed to us.
Again, thank you so much for watching!
Great video want to do this myself. How did y’all get to alum cave trailhead after y’all dropped your car off? Discovered y’all’s channel about a month ago and have been watching multiple videos a day. Great content.
@jasonarrowood3349 Thank you for watching, and so glad you enjoy our channel.
We had to hire someone to come and get us at the Grotto Falls trailhead. I want to say we had to pay him $30 or $40. That's really the only way to do it, if you are by yourself and want to hike up one trail and down the other.
Ideally, if you can bring a family member or a friend with you who doesn't want to hike, they can pick you back up at the trailhead you come down.
If I remember correctly, we found this person through the NOC store there at the edge of town in Gatlinburg. There was a lady named Edith that works there, that usually does it. But she got sick, so she referred us to a guy that called himself Smoky Bear.
We do not still have his number. But if you call the store and just ask them for someone who shuttles people to and from the hiking trails, I'm sure they can refer you to someone.
I want to take that hike for my 50th birthday this year Ted said his knees won't make it so currently making plans with a couple of my girlfriends. Praying not only we are physically able to do it but also that we are able to get off work at the same time and such. My birthday is August 17th.
Hope you have a very happy birthday, and that you have great weather on your hike. I won't lie to you...it is a long one and a tough one. But if you start early and pace yourself, you'll be fine. It is a very rewarding hike, as long as you have a clear view from the top.
Thank you ❤@@NCMemoryMakers
Have a question. My wife and I are planning a hike to Mt LeConte later this year (October ) In your opinion what is the best trail base on how strenuous it is. We are in our early fifties and done a few different day hikes. Just trying to prepare for the best option for us.thanks for any suggestions for us. Always enjoy your videos!
There's not an easy way to Leconte. Unfortunately, the one that involves the least climbing, is also the longest. That would be starting at Newfound Gap on the Appalachian Trail, and then taking a left on the Boulevard Trail. It's 8 miles that way.
Alum Cave is the shortest, at 5 miles. It's probably the most scenic trail, and the one I would recommend.
My 2nd favorite trail, would be Rainbow Falls.
I would avoid Trillium Gap at all costs, and I know that after the fires of 2016, Bullhead Trail is mostly in the sun.
Alum Cave trail is very scenic. There are some very narrow places with dropoffs, however.
If you are not overnighting at the lodge, you will want to get a very early start, to make sure you aren't hiking down in the dark… especially that time of year.
@@NCMemoryMakers thank you, very much. We are in hopes of staying at the lodge. Currently on a waiting list for a possible cancellation, fingers crossed!
@@WSseaghost110 If we ever hike to Leconte again, we're going to overnight at the lodge. It's just a lot of hiking to do in one day.
What trail do you recommend leaving LeConte trail?
Like we mentioned at the end of the video, we do not recommend Trillium Gap. We like Alum Cave probably the best. But any of the others are good to descend on. Rainbow Falls or Bullhead are fine. If you take Boulevard back to the Appalachian Trail to Newfound Gap, that one is longer. It's 8 miles that way.
52:40
Why they call them smoky