It rained again last night, and the drizzle kept up through the early morning. But our lame tent continues to hold up. And our picnic table is still the driest spot in the entire campground. So that is where we enjoyed a hearty, hot breakfast before embarking on a five-mile hike to the top of Mount LeConte.
The only lodge in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park lies at the top of this mountain. And the only way to get there is on foot -- on any of a handful of trails that range between 5 and 8 miles long. There are no roads; llamas make the trek three times a week to deliver supplies. And there is no electricity -- only kerosene lanterns and propane heaters. With such a remote location, a peaceful, secluded atmosphere and stunning mountaintop views, a stay at LeConte Lodge, which can accommodate only 60 guests per night, is reputed to be a unforgettable experience.
Of course, we had to see for ourselves, and so, in April, I attempted to book a night’s stay. Of course, such an exceptional lodge requires reservations months -- up to a year -- in advance. And when I inquired, I was told there were no vacancies. I placed our name on a waiting list, though, and -- lucky us! -- we were notified a week or two ago that a spot had opened up.
After I secured the reservation, I worried a little about being able to motivate the kids to make a trek of at least five miles straight up a mountain. My concerns were unfounded, it turns out. This morning, these kids were geeked to get out and get moving.
We packed up crackers and cheese for lunch, rain gear, PJs, a change of clothes and overnight toiletries, left our campsite intact, and set off in the van for the trailhead, about a 45-minute drive away.
We chose the Alum Cave trail, the shortest of all the routes up the mountain, and also the steepest. The guide books promise that this route also takes the least amount of time to hike -- about four hours for hikers in good condition. Considering that we were hiking with three relatively young kiddos, Keith and I planned to take about six hours to get to the top.
The trail took us along Alum Cave Creek, through a mature northern hardwood and hemlock forest up through Arch Rock -- a cave with steep steps cut into its sharply upward-sloping stone belly -- and then on to Alum Cave, which is more of a tall bluff that juts out far enough to shelter the ground below it. The hike was steep. Especially the last three miles. And it was rocky and slick, and we clung to thick cables secured to the sheer sides of the mountain for much of the way. As we got closer to the top, the forest gave way to spruce and fir trees. And to our delight, the rhododendrons -- whole groves, whole hillsides of them -- were still blooming bright-pink at the higher elevations.
About three and a half hours after we started, we arrived at the top -- at LeConte Lodge, a cluster of rough-hewn cabins built into the side of the mountain. Our hosts welcomed us, showed us our cabin and then invited us into the dining room for cookies, hot chocolate, and coffee, which hit the spot, since it was a damp 55 degrees outside. After snacks, we spent the rest of the afternoon lounging near the fire in the great room of the main building, playing Clue, Battleship and Sorry. Then, the kids ran outside and collected salamanders from under rocks with a gaggle of other kids until the dinner bell rang at 6:30.
We were seated in the dining room with the family from the cabin next-door, Mike and Laurie, and their sons Charlie, 12, and Oscar, 10, from Kansas City, and enjoyed getting to know them over an amazing dinner of chicken and dumplings, corn bread, carrots, baked cinnamon-apples and glasses of wine that were constantly refilled by the friendly waitstaff. Most of the other guests were 7th- and 8th-grade boys and their chaperones from a private school near Winston-Salem, NC, so the atmosphere in the dining room was certainly relaxed and upbeat, if not a little raucous.
After dinner, most of the guests took a quarter-mile walk to the mountain’s tippy-top, where we all perched ourselves on a west-facing rock and applauded the sublime sunset over the Smokies.
After that spectacular show, there was nothing left to do but to dress for bed by the light of our cabin’s kerosene lantern, and then crawl beneath the warm wool blankets and sink into sleep.
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