| Author | Message | ||
     86129squids |
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alum_Cave_Trail My sis is in Gatlinburg (in town)... she, her traveling buddy, and a long lost college buddy determined that we should hike up to LeConte Lodge and back today. It's only five miles up and back. We started at a little after 10AM, collectively made it off the mountain after 820PM. I tried to beat the shadows by hoofing it down, left them (they were slower) at 605PM. Made it to Sugarlands center, WORE THE FZZUK out on the GL, wondering if they made it off the mountain- by the grace of God, yes. I walked in the door, home, as 10PM rang off the courthouse bell- having run TN73 by myself at nite, plus 321 home, wondering if my headlight would cooperate. (Gots an intermittent short... thought, naively, that I'd be home before nightfall.) FIVE MILES, UP, AND BACK DOWN. That was just the hike.  | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
 You gonna hurt tomorrow. Went up the Jura behind the house on Sunday, through the old logging trails & chutes then back down to the next village & home along the valley. Even the dog had had enough & jumped in the first horse trough we came to. Stairs are not my favourite thing this week. | ||
| Cataract2 |
Makes me think about my hikes to the top of Pikes Peak. 12 miles and 7000ft elevation. Slept good those nights. | ||
| 86129squids |
Owie. Of course you're right, Grumps... We've got a VERY pretty day here in E. TN, believe I'll spend the better part of it sitting outside, looking at the leaves I can see from my yard. What made the hike so difficult was the fact that- a- Less than 10% of any given step one takes is on a level surface, had to choose the best option EACH time b- From the trailhead, we gained 4000+ feet in elevation in 5 miles, oxygen got a little scarce for the differential c- Coming down, gravity becomes your "frenemy"- you're going faster, but faceplants are LOT more likely To do that hike properly, one really should either leave at the crack of dawn to do it in 1 day, or, ideally, book a cabin at the top, come back the next day or the third. I'd love to spend a whole day up there just taking it all in. Gonna be a SLOW moving day for me. | ||
| Strokizator |
In my younger dumber days (36 yo at the time) my buddy & I decided to take a day hike up to the top of Half Dome in Yosemite. Starts at 4,000 ft, ends up at 8,800 ft. and about 9 miles each way. We started early in the morning and didn't get back until after sundown. I got back to the trail head and saw what I thought was the last shuttle bus pulling away. I almost cried, I was so tired and worn out. Turned out there was one more bus and I've never been more grateful for public transportation. | ||
| Buelltoys |
I have done the trails at Cades Cove up there but not the Alum Cave. I think I may have to do that one weekend I am in the area. Can't wait to move up there for good. | ||
| 86129squids |
Apparently one has to reserve a cabin at the top of LeConte the better part of a year in advance- we did hear someone say that a person the day before just walked up and scored a room due to a cancellation. Seriously, that would be the ideal way to do the whole thing- plug in a day or two in the middle just to hang at the top. It would've been MUCH more enjoyable to go up and back down without the tight time constraints, especially given this time of year. We REALLY should've started at dawn, not 10 after 3...  Been out running (pun intended) errands- starting to feel a little less sore, but not much. Oh- and I SHOULD mention, the leaves and the sights were SPECTACULAR. Also, the sheer quiet and peacefulness when one is hiking alone. I could literally hear when a leaf hit the bushes below... VERY different from home, where I live essentially in downtown Mur-vil. Only wished for less late-day haze- one of us commented that being up there right when a cold front hits would be awsuum. (Message edited by 86129squids on October 24, 2012) | ||
| 86129squids |
Is there anyone who can FINALLY teach me how to post pics?! Somehow I've never gotten the hang of it, wonder if my Ubuntu OS is tripping me up there, but I doubt it. I'm just a dipshit. | ||
| Blackm2 |
That looks like a pretty trail Squid. Hiking/backpacking gives me a pretty similar endorphin rush as riding my bike. Great to be out in the wilderness. Strok, that Half Dome hike is tougher than most think. So many people get helo'd off of that trail because they think it is a walk in the (national)park. Then there are the people who go past the railings and the signs above the falls that say in about 10 languages "...if you go in the water you will die!" Last time I was by there about 4 years ago, the trail had trash, and human waste that was not buried, just feet from the trail. Finally they've put restrictions on the number of people that can go up in a day. My wife and I did 160 miles of the John Muir Trail Aug/Sep. Awesome. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3y6-7QscMw | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Squids, the easiest way is to upload to photobucket or similar then copy/paste the IMG code to your post. Else you have to size your photos to meet the Badweb upload standard, & I generally can't be arsed. | ||
| Etennuly |
I think what I am reading here in your post is that when dark thirty sets in, you are locked into a vacuum up on that mountain. I was out riding alone a couple of years ago, I went on one of my 300 mile loops, over the Cherohala and into Cherokee for dinner. I waited out some rain to finally figure out that it would be dark by the time I got half way up New Found Gap. The rain stopped so off I went. That trip over the mountain started with some slow traffic who turned around part way up. They held me up until it was totally dark half way up to the overlook. Not just dark.....over cast, no moon, no stars, no cars, no street lights, no neighboring towns lighting the dark, and in the clouds and fog. I pulled into the parking lot at the top of New Found Gap seeing a few cars parked there, but no one around. I turned off my Uly and the darkness was nearly indescribable, like being in a cave. I took my glove off and waved my hand in front of my face, nothing. Only a half hour after dark and nothing was moving, no traffic at all(except for me). Also there was no noise. I started down towards Gatlinburg when the big, cold, fat drops of rain started. I had not gone a mile. By the time I got my rain gear on in the first tunnel the water was running over an inch deep down the road surface. As I proceeded down the mountain in the water I could not help but think about the sheer cliffs into the woods all around me. I would not be found for a long time, in the right circumstances, if I screwed up riding in this dark, deep flowing water. In the clouds, fog, and heavy rain my high beams were not much better than a wooden match on a clear night. I felt fortunate that I rode the road fairly frequently and knew roughly what to expect from the corners. It seemed like it took hours to get off that mountain. It did.....two of them. It was then so odd to ride into Gatlinburg and all of it's lights and crowds. It was no longer raining and the temperature was around 80F. I had to get that rain suit off fast because it was so hot compared to the top of the mountain. I still am not liking riding the mountain passes alone in sheer darkness. It does however, give you a chance to meet and begin to know yourself. With all of the mechanical things that could fail, the critters who inhabit the area, or knowing a minor mistake could be fatal on the list of things that could happen, it is almost like riding with a ghost chasing you. | ||
| Thumper74 |
I have family in and around Glenville and Sutton Dam, WV and the roads are like that. You pass houses, but have no idea if they're occupied or not. Complete darkness. I swear I was chased by the mothman more than once. | ||
| 86129squids |
Vern's onto something I'd not mentioned yet... I tried to hoof it down about double time faster than my 3 companions, thinking I could get into Townsend on the GL before it got really dark- the bike has an intermittent short in the headlight... I failed. Behind me, the 3 of them were making progress with 2 flashlights- all I had was a quarter sized LED, and to top it off, it only puts out a RED light... that's all I had for the last mile and a half. Of course, I'd forgotten my bright LED headlight, still back at home... I ended up moving forward SLOWLY, mostly with the little red light clenched between my teeth. I began losing most of my depth perception... When I FINALLY saw the last big bridge over the creek, and car headlights, I sighed BIG with relief. NEVER underestimate what a 5 mile hike might take! It took us literally ALL DAY. | ||
| Blake |
Took a wrong turn hiking in Yellowstone once. Thank goodness for fresh river water. Half day hike turned into all day adventure. I kinda like when things like that happen. How many bears you bump into?  | ||
| 86129squids |
Thankfully none- but as I got closer and closer to the trailhead, with darkness descending, I started hearing just the littlest rustling of leaves behind me, say, about 20 degrees off my right shoulder... it happened regularly for a while going down. It may have been my imagination, I thought maybe just some species of bird that gets active at dusk... I reminded myself that anything big would make a lot more noise. I DID spot a fairly large bat hunting... Thankfully, none of us got "et"... And damn if my legs aint STILL sore today. It'll probably be next week before I get over that hike! | ||
| Blake |
Had an experience like that once. Camped alone in an oak forest overlooking a small lake, pitch dark, lots of dry leaves on the ground. I had just bedded down for the night, then off in the distance, leaves rustling, the noise getting closer, and closer, louder, closer still... I finally pull out the flashlight and open the tent flap to face the boogiman coming for me. Big fat armadillo sniffs, looks, and casually turns away continuing the quest for grubs and worms. Adrenalin makes sleep difficult. | ||
| Etennuly |
Adrenalin makes sleep difficult. That is what the mountain spring water is for! |
