Sun, May 31 2015 - Smoky Mountains Insanity! Charles Bunion + Mt. Leconte (View Original Event Details)
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Initially, our plan was to do a shuttle hike. However, with only 4 of us "dumb enough" to agree to drive 6 hours round trip to the Smokys, just for a day-hike, we decided to take 1 vehicle and attempt a massive loop.
We started at the Kephart Prong Trailhead right on time at 9:30 and made good pace all the way to Charles Bunion via the Grassy Branch Trail. Once we arrived at Charles Bunion, the pace obviously slowed because of all these pesky beautiful scenic views. After enjoying lunch at Charles Bunion, we made our way south on the AT to LeConte (we stopped and did a quick detour to check out the "Jump Off" on the way)
We wanted to hike fast all day..and we did, but you simply can't hike the Smokys without stopping to admire wildflowers, hemlocks and gorgeous outcroppings. Essentially, we stopped a LOT to have fun.
Once we soaked in the beauty from the Jump off, we proceeded to take The Boulevard trail up to LeConte. Two of us had been there, two of us had not, so again once we arrived we sat around in big rocking chairs and took a long break. (Of course, that was after checking out "The Cliff Tops" overlook).
By now, it was around 4:30 pm. It was about 12 miles back to the car and, at that point, we had logged about 14.4 miles and over 5200 feet of elevation gain. With storms rolling in, we decided to alter our plan and take the Alum Cave Trail down to US 441 and just hitch a ride back to the car. The first group of hikers we ran into graciously gave 2 of us a lift back to our car. We then changed clothes and quickly went back to Alum Cave and picked up the rest of our group, then headed home to Atlanta.
The final tally was just under 19.5 miles and about 5480 feet of elevation gain (all of this is from the main trails and the scenic side trails). It was a tough, long day...defnitely do-able and of course, much easier if you have at least 2 cars to do a shuttle.
P.S. No bears were sighted, but another group said they saw one wandering around at Myrtle Point.
All-in-all it was a spectacular day!
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