Great Smokey Mountains: Day 2 - Hiking 5.4 Miles Up Alum Cave to LeConte

Day 2 - Saturday May 30, 2020

We woke up early and exited, ready to leave the hotel at 7:20AM for the short 35 minute drive to The Alum Cave trailhead to get a parking spot. Driving in, it was so lush and green and there were turkeys everywhere on the sides of the road. The “smoke” or fog was real and all over the mountain tops. At our 8AM arrival, the small parking lots were already full we had to park off the road, which was not a big deal. The excitement was high and we thew our 5 backpacks on our backs, life semi professionals and just started hiking. Early in the hike, the kids had fun searching for walking sticks, even naming them. At the first point of going uphill, they decided to get rid of them, but they were fun while they lasted. Delaney hiked next to me and was in such a talkative mood and just randomly said, "I like hiking in places like this way more than our long walks at home in our neighborhood." It was sweet. I am sure it had something to do with it being an ideal temperature, probably in the upper 50's that early in the morning. We were cool in long sleeves and pants. The trail got busier around 9AM and we stopped at Arch Rock for our first snack. 

We purposefully bought special snacks that the kids would be excited about, like gushers, fruit roll ups.... stuff that the kids rarely see. Then, when the trail got steeper, Delaney would help me set my phone timer for 30 minutes and as long as we were hiking, when that timer went off we would find a place to rest for 10 minuets and get a snack. It worked like a charm and realistically, I think we only stopped 3-4 times in the 5.4 miles up. Right at Canyon Bluff, just before the half way mark, it got pretty steep for a while with 154 steps in a row, which Carter counted, and we stopped for a snack near the canyon wall, which is a very common rest point. 

We started hiking and set a timer for 30 more minutes and it was pretty flat for much of it. At 10:50, after 2.5 hours since we started, we took a short break before a steep 30 minute section. The trail was relatively narrow and it was hard to find a wide spot to stop. Towards the end, we had fun when older kids adventured ahead and Blake and I stayed back hiking and talking with Delaney. She kept saying she was excited to get to “village to take a nap!” The last mile with Delaney was fun and it did start cooling off some. And then all of a sudden, we we there! It took right at 4 hours.

There was a line to get into the office to check in and they were practicing social distancing with only 10 people in the office, at a time. This is the same place that all the day hikers, who round trip it, stop there to buy the famous "I hiked it" LeConte shirt. They showed us around the camp, gave us a tour of our cabin and how to use the Kerosine lamp.

We played SkipBo and GoFish inside the cabin with only the light of the kerosine lamp. Relaxing on our font porch, you would look and see that the fog had roled in and then suddenly it would be gone.

We napped and read, which are both rare treats we indulge in ever and then the 6PM Dinner bell rang and we were served a delicious pot roast dinner complete with mashed potatoes and green beans on our front porch, a new process due to CORONA while they keep the famous dining room closed to eating inside. Prior to dinner, we had wine on the porch and then around 7:30, we headed out to Cliff Top to watch the famous Smokey Mountain sunset and had a fun evening talking to all types of fun people from all over the region.

We brushed our teeth with no running water, in fact, in a global pandemic, we didn't wash our hands except with hand sanitizer for well over 48 hours.