The LeConte hike was great!! We drove over to Gatlinburg on Saturday morning.....after a few hick-ups with fighting kids we finally made it to the hotel. The kids were excited about where we were staying. We stayed at the Fairfield Inn right next door to their favorite mini-golf coarse....Ripley's Davey Crockett Mini-Golf. We let the kids play a round of mini-golf, then we walked to Damon's next door for some dinner. Andrew won a prize on a claw machine in the lobby of the restaurant......he loves those things. After that we swam in the hotel pool. It had a water slide so the kids had a blast......I've got a great picture of Madeline going down the slide. She was a little sceptical at first, but as always she has no fear and just got right to it. Next it was to the grocery store to get snacks and supplies for our hike the next day. Andrew played yet another claw machine, and won yet another prize. I swear that kid is the luckiest claw player to ever play the game. He has mentioned more than once that he wants a full size one at our house. After a few tears (okay, quite a few) of not being able to play again we made it back to the hotel. I distinctly remember threatening that we would just skip the hike.......agghhh I've turned into a typical dad!!

The next morning we got ready and started heading to the trail head for the Trillium Gap trail. I wanted to show Andrea where to pick us up on Monday morning......it was a good thing we took the effort to find the trail head together, because we had a little difficulty finding it the first go around............After that we stopped by the Visitors Center of the Smokey Mountain National Park to get a trail map and get the boys a pin for their hiking sticks. Andrea then drove us up to the trail head for Alum Cave Bluff trail. After a few goodbyes and a promise to take care of her boys we were off.

The past couple of hikes we've done have been with a larger group. And although we missed our friends, I'll never forget the times with just the two boys. Mackinley and I are typically all about getting there.....Andrew every so often would give me some perspective and told us several times to "enjoy the walk" or "Wow look at that scenery"......I love that boy!!

We had a nice lunch together at the Alum Cave Bluff.......turkey sandwiches, grapes, strawberries, cantaloupe, chips, and granola bars.......We had a squirrel that got within a couple feet of us, so we gave him a little snack, too. After lunch we strapped on our packs and hit the trail again. We had a snake cross the trail right in front of us, and it made the boys both jump. I'm sure I would have too, I was pulling up the rear and didn't see it until they came out of their skins. I tried to get a picture of it, but it was too fast.

We made it up to the lodge in about 3 1/2 hours. Once we got checked in, we rested for a little while and then walked up to Myrtle Point for some great views. Dinner was great. I don't think the food is all that good, but after a long day of hiking anything other than trail mix is a treat. After dinner we went up to Cliff Tops to watch the sunset..........we didn't get to see a very good sunset, as it was cloudy, but it was still pretty nonetheless. The boys have a great story about hearing a "rock slip"......it was hysterical so ask them about it sometime.

We usually always play Monopoly in the Clouds with John Voss, but he couldn't come with us this year.....besides a couple girls were already playing. We played Scrabble instead. I told them anyone who spells out LeConte gets triple word score no matter where it is played. Wouldn't you know Mackinley got it in the second round.........A few rounds later Andrew put a "Mt." in front of it.......we loved the creativity so much we gave him the same deal.

The next morning was breakfast (pancakes, grits, biscuits, scrambled eggs, and ham)......yum!! then the hike down. We took Trillium gap down, so we got to see the llamas bring up the supplies.....there was a caravan of about 9 of them.....that was pretty cool. The highlight of the trip came with only about a mile left on the trail. We got to see a momma bear and her cub. The boys were a little frightened at first because several people we met on the way down kept warning us that the bears were down the trail........the first one said "within a quarter mile", then "200 yards", then "right around the bend". The anticipation was more than Andrew could handle. He was truly scared by the time we got up to them. I think Mackinley was scared too, but he'd never admit it. I was a little concerned too, but when I saw the crowd that had gathered I figured surely we wouldn't be the slowest runners in the group....ha-ha. The bears were eating leaves along the trail and we were within 15 feet of them. They totally ignored us, and after about 10 minutes they left the trail and disappeared in the woods. I got some great pictures of them......they are quite a bit smaller than I expected, but still beautiful animals.

All in all it was another great trip......I guess we hiked about 15-16 miles over two days.....Not as much as last year, but still a good hike. The lodge will take reservations starting on 10-1-07 for next year.......I'll be making the calls again. I told the boys as long as they want to keep going....I'll take them......I hope it lasts for many years to come.....I'll take Maddie in a couple years (maybe when she is 5 or 6).

Click on the link below for some pictures of the weekend.


by mmaguire05