The Ascent of Mt. Le Conte and Peregrine Peak
At nearly 6,600 feet, Mt. Le Conte is the third largest peak in the Smokies and the sixth largest in the entire Appalachian range.
Le Conte is the majestic mountain that tourists see when they visit Gatlinburg, as it overlooks the city from the south. And since it has one of the best scenic views in the southeast Stephen Dale and I chose it as our next climb. |
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We began our climb in the early morning mist, following a rushing river for almost a mile before beginning the ascent. This happens to be one of the most popular trails in the park and as a result the park service has installed stairsteps in a few places... for better or worse. After walking a mile or so deep into the forest and ascending past the 4500 foot mark we reached Annakeesta Ridge, which climbs the lesser Peregrine Peak before moving on toward Le Conte.
Most of the trail is moderate but there were several exposed places along the ridge where a misstep would cause a serious and possibly fatal fall. The park service has anchored a cable into the rock along the ledge so that climbers may hold to it while crossing the exposed areas... again, I suppose that's both a blessing and a curse. It permits casual hikers to go to places that were once reserved for the more adventurous and daring climbers, but such is the price of progress... and since I've not yet summited Everest I have little room to talk. The clouds were thick and we occasionally ran into some light rain or mist which occasioned the donning of our ponchos, but the climb was incredibly scenic from the very first step. We took an extended snack break under the shelter of Alum Cave Bluffs, a steep ledge carved out of the mountainside by wind and water. We passed Peregrine Peak just yards from the summit and pushed our way past the 6,000 foot mark before we got too hungry to continue.
Around 2 pm we began snooping around for a place to have lunch and we soon found a bare rock ledge on the mountain's south face which looked inviting. We spread our ponchos out on the ground, sat down and lit our portable stove to begin preparing a freeze-dried lunch of sweet and sour chicken with rice. We were a thousand feet above the clouds and could just see the tops of the mountains poking up through the mist like islands in a sea of white cotton. The clouds were being whipped by an east wind through a mountain pass off to our left, and we could sit and watch them move past us as we ate. The scenery was spectacular beyond description and lunch was a treat in every imaginable way. We topped off our sweet and sour chicken with candy bars for dessert, packed up our gear and set off for the mountain top.
It was after three o'clock before we finally reached the summit of Mt. Le Conte which was clearly marked by a large rock cairn. We posed for summit photos but had little time to tarry as the sun would be setting within two hours. From the summit we took the trail to a nearby overlook known as Cliff Top. The sun was setting in the west, but the detour was well worth while. The views from Cliff Top were stunning - even better than any of the other great scenics that we passed on the ascent. But again we were pushed for time and had to begin making our way down.
Darkness fell before we could make our way down Annakeesta Ridge and we had to use our headlamps. As the rain and mist began to pour down on us again, we finally manged to make our way back to the trailhead after a nine-hour climb that easily ranks as one of the most scenic mountains in the eastern United States.
Most of the trail is moderate but there were several exposed places along the ridge where a misstep would cause a serious and possibly fatal fall. The park service has anchored a cable into the rock along the ledge so that climbers may hold to it while crossing the exposed areas... again, I suppose that's both a blessing and a curse. It permits casual hikers to go to places that were once reserved for the more adventurous and daring climbers, but such is the price of progress... and since I've not yet summited Everest I have little room to talk. The clouds were thick and we occasionally ran into some light rain or mist which occasioned the donning of our ponchos, but the climb was incredibly scenic from the very first step. We took an extended snack break under the shelter of Alum Cave Bluffs, a steep ledge carved out of the mountainside by wind and water. We passed Peregrine Peak just yards from the summit and pushed our way past the 6,000 foot mark before we got too hungry to continue.
Around 2 pm we began snooping around for a place to have lunch and we soon found a bare rock ledge on the mountain's south face which looked inviting. We spread our ponchos out on the ground, sat down and lit our portable stove to begin preparing a freeze-dried lunch of sweet and sour chicken with rice. We were a thousand feet above the clouds and could just see the tops of the mountains poking up through the mist like islands in a sea of white cotton. The clouds were being whipped by an east wind through a mountain pass off to our left, and we could sit and watch them move past us as we ate. The scenery was spectacular beyond description and lunch was a treat in every imaginable way. We topped off our sweet and sour chicken with candy bars for dessert, packed up our gear and set off for the mountain top.
It was after three o'clock before we finally reached the summit of Mt. Le Conte which was clearly marked by a large rock cairn. We posed for summit photos but had little time to tarry as the sun would be setting within two hours. From the summit we took the trail to a nearby overlook known as Cliff Top. The sun was setting in the west, but the detour was well worth while. The views from Cliff Top were stunning - even better than any of the other great scenics that we passed on the ascent. But again we were pushed for time and had to begin making our way down.
Darkness fell before we could make our way down Annakeesta Ridge and we had to use our headlamps. As the rain and mist began to pour down on us again, we finally manged to make our way back to the trailhead after a nine-hour climb that easily ranks as one of the most scenic mountains in the eastern United States.