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the Hushed Casket
Unseal the hushed casket of my soul...
Smoky Mountain Adventure
Submitted by FoulBreed on Wed, 02/21/2007 - 10:33pm.
I went this past weekend for backpacking trip this past weekend and I thought I would share a little bit of my experience with you. The trip was through a portion of the Appalachian Trail in the Smoky Mountains, near Gatlinburg.
For those of you who don't know, The Appalachian Trail (A.T.) is 2,175 miles long and stretches through 14 states from Maine to Georgia. It was conceived in 1921 and completed in 1937.
I had never been on the AT, myself. Just FYI, one of the more prestigious achievements in Boy Scouts, unrelated to rank, is the "50 miler" patch, which is earned by traversing 50+ miles through the wilderness by land or water. When I was in scouts (about 12 years ago), some of my troop hiked part of the AT, some canoed the Elk river. I had gone the water route, so I was looking forward to the experience of the AT.
The destination for this trip was to be Mt. LeConte, which resides 6,595 ft. above Gatlinburg. It is said be the "tallest" mountain in the Eastern United States. Apparently, this was the 6th annual trip to Mt. LeConte for this group. (Oddly enough, our "guide" on this trip was one of my old friends from scouts. He is the brother-in-law of my girlfriend. Small world, eh?) Throughout the entirety of the Smoky Mountain portion of the AT, there are "lean-to" shelters every 5 or so miles. The plan was to hike to the Icewater Springs shelter Saturday, and then on to LeConte Sunday. This trip stood out from the previous trips however, as we received approximately 8" of snow Saturday night. This was on top of the 2-3" already on the ground when we arrived at the Icewater Springs shelter. There were many places where snow was up to our knees, because of the recessed nature of the actual trail. There is generally only this much snow near the actual summit of LeConte. It was stunning to behold. It was also extremely cold. The air temp was around 16 degrees at night with a windchill in the single digits. Daytime hit the 20's. The snow (and black ice under the snow) ended up being our downfall, however. We hiked a half-day towards LeConte with, but due to inadequate cramp-ons (basically metal spikes that attach to your boots for ice) and a rising tally of spills on the way up, we had to turn back. Apparently, the last mile of trail to LeConte is already riddled with ice, under less adverse conditions than these, and runs only a few feet from a 800+' sheer drop-off. We eventually had to face the fact that we were not prepared for more ice than normal. I can't even imagine how deep the snow was up there. Next year, we will be ready though!
Anyway, I took a few pictures when we stopped long enough to strip off equipment. I hope you enjoy them.
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Image Formatting?
Is there an easy way to get the attached images to auto size to fit the width of the frame using the![]()
code? I am at home and cannot easily edit the actual size of the images.
Snowlol
Wow, those are some amazing pictures. Looks like you had fun. It's a shame you weren't properly equipped, but nature always likes to throw you a
snowballcurve ball.Reminds me of the days when I was in Boy Scouts, backpacking around Mt. Rainier in WA.
Sure, just type (less than
Sure, just type (less than sign)img width=xxx height=xxx src="xxx">
I've seen views from that
I've seen views from that height in the mountains here in California, but never in the eastern US, and never with snow...a lot of snow. Looks really breathtaking. That lean-to looks pretty primitive. Just something to keep the wind off? Bet it was a good time.
Thanks. And thanks to
Thanks. And thanks to whoever edited the source for me.
Glad you like the pics! It
Glad you like the pics! It was certainly a great time.
Midnight, you are right about the lean-to. It was basically a 3-sided log cabin with a tarp hanging down for the 4th side and a metal roof. I still felt plenty of draft during the night and snow would come in near the roof and hit me in the face. Beats the heck out of carrying a tent, setting up, sleeping only a couple inches from the ground and tearing down in the morning though!
That's really
That's really roughing it. It's surreal how the smokies can get so much snow. I've only seen it on the very tops of some mountains there but not quite that much. Looked like a fun challenge. Did the hiking sticks help at all? I got some for Christmas but haven't gotten a chance to use them.
A trip like this something
A trip like this something I've always wanted to do but I have never gotten around to it.
I did something like that once
I did something like that once. Spent 3 nights, 4 days, backpacking in the Smokies in November. The temps were similar, but there wasn't much snow. Had a blast. This was back when I weighed 185...but I was also smoking 1.5 packs a day, so I figure it's a toss-up. I would like to do it again at some point...I may have to wait until Speck is big enough to come along.
Great Pics FB!
I also went hiking in the
I also went hiking in the snow a few weeks ago. Pretty cool and almost got stranded. Turned out my neighbor was going hiking too that day. Small world. Broadband on my cell phone helped me get out of trouble.
Pic:
That picture must've been
That picture must've been earlier in the day, because as soon as I set foot outside of school all the snow was melted.
Treking poles were absolute
Treking poles were absolute life-savers. Every little bit of weight that is relieved per step helps. Over a few thousand steps, it really adds up. It's like office space, or super man 3 - it's aggregate:) They also helped with balance and stability on ice.
It seems to be a new fad
It seems to be a new fad that people use those poles for everyday walking. I'm talking about in sunny Oceanside, California and on Camp Pendleton I see people using poles like that for walking and roller skating. That is all.
I heard there
I heard there were wild cats with lasers in that neck of the woods. you better watch out next time
i've always wanted to do the
i've always wanted to do the entire AT. i've done portions. mainly 5 day back-packing trips doing 12 miles a day through stretches in TN & NC. every time i've been, by the time the last day rolled around and it's time to hike off of the mtn, i just wanted to keep going....
We went on a week long fly
We went on a week long fly fishing/hiking trip in the smoky mountain national park 2 years ago. I think it ended up being a total of about 11 miles in/out. It was pretty fun except for the 50-85 lb pach on our back, but I would like to do it again soon...maybe this summer.
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