On Top of Ole Smoky - 2009

Every year since I was four we have taken a family trip to Mt. LeConte. We go with the same people every year - give or take a few for various reasons, but the core group remains the same. We have standing reservations for this same Friday in July. My kids look forward to it for weeks and have trouble getting to sleep the night before. They have been almost every year since they were born. Anthony's first trip was when he was 4 months old and Alex was 4-1/2 months old when she made her first trip. The trail we take is the Alum Cave Trail, which is the shortest trail but it's very steep.

Everyone asks us what the accommodations are like so I took a few pictures. This is standing in front of the dining room looking up the hill towards the cabins.

This is the inside of one of our cabins. There are three bedrooms and a common living area.

We had three "newbies" with us this year - it's always fun to have newbies with us cause you get to break'em in. Newbies have been known to get their beds short-sheeted, have rocks put in their backpacks, get their boots laced up backwards, and some have even had peanuts placed across the beam above their heads so the mice could be heard scurrying around at night. We took it easy on these three, though. We short-sheeted two of the beds but then thought, heck, Glenn's is a cot, let's just hide the whole bed. When he got ready for bed, his wasn't even there! It didn't take him long to find it since there weren't that many places we could have put it but boy did we have fun trying to pull one over on him.

I'm not at liberty to say who did the short-sheeting or anything but Kristi and I did learn from the best when we were younger....

Here are a few of the pictures from our hike up and hanging out at the top. It wasn't the best year we have had for the views - we were completely "socked in" with fog.

This is the whole rowdy crew. We always catch an innocent bystander to take our picture, which can take a while since there are so many cameras.

Not in any kind of order but our group this year consisted of Tony, Karla, Anthony, Alex, John, Connie, Tommy, Charlotte, Brad, Missy, Gracie, Marty, Kristi, Lendi, Lee, Doris Rutledge, Roger Fields, and Glenn Cunningham.

It was REALLY cold this year. When we left that morning at 9 a.m. the temperature had risen to about 42 degrees. Brrrrrr...

When you get to Mt. LeConte, there is a place called Cliff Tops, which is just a short little walk to a wonderful place to watch the sunset. The Alum Cave trail winds underneath Cliff Tops and then around the mountain until we were directly across from it. Right in the center of this picture you can see where the mountain appears to drop off. That is Cliff Tops.

One of the first, or last since I took this picture coming down, landmarks on this trail is Arch Rock. There are very steep steps that go up into and out the top of Arch Rock.

And a pretty little foot bridge at the bottom of Arch Rock.

When you first see Arch Rock it looks like you will be going up into a cave.

We have completed another year at Mt. LeConte and every year, as the prices go up, we think that will be the last year. We think we can't possibly spend that much money on one night again, then we do it anyway cause this is the trip Anthony and Alex would give up everything for. We will be able to keep our standing reservations only through the year 2018 so I guess we will go every year until then since they will be difficult to get after that.

One thing that always happens at Mt. LeConte is the retelling of stories from past trips. There are stories that tie us to our grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends. It is a very intricate web that is weaved with each year binding us tighter and stronger and renewing friendships with the ones we don't see as often as we would like.

So, yes, I guess that's worth the couple of dollars it will increase again this year. And the next year. And the next...