Queen of The Mountain: The Big One

Keith and Jeff decided months ago to take off a weekend in June and hike to the top of The Big One - Mt LeConte! We drove down on Wednesday, planning to hike bright and early Thursday morning, but the skies were cloudy and overcast with rain off and on all day. Now they're not afraid of a little rain, but what's the point of hiking up LeConte if you can't see anything after you get up there? They decided to wait for some sunshine on Saturday. In the meantime, after a breakfast of Cinnamon Roll Waffles, we went to Gatlinburg and did a little shopping at one of my favorite spots, The Village.

There are lots of cool stores there. We enjoyed browsing through the supplies at The Day Hiker, sampling the dips and spreads at The Pepper Palace, and watching the potter work the clay at the downtown Alewine Pottery store.

We had lunch at Calhoun's and then visited the Nantahala Center and the Sugarlands Visitors Center to get more hiking medallions. Then we went back to the house and watched the first match of World Cup Soccer. Jeff put together a soccer pick 'em so let the competition begin!

After soccer we ate lasagna on the deck.

After dinner, we decided, on the spur of the moment, to drive over to the Elkmont area to see the synchronous fireflies.

Science Lesson:

"Synchronous fireflies (Photinus carolinus) are one of at least 19 species of fireflies that live in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. They are the only species in America whose individuals can synchronize their flashing light patterns and they do so each year in early June as a mating ritual. The Elkmont area of the park has a high population of these fireflies and has become a very popular viewing area."

Lesson Over.

Apparently loads of people come from all over the country just to see these fireflies. Last week there were bus tours over to Elkmont and we tried to get tickets but they sold out very quickly. Anyway, we decided to go over and see if the fireflies were still doing their thing this week. So we packed up the chairs, the camera, the rain ponchos, the water, the umbrellas, the flashlights, and the Deep Woods Off and headed to Elkmont! Our plan was to arrive and find a good viewing spot just before dark. We grabbed all our gear and headed up the trail just far enough to be away from car headlights. (Total darkness provides the best effect.)

Shortly after we settled in and as darkness approached, we saw three bears. Fortunately, they were several yards distant and headed away from us. I found myself hoping fireflies weren't afraid of bears. Pretty soon the fireflies started blinking, but we weren't impressed. We were all afraid that maybe we had tramped out to the middle of the woods to see something we could have seen in our backyard. But, along about 10 pm the real show began. WOW!

Imagine: Barry Bonds just hit the record setting home run and all the flash bulbs are exploding. (No that doesn't do it.) Okay, you're at a rock concert and everybody just lit their Bic. (Still doesn't do it.) It was kind of like being at Speedway in Lights without the colors? (No!) It's just impossible to describe and you can't really get a good photo of it. You just had to be there! We're sitting in total darkness watching the most amazing light show I have ever seen! Billions, yes billions, of fireflies - flash, flash, flash for about 8 seconds, then dark for 5 seconds. Synchronized! We stayed till 10:30 and then headed home. That was truly an unforgettable experience!

Here are some photographic attempts that I stole off the internet, but they don't do it justice!

On Friday, the guys got up and hiked Huskey Gap (4.2 miles round trip). They were just warming up for The Big One on Saturday.

When they returned, tired and hungry, we had a Pizzadilla Party (think Quesadillas with pizza fillings). Another idea I got from Pinterest! We ate and settled in for some more World Cup.

On Friday night we had dinner at Holston's Kitchen on our way to see the Smokies play the Mississippi Braves. The Smokies won 8-2 and the fireworks were fantastic!

When we got home the guys packed up their gear for the big hike on Saturday.

Saturday! The day had finally arrived! Time for The Big One! The guys got up before dawn so that they could be on the trail by daylight. They were headed for Mt LeConte!

Mt LeConte, at 6,593 feet in elevation, is the third highest peak in the Smoky Mountains. It is the highest peak that is completely in the state of Tennessee. It's the mountain you see from our deck. This is what it looks like on a clear day.

And this is what I saw out there on Saturday morning. LeConte was "in the clouds".

Oh well, the guys headed on out hoping that the sun would eventually make an appearance as forecast. There are several different trails that lead to the top of Mt LeConte. They chose the Alum Cave Bluffs Trail. It is the shortest at 4.9 miles (one way) but that means it is also the steepest.

All day I kept wondering how it was going and what they were seeing. I went to the internet (www.highonleconte.com) and read the blog for Saturday, June 14. Lo and behold the sun was shining up top and the view from above the clouds was fantastic!

At 1:00 pm they called me from the top (yes, there's cell service) to let me know they had made it with no trouble. They had explored the top and were having lunch and planning to shop in the Lodge Store.

They arrived home at 6:00 pm, tired and hungry. We had a Slider Party on the deck to celebrate. Then we polished off the evening with hot tubbing and World Cup on the deck. Jeff declared it his "best vacation ever"!