New Life and New Record

08/02/2011

18 Comments

 
One of the perks of this job is being so close to nature. It is always a treat to see the new life on the mountain. We await every year for a few more fawns to run and play through camp. Yesterday was one of those days. The guests were treated to a display of play time for the two fawns. They ran around and jumped all over the place. It was so much fun to watch.
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On a different note, I have some cool news. Once again, our friendly Ranger Dave Worth has set another record. He decided to hike all of the trails leading to LeConte in one day. Well, he did just that. He hiked them in 10 hrs 3 min and 41 seconds. Way to go Dave. That is truly amazing. 
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Comments

Doug Y.
08/02/2011 9:24am

Way to go Dave. I'm curious to know his route, i.e., where he started and direction of travel, and where he finished, etc. Very nice photos of the fawns; That's one of the very special things about being at the lodge; Would have loved to have witnessed it.

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Pat N.
08/02/2011 9:29am

Great photos and news about Ranger Dave. Sort of like our backyard (residential however) as we have 2 doe and 5 fawns...oh, I almost forgot, 3 racoons, squirrels, a couple of groundhogs, and at least 20 turkey vultures. My morning coffee on the patio is quite entertaining. Enjoy the new life and big congrats to Dave.

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Greg cook
08/02/2011 9:36am

Man your my hero , any advice, I'm 49 healthy what about diet and exercise routine. Again your the man. Maybe it's time to write a book.

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vicki towe
08/02/2011 1:38pm

Way yo go Dave we are so proud of you!

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tomk
08/02/2011 2:25pm

I'm guessing here. . .
He did NOT do Brushy Mountain.
He started Trillium at the Grotto Falls parking lot.

Trillium UP
Rainbow DOWN
Bullhead UP
Boulevard DOWN

Shuttle to Alum Cave

Alum Cave UP

Or the reverse, perhaps w shuttle to GF Parking lot.

That's about 30 miles in 10 hours.

3 mph on trails.

Must have great lungs, legs and ankles!

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Tony IN
08/02/2011 2:36pm

@ Denise from Aug 1: I saw you are thinking about hiking up the Boulevard and down one of the other trails. I suggest you think about going down the Boulevard instead of up. In my opinion going up the Boulevard is the tough way to do it. I've done it both ways, I would go down it again but not up. Any input from others?

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Caitlin W
08/02/2011 2:56pm

@ Tomk
...and just general...

FYI
He did, in fact, do Brushy Mountain. It is not all of the LeConte trails without it.

Up Rainbow

Down Trillium

Up Bullhead

Down Alum

SELF SHUTTLE TO NEWFOUND GAP

AT - Boulevard - Lodge

Down Trillium to Brushy Mountain and in to Greenbrier.

That makes for 44.5 miles in 10 hours

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Denise
08/02/2011 3:13pm

Amazing Ranger Dave! Breathtaking...literally:)
And @ Tony...doing Boulevard in so I can take Trillium out on Monday..I really want to see the llamas in pack gear on their way up.

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Tony IN
08/02/2011 3:42pm

@Denise...Do you know about the "Jumpoff"? When you leave the AT onto the Boulevard the spur trail to the Jumpoff is about 100 yds in on the right. It is worth the side trip, about .4 mi each way. Spectacular views!!

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tomk
08/02/2011 3:48pm

THAT is even MORE impressive!

I'm glad y'all are recognizing Brushy Mountain as the sixth trail. Comparatively few folks take that trail up.

In addition to the 44.5 miles, that's about 10,600' of UP and 10,900' of DOWN.

About a 13 minute mile for 10 hours.

Legs, lungs and ankles.

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Denise
08/02/2011 4:01pm

@ Tony
Plan is to do the Jump Off...but plan depends on our time as scheduled and the weather...I'm sure we will be on a mission. Is the jump off marked?

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Tony IN
08/02/2011 4:21pm

@Denise...The Jumpoff is clearly marked. If the weather cooperates you will be able to look down at Charlie's Bunion and make out any people who may be there. Have a great hike.

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kathy m cincy
08/03/2011 12:49am

Great Job Ranger Dave, what a accomplishment. I takes me all day to do one trail up. But love all the views we stop to savor and take in. Love the little deer!

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sandee link
08/03/2011 5:36am

Ranger dave...wow
LOVE the pictures of the fawns..soooooo cute....and so is Ranger Dave too....just saying :)

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Kay
08/03/2011 10:04am

AWESOME! Ranger Dave you are the man!

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Tony-from-Ga
08/03/2011 8:18pm

my son and I were hiked to the lodge on the 2nd and skies were clear! Great views for August.

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Ranger Dave link
08/08/2011 6:49am

Here's a link to my write up from hiking/running all the trails to LeConte. Thanks for all the positive comments!

http://abackofbeyond.blogspot.com/2011/08/day-full-of-ups-and-downs-speed-attempt.html

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MtnManFred
09/01/2011 11:18pm

This is crazy! Quite an accomplishment. I just stumbled across this via another Leconte link. I've met a few of the other guys who have done this before, and they all seem to have that "it" factor, which may be a decent mix of physical health and crazy (hahaha). I was reading Dave's blog and had a question when glancing over his time chart. Just in my conversations with the others, I remember that their times were a running clock from start to finish, which included the various shuttles and even stops between trails (changing socks, refuel, etc.) I was wondering if Dave, being a runner, stopped his clock whenever he reached the lodge or parking lots, or just included his brief stops to do those things into his splits. I know that runners vary in how they go about that, and not like it would add much more to his 10hrs, I was just curious. Again, congrats, that's something more than I could ever dream of doing. Take care!

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