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Park Plans Alum Cave Trail Restoration
Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials announced that the next full-scale, Trails Forever restoration will begin on Alum Cave Trail in 2015. The Trails Forever crew will focus restoration efforts on several targeted locations along the 5-mile trail to improve visitor safety and stabilize eroding trail sections. The restoration work will require temporary trail closures throughout the 2-year process. Alum Cave Trail is one of the most popular trails in the park, leading hikers to iconic areas including Arch Rock, Inspiration Point, Alum Cave Bluffs, Mt. Le Conte, and LeConte Lodge. Park rangers respond to numerous accidents along the trail each year, especially along the upper, narrow corridors. The planned work will improve overall trail safety and protect natural resources by repairing historic cable and handrail systems, reinforcing hanging trail sections, reducing trail braiding, and improving drainage to prevent further erosion. There are also several narrow areas where erosion and small landslides have damaged significant sections of the trail, making it difficult to safely travel through the areas during inclement weather or to pass hikers coming from the opposite direction. By restoring these fragile trail sections, the park can best ensure long-term sustainability and protect trailside natural communities from degradation. "Alum Cave Trail has so many unique natural and historic features," said Trails Supervisor Tobias Miller. "Our crew is working alongside the park's cultural and natural resource managers as we plan the restoration to insure that features are protected as we improve trail durability and safety." Alum Cave Trail and associated parking areas will be closed May 4 through November 19 in 2015, excluding federal holidays, on Monday mornings at 7:00 a.m. through Thursday evenings at 5:30 p.m. weekly. Due to the construction process on the narrow trail, a full closure is necessary for the safety of both the crew and visitors. Hikers can still reach Mt. Le Conte, LeConte Lodge, and the Le Conte Shelter by using one of the other five trails to the summit. The Mt. LeConte Lodge and Mt. Le Conte backcountry shelter will remain open and can be accessed from any of these other routes during the Alum Cave Trail closure. “A weekday closure of Alum Cave Trail is not an easy decision to make, but we feel it is necessary to ensure the continued protection of resources and safe use of the trail for hikers now and into the future,” said Acting Superintendent Clay Jordan. “We hope hikers will take this opportunity to explore another route to Mt. Le Conte, hike some of our other 800 plus miles of trail, or hike Alum Cave Trail on the weekends.” The Boulevard, Bull Head, Rainbow Falls, Trillium Gap, and Brushy Mountain trails all lead to Mt. Le Conte, but trailhead parking is limited. Carpooling is encouraged. Day hikers should also consider enjoying other trails offering stunning views such as Chimney Tops Trail, Forney Ridge Trail to Andrews Bald, or the Appalachian Trail from Newfound Gap to Charlies Bunion. Trails Forever is a partnership program between Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Friends of the Smokies. The Friends have donated $500,000 to support the program, in part through the generosity of the Knoxville based Aslan Foundation. The Trails Forever program provides the opportunity for a highly skilled trail crew to focus reconstruction efforts on high use and high priority trails in the park including the recently restored Chimney Tops Trail and Forney Ridge Trail. The program also provides a mechanism for volunteers to work alongside the trail crew on these complex trail projects to assist in making lasting improvements to preserve the trails for future generations. For more information about the Alum Cave Trail closure, please visit http://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/alum-cave-closure-faqs.htm where you can find answers to frequently asked questions and updates on the trail restoration.
Steve D
12/9/2014 11:35:59 pm
I have a question about the trail closing. From May thru November, if I got started before 7am, would I be allowed to go on up Alum? I would have to come down another trail, but wondered about that. My days off are Mon and Tues so that is when I go hiking. I will ask the trails forever group or the rangers, but thought I would bring it up here as well.
Phillip
12/10/2014 12:02:53 am
I would think that if a trail is CLOSED, then that is precisely what the word means, closed, unless, of course, you get special treatment and privileges. The Lodge is nonetheless accessible on the other trails.
Ashley
12/10/2014 12:04:06 am
You can probably be able to if you started before 7am on Monday, but the trail will be closed if you don't plan to hike out a different trail. So you may be asked to turn around if you come back down a Alum. Also, remember the parking lot will be closed until 5:30pm on Thursday.
old blevins
12/10/2014 12:10:39 am
geez! why don't they just go ahead and pave it? Not going to be anything wild in that Park anymore...
norman
12/10/2014 01:51:41 am
AMEN!!
Matchesmon
12/11/2014 03:38:52 am
This trail isn't wild, it was produced by us humanoids
tomk in SC
12/10/2014 02:07:39 am
I'm all for it. The top sections, where the shale is tilted away from the mountain and cables are in place to aid hikers, could use some work. I'd be thrilled if they actually removed shale to create a level trail and eliminate the cables. Not exactly paved, but a level (side to side) greatly enhances safety and hikeability. People have been hurt on those portions of the trail, and not because they were careless. Thanks to the Park Service and volunteers for working in this direction.
Steve
12/10/2014 02:53:22 am
Old Blevins, you are right, that is what happens when areas are over publicized. Always keep your favorite trails to yourself and don't brag too much about where they are, sort of like a good fishing spot, or this is what happens!
JW
12/10/2014 03:10:53 am
Amen Steve!! If it was all nice and paved and everything hunky dory everyone would be up there!, next will be a tramway to the top!!, regardless, Im going up Saturday morning!! JP here we come! up Rainbow!! If the park service and volunteers are so nice as to maintain the trails, and they say closed i suggest you take another trail, what if you get up there and they have a place dug out you cant get across, what do you do then!! or you stumble or fall over work areas or tools I say divert to another trail!!
David
12/10/2014 03:16:11 am
It’s an age old argument that has existed since the parks were established. How many “improvements” should be made for the sake of access compared to the preservation nature? From what I’ve read the lodge was been looked at for removal in the past because of the damage all the foot traffic does to the mountain. There are many places on the trail were you can see the damage all the foot traffic has done. If you look on the picture JP posted on 12/8, the path is lower than the surrounding land to a minor degreeand there is no grass. The reason for the shale being broken up is due to our foot traffic. For the protection of the environment maybe the trail should be cement to keep the erosion under control. We do not want that, but we love the wilderness and in order to protect the environment maybe we need to be patient. Maybe for 2015 we should hike and visit all the other wonderful less used trails in the park. Maybe you will find new vistas and new sites to share when you return to the mountain in 2016 For what it's worth (I know it makes no difference to the Park Service), I am totally opposed to the trail reconstruction. This mountain, the incredible Mt. LeConte, should not be made an easy stroll. I know the places where the footing is difficult---it's all around the headwaters of Trout Branch. A fair number of folks have reached that point by climbing UP the stream, scrambling up the steep Anakeesta bluffs and topping out exactly where the cables are located. The Park Service is trying to tame a wild place. Terrible.
David
12/10/2014 04:19:41 am
Jenny I agree to a point. However, I think this effort is not so much to tame the wildplace as it is stablize the damage we have done by walking the mountain. If it was not for the (I don't know the number) of people hiking the Alum Trail there would be less of a need to mess with the trail to start with. But, the popular trail and location results in errosion by us wearing aware the soil, trees and likens which would normally stablize the mountain side. If it was not for the trail the mountain side would be a straight shot to the valley floor in many places. As my previous post said where do we draw the line between accessibility and protecting the wilderness? My personal opinion is close the Alum trail completely and have everyone take the anyone of the other three trails which is not as steep and not as vulnerable to errosion as is Alum. They are also longer which would reduce the foot traffic on the mountain, as some people take Alum trail because it is shorter than the rest of the trails. Longer trail, less hikers, more exclusive location, less damage to the mountain. A win on all fronts.
norman
12/10/2014 04:42:02 am
AMEN Jenny B! I believe all the trails to LeConte should be closed. You would then have to bushwhack to the top, up Styx Branch, Alum Cave Creek, Shutts Prong, Boulevard Prong, Lowes Creek, Cannon Creek, LeConte Creek, Surry Fork, Roaring Fork, Cole Creek, Bearpen Hollow, Trout Branch. You probably don't believe me. Of course I know this will never happen. But I do deeply and honestly believe this, and I think Harvey Broome and Ernie Dickerman would agree. Unfortunately we have a business operation at the summit. It used to be different, it was just a fellow hiker welcoming other hikers.
David
12/10/2014 04:44:59 am
Jenny David, thanks for your response. But I have to ask, have you ever tried bushwhacking up those streams? There is not a single established pathway, by the very nature of things. People take different paths as they encounter the serious obstacles of vegetation. That's the whole difference between a bushwhack path and a trail. There is something natural about people exploring through the forest. Each hiker figures out a different route ducking under the rhodo or bypassing a tricky section of stream with a waterfall or cascade. Regarding the erosion of people on trails like Alum Cave Trail, the place where folks seem to get into trouble is above 5000', where the trail cuts across the upper Trout Branch watershed. This is a place where the Anakeesta outcrops make footing difficult for people. What are they going to do, blast that rock away to make for easy footing? Horrible. Anakeesta is a major, essential ingredient of the upper slopes of LeConte, above the Thunderhead sandstone. Okay, so we obliterate the Anakeesta obstacles. Very sad! LeConte deserves better than this.
David
12/10/2014 05:49:45 am
Jenny
norman
12/10/2014 05:20:41 am
The next thing you know, they will make it wheelchair accessible! When you be come to old, out of shape or what ever to do it , stay off.. It's life.
David
12/10/2014 05:43:32 am
Norman
JL
12/10/2014 07:06:48 am
Would closing the lodge save the mountain? That's an interesting question. The lodge is an old institution that dates back by many decades, and is deserving of respect. But the thing is, it's radically changed over the years. If you read Harvey Broome's book, "Out Under the Sky of the Great Smokies," you see that it was just an informal institution, run by a hiker (Herrick Brown) who just wanted fellow hikers to be able to get up there and stay overnight. Read Broome's account for January 31, 1961. "Climbing in the snow is a terribly personal thing." They were following the old phone line route up LeConte stream. His group phoned Herrick Brown to find out the conditions. Nowadays it is totally different. Because the corporation that runs the Lodge now wants folks to get up with a minimum of trouble, the Park Service is trying to smooth out all the obstacles on the trail most people take, Alum Cave Trail. I do not mean at all to take away from the great folks who stay up there and help out the guests. I have met JP and Allison and Chris--they are wonderful people. But I wonder about the commercialization of the Lodge. If you make it like a hotel you then have to make the trip up like walking to a hotel room from the registration desk. I hate this. I would be very happy if the Lodge as it is now, sort of a hotel like you would see on Trip Advisor, just went away completely.
David
12/10/2014 09:27:41 am
Jenny
JL
12/10/2014 08:01:10 am
We have a similar problem in the High Peaks area of the Adirondacks. It has become so popular, the park is now spending money to remind hikers of other areas in the park. Over the years the equipment is better, more people are fitness aware, and when they head out, they tend to go to the more publicized areas.
Funny! From when I lived in the northeast, I recall all the stuff about requiring snowshoes in the "Dacks" in the winter. My feeling was, yes, it was good courtesy to use snowshoes instead of postholing. But to make it a requirement was way too bureaucratic.
Ryan
12/10/2014 09:41:43 pm
This past Sept. my wife and I took a hiking focused vacation to the park, our first such trip. My wife isn't really into hiking, but she did get excited about this trip. We started up Alum Cave to reach the lodge, but since my wife's coordination is horrible, we ended up only making it about 85% or so of the way before we turned back. She is just really, really slow and has a hard time navigating simple steps when rocks and roots are involved. A couple of days later I took Trillium Gap up to the top by myself, my first time up. Trillium Gap took a while, but I felt it was a bit easier than Alum.
David
12/11/2014 01:55:02 am
Hi Ryan
Kent
12/11/2014 03:21:38 am
Interesting discussion.Personally, I think it's better to adapt ourselves to the mountain, rather than adapting the mountain to ourselves. That sums up the way I feel, anyway.
norman
12/11/2014 10:18:57 am
I agree. If we can, and if we can not, so be it!
Clyde
12/11/2014 11:18:26 am
Mt. LeConte gets the traffic it does because, arguably, it is the prettiest spot in the Park and because of the Lodge. I do all kinds of hiking, from day hikes to off-trail to long backpacks. I enjoy staying at the Lodge. It is neat to get to do an "easy" version of a beautiful hike and have somebody cook for me and give me a bed to sleep in. The folks who stay at the Lodge are not hard core hikers, and for many of them it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. They are way more adventurous than 90% of the tourists who will never get more than 100 yards from their car. I cannot object to making Alum Cave a little safer for them. I enjoy all kinds of hiking from Cannon Creek to the Little River trail. There ought to be room in our trail system for all kinds of hikers with different levels of abilities and different things they enjoy.
BK
12/12/2014 05:48:20 am
While I've followed this forum for years, I've never typed the first word until now. I've hiked up and down LeConte for over thirty years...and visited the Park for fifty. And it's the absurdity of some of this discussion that compels me to speak here now. Clearly, there are vast and broad opinions regarding closing and repairing Alum Cave Trail. The opinions ride the extremes all the way from keeping mankind out of the Trail/Mountain Repair Business, closing the Lodge due to perceived over-commercialism to paving the trail with concrete (I understand this was sarcasm). Surely to goodness we can all settle somewhere in the middle. The notion of closing the trail so that the only way to the summit is to Bushwhack up a stream makes for somewhat interesting reading but is absurd and unavailable to most people. Simply keeping and maintaining a trail up a mountain for casual hikers to enjoy and appreciate such a place surely can be accepted. While the closing will actually inconvenience me next year, I'm proud that someone is officially coming in to restore and shore-up what has been worn down. Aren't they trying to put back what nature/foot traffic has worn down??? What's the problem??? If we carry some of this nonsense to the extreme, we'll have the entire Park closing so that we can only view it from its Boundary Lines for fear of disturbing a rock. Surely, with proper maintenance, organization, respect, and a whole lot of genuine appreciation, we can support a place on earth that awes and inspires us to know that only a Powerful Creator can provide such a place. Clyde above is right....everybody chill...and let's just repair the trail
BK
12/12/2014 07:14:32 am
I certainly don't know the official plan either, but I seriously doubt grinding a few rocks will collapse the mountain. Over time, Mother Nature will provide more destruction than a drill. Paul Adams and Jack Huff moved a few rocks and cleared a few bushes to make a way there as well....and the Mountain still stands. And, if the summit was completely void of "commercialism," I couldn't imagine the abuse it would take without the oversight of some type of management. As long as the Mountain and the Lodge are open to the public, there will be the potential for abuse and overuse. I would rather those problems be managed than ignored....to preserve what is there Well, BK, we have something in common. We have both been climbing LeConte for 30 years. I have been climbing it since 1982, actually. Over those years, as far as I can tell, there has been no change in the treadway of the trail. Those rock outcrops have existed all these years. As well they should, considering those rocks are literally millions of years old. It would be much more pleasant to believe that the trail reconstruction is remedying the erosion caused by people. Not so. The only way the Park Service could possibly make the trail safer is grinding down the rock surface of the mountain to make it smoother and easier. Yeah, it's true, I haven't seen the official plan for the reconstruction. Yet what else could possibly be done to make the trail easier? We're not talking about drainage work. I have put in many years of trail maintenance myself, both in the Smokies and in the northern Whites of New Hampshire. That's where you put in water bars to improve the water flow so that the trail itself doesn't become a stream channel. That's not the problem on the upper Alum Cave Trail. The problem there is that you have these constant little rock outcrops on the path.That's because of the geology of the mountain. Of course I was joking about requiring everyone to bushwhack to the top. That would actually be very funny but obviously that will never happen. The really funny thing is the most "environmentally correct" folks think no one should go off-trail for fear of breaking a branch or overturning a rock. I go off-trail all the time, undoubtedly breaking those branches and overturning those rocks. You do not understand where I'm coming from.
BT
12/12/2014 07:17:06 am
I certainly don't know the official plan either, but I seriously doubt grinding a few rocks will collapse the mountain. Over time, Mother Nature will provide more destruction than a drill. Paul Adams and Jack Huff moved a few rocks and cleared a few bushes to make a way there as well....and the Mountain still stands. And, if the summit was completely void of "commercialism," I couldn't imagine the abuse it would take without the oversight of some type of management. As long as the Mountain and the Lodge are open to the public, there will be the potential for abuse and overuse. I would rather those problems be managed than ignored....to preserve what is there.
Kent
12/12/2014 07:47:09 am
In the end, we all just want to enjoy the mountain – and most of us want to leave as little trace as possible. Most of us who post here aren't as arrogant as some the folks who come to the gaudy tourist centers of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, only venturing into the park as an afterthought, in many instances. An underlying passion for these mountains and doing right by them connects all who have expressed an onion here, I believe – even if individually we approach the topic from a different perspective. But you assume there has to be a Lodge on the summit,BT. I liked the idea of the lodge in the early days when it didn't cost much and you had to work to get up there. This is going to make everyone hate me, but I don't think there should be a lodge up there at all any more. It is a big commercial moneymaking operation, totally opposed to the spirit of the mountain. Once again, I have nothing against the wonderful folks who work there. They are great and dedicated souls.
Mike Knies
12/12/2014 08:59:05 am
Someone I know still seems to be picking fights where ever I look.
Jenny B.
12/12/2014 10:34:07 am
The last time I emailed you was October 26, Mike. I went back and checked. That was the time you sent out a message to your big email list saying that my SMHC group "didn't show up." That was inaccurate. I have not emailed you since then. Sorry to bother readers of this blog with this information, but I can't let a false implication pass by.
BT
12/12/2014 09:05:08 am
Jenny....I'm not assuming anything, but I do appreciate the idea of having a place to relax, eat, and visit with other hikers in that old rustic atmosphere. So you liked the original idea, but don't like it now because it's a big commercial operation? When I arrive at the top of the stairs, I personally don't see a "big commercial operation." I see a preserved, historical group of cabins built upon the original idea of The Great Smoky Mountain Conservation Association and David Chapman. The very first overnight guests paid Paul Adams $36 for the group to spend the night...that's about $500 in today's dollars. And Paul Adams paid $250 for a dog to help him out...about $3,360 in today's dollars...both sizeable commercial transactions...in 1925. Its purpose then, and I believe now, is to allow others to appreciate the mountain. And today, it takes a lot to do so. Yet you say it violates the "Spirit of the Mountain"? What is the Spirit of the Mountain? Who established that...you, me, Paul Adams, David Chapman, Jack Huff??? I suspect its Spirit is different for each of us. Just as you enjoy wrestling up a stream bed, others appreciate the mountain as they wander through the trails admiring its wonder along the way...and then enjoy a decent meal and an old cabin to sleep in...the same idea the Association and David Chapman had in 1925...with a few added conveniences. Sure, there are some modern updates, but I'm comfortable with the efforts to disturb as little as possible and leave very little trace. I don't hate you, but I will wholeheartedly disagree with you yet respect your thinking. However, as someone earlier said, the one thing we all have in common is a love for this Mountain and the hills all around. After all these fifty years, they impress me still every time.
Jenny B.
12/12/2014 10:49:24 am
I don't want to bother visitors to this site.with more disputation. I do appreciate your saying that we share an appreciation of the mountain. I agree with that. But yes, I think the lodge has fundamentally changed. If you read the old Smoky Mountains Hiking Club handbooks you will see. I think I really don't care any more. I climbed the right fork of Shutts Prong last year, the last of the 12 streams of LeConte. I am not trying to prove I'm superior than everyone else. I simply have tried to explore this mountain by the best and most difficult routes on its slopes.
Matches
12/12/2014 04:27:19 pm
Well goodness, y'all make it seem like their closing a major road. There are plenty of trails in them there Smokies. Give the trail a break, try something new. Go over to Hangover Lead. Have a nice hike. Oh yea if it wasn't for the Park Service (Govt.) and all, you'd be driving up to LeConte @ $20 a car. Good day. Comments are closed.
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