February 05th, 2013

2/5/2013

a nasty blowdown on the alum cave trail and some ice formations.

Morning y'all,

It's still quite snowy atop the mountain. The high yesterday reached 29 degrees. The low was 16 degrees. It was 28 degrees and foggy at 7am observation. The mountain received no new precipitation and the sun yesterday melted off some snow, leaving us with about 6 inches up top. The roads to Rainbow and Alum are back open, thanks to the trusty Park Service road crews. You can monitor the road status through the Park Service's twitter feed.

great sky along alum cave trail.

However, the trails are in some rough shape. The only one I would confidently recommend is Rainbow Falls. There are no significant blowdowns and the snow is manageable (less than ankle deep) until you reach the Rocky Spur overlook. I haven't heard any reports from Bullhead, but that was littered with blowdowns earlier this winter and I'm sure that is still the case. Alum is a beast of a hike right now. It typically takes me around 2 hours, but yesterday's hike up was a 3.5 hour affair. There's one crazy blowdown between the Cave Bluffs and the first log staircase that took me 10 minutes to get thru and scraped me up a bit. Once you reach the double stair, the snow is between ankle deep and shin deep. There were knee deep drifts along some of the ledges. Be sure to use caution and realize this hike may take you twice as long as it typically does.

mmmhmmm.

That being said, the challenge of Alum after descending Rainbow in the morning was fulfilling. I was treated to some 'great sky' along the upper ledges, watching the sunset from an overlook with a view of Clingman's Dome. Bounding through knee deep drifts with shorts and short gaiters is always a joy. It brought me back to my first experience in the Smokies, on my 2010 thru-hike with my comrade First Man. Our wicked fast 5 hour descent to Mt. Collins shelter from Clingman's Dome was the definition of type II fun. It was so exasperating at the time, but now it stands in elite company with Ktaadn as some of my most vivid memories of the trail. All these seemingly insurmountable challenges percolate within us and become treasured memories as the time passes, polished with an increasingly finer hue, our shining pearls in oyster skulls.

Brian

2/5/2013 01:49:57 am

Hey JP, as always I enjoyed the post. It seems maybe your knee is doing better by the way you are getting around the mountain. I hope the snow stays with you a while, but it sounds like warmer weather is on the way. Take care and as always, thanks for what you do.

Ronnie TN

2/5/2013 01:52:40 am

Beautiful Pictures! Is this on Alum trail with the ice? Glad your knee is doing well JP.

2/5/2013 02:08:31 am

Ronnie,
Yup, all the photos today are from Alum. The ice photo is just past the Cave Bluffs, where there was a nasty landslide with blowdowns that the PS cleared...

btn

2/5/2013 03:06:24 am

Happy bd

IN Tony

2/5/2013 03:25:54 am

@JP. I am familiar with the log steps (~3m) and the upper steps (~3.6m) along Alum but where is the spot you reference as "double stair"?

2/5/2013 09:18:09 am

I agree. JP, or someone, please clarify the refference to the "double stairs." Thanks!

2/5/2013 09:37:56 am

Hey guys,
It's that last staircase. That's what I've always heard it referred to... my best guess would be that it's further along than 3.6, but who knows.

Drewbe

2/5/2013 03:32:55 pm

Hey guys was wondering what is the best map of Alum with all these type of descriptions and markers. Any suggestions would be helpful. I am hoping to make a trip up over Presidents day weekend just wanted to prepare a bit more. I have made 5 trips up but none during February. Looking so forward to it. Thanks.

Tony Ga

2/6/2013 02:43:36 am

Drewbe, try this one. You don't really need a map for this trail, but this one marks some of the sites to see on your way up.
http://www.mtleconte.com/acblocations.html

Sheldon - other Trails

2/5/2013 03:33:43 am

Enjoyed a Rainbow up, Trillium down yesterday (2/5). Trillium has 4-5 blow downs, all above Brushy junction and all very manageable. Drifts were the same as JP mentioned, but only in the top 1/4 of the trail. Regarding Bullhead, on 12/29/12 there were a dozen plus blow downs. They are all manageable, but not necessarily worth the trouble of leaving the trail or crawling through on 6-7 of them. As JP said, Rainbow is the way to go. JP good to meet you guys yesterday. Ask Shawn what it is like to have a total stranger out on the trail call him by name from about 50 yards away.

hrtn

2/5/2013 03:52:57 am

Absolutely blown away b!

Kent

2/5/2013 04:39:44 am

I'm looking forward to hiking up the Alum Cave Trail when I come down in April. I've only done it once before about 13 years ago. Back then, cycling was was my primary activity.

I only had one water bottle with me and no food. I was hiking fast, though, and passed people on the way down that I passed on the way up. (I just decided I was going to do do a power-hike, I guess, even though legs weren't really conditioned for it.)

The next day, my legs felt like they'd been run over repeatedly by a semi-truck. :(

I'm certain my second time up the trail I'll savor the experience more. :)

Great post today, JP!

2/5/2013 12:12:09 pm

We did the same thing the first time we hiked up. Took a Friday off work and hiked up. We went fast passing everybody. Almost died at the top cause we didn't realize the temp drop up there. The next day we could barely walk. We loved it so much we took the very next Friday off and hiked it again taking our time and enjoying every minute.

Devin R

2/6/2013 12:04:27 am

You know it's hard to balance the need to get up and back with the desire to savor the trail as a day hiker. For the life of me, I can't (yet) convince my wife to stay at the Lodge, and lord knows I'll never get her to camp at a shelter, so all of our trips are up-and-backs...and she's always worried about making it back before dark.

We're getting better at it though...learning to take some side trails, spending more time relaxing at Myrtle Point after lunch, etc...but it does take a few trips to get comfortable with how much time you need. We're about 2.5 to 3 hours up and 2 hrs down. I'm also trying to warm her up to the idea of watching the sunset and using Headlamps to make it down...trying to convince her that they're pretty darn bright and we wouldn't be the only ones traveling Alum after dark anyway! No such luck yet though!

Enjoy your trip in April!

2/6/2013 03:43:27 am

I definitely savored my second trip up to LeConte via Rainbow Falls last July. When a couple at 10-15 older than me passed me on the way up, I started to feel a bit old and out of shape. But then I realized I had flat lander legs, so...

I would love to try night hiking, at some point. Hopefully your wife will come around to the idea, Devin. I packed a headlamp when I hiked up in early November, but didn't need it. I kind of wish I had.

Take care guys!

Debi

2/5/2013 07:34:15 am

Beautiful pic today!

Sunshine

2/5/2013 10:35:46 am

JP I love reading your posts every morning. I look forward to the pictures you post, they are incredible. I am so glad you are back. You have a way with words that makes me feel like I am on the mountain. We made our first summit to LeConte on 12/1/12. Sounds like your knee is well on the way to mending. Take care!

Billie A

2/5/2013 01:19:47 pm

Hey, JP That Feb 4th picture of high top just tickled a 13 year old girl. She hiked up to the top, in July via Alum. The soles separated on both boots near the top. As a tribute to her Accomplishment of the Challenging hike, she placed the soles on the rock pile. At the top of the snowy pile appears to be one of those soles. (Especially zoomed in). Thank you for making her day!

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February 05th, 2013

LeConte Lodge

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