On top of Mount LeConte in the Great Smoky Mountains

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We came through the north entrance of Great Smoky Mountain National Park.  As we went through Sieverville, TN, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, we were bombarded with touristy attractions - the McCoy and Hatfield dinner show, Magic Quest, Dollywood, Nascar Racetrack, Wonderworks ... the list goes on.  I haven't seen this many tourist traps since we lived in Orlando.  My kids had said "whoa" and "coooool" but to their credit they did not beg to go.  We made it to our hotel The Park Vista, just inside the park.  It was a pretty hotel with a beautiful view of the mountain we were going to climb the next day.  We were heading up to LeConte Lodge to spend the night.  It was on top of Mt. Le Conte, the 3rd tallest mountain on the east coast.

View from the Park Vista balcony. I THINK the high peak at the left is Mount LeConte

 That evening my husband and I drove into the park.  I said I wanted to get an idea of where to start.  It was a bit confusing from the information I got off the internet.  We wanted to climb the same way the llamas went up to deliver supplies to the lodge.  I found Rainbow Falls Trail head and it said Trillian Gap Trail 0.1 miles.  Great that was it.  Little did we know. :(

To make a long story short, hiking  3 miles we were in the parking lot of Grotto Falls where we found the llama trailer (empty) and the start of the 6 mile climb on Trillian Gap.  My kids were not happy.  Nonetheless, we went onward.  It seemed to go up and up without stop till we got to the top.  In the end, we backpacked 9 miles and 6 hours.

Want to avoid the tourists, take the Trillion Gap trail.

We met the llamas that bring supplies up to the LeConte Lodge on the trail - they were coming down.

There was a cloud sitting on the mountain, the lodge appeared as if coming out of a mist.  We were all sooooo happy.  The cabin was one room, with a queen size bunk bed, a twin bed, kerosene lantern for light at night, some cups, a wash bin and a propane heater.  I called it our Laura Ingells cabin.  The manager gave us a bucket to take down to the kitchen where we can pump hot water and bring it to our room.  (There is a limited amount of hot water.  I get the impression that once the kitchen closes then the hot water starts to runout.)  We took our bucket and our cups to the eating area where the lodge has hot chocolate out for the guests.  I had 3 cups.  We then got some hot water went to the cabin and sat on the porch while we washed our feet from the day's hike.

Through the mists we saw LeConte Lodge, ok so this isn't the trail we came in but we left this way :)

I just laid on the bottom bunk with the doors open and listened to the people talk in the other cabins.  They have been coming for 8 years, 20 years, 6 years, 15 years and they just told stories and I listened.   I loved it.  Then we heard the ring of the triangle to come down to dinner.  The food was delicious, of course, we could have been hungry from our long day hike or perhaps it was the altitude. :)  Either way, I loved it.  In the evening we went to the main house where they had lots of board games.  We spent a couple of hours there.  As it got dark, we lit the lantern on the table to see what we were playing.Many of the guests sat around the heater in the center and told stories. 

Left the door open and just listened to the people talk in the mists

I called it our Laura Ingells cabin, it's a little bigger then a tent but not much :)

 As we walked back on the slate pathway to our cabin, I remarked that the Lodge made me think of the towns that sprung up during the gold rush.  I said this is how I kind of imagined it.  That night, my husband and I slept on the top bunk (my kids had various reasons not to).  I woke up a couple of hours after dark smelling propane gas and having to go to the bathroom.  I told him I was feeling woozy and I thought it was the gas.  He said it's fine however he needed to go to the bathroom as well.  So, we grabbed the key and our flashlight and went.  Our host at dinner said to put all of the food we brought up the mountain in a container at the main lodge.  He said that they were having some problems with bears, not bad but some problems.  I thought of that as I walked to the bathroom.

Waiting for Hot Chocolate in the morning.

When we got back we opened the door to the cabin.  All I could smell was propane gas, it was thick.  I said, this isn't right, this isn't oxygen we're breathing.  I said we needed to sleep with the window open.  He didn't smell it (although he had a cold all week) but agreed to the window.  I slept under the covers.

When we awoke, the fumes were less.  My hubby had already went out exploring.  I opened the doors and went to see if the clouds had dispersed.  It was and I can see the mountain below us covered in mist, like mountains poking through snow.  Alas, it did not last too long.  Soon it was time for breakfast and we were ready to head down the mountain.

Ready to come down the mountain (Le Conte)

I'm happy to say we took Rainbow Falls trail home and it was only 6 miles and 4 hours.  My oldest child decided she was not going to pee until she got to the bottom.  She hates peeing in the woods however the last hour all I heard was how she had to pee. Once we reached the falls we couldn't really stop to pee anyway because there were so many people.  We reached the bottom and the potty!  We checked into a hotel, hit the shower and then the pool with the big slide.  We ordered room service and slept on soft beds with down feather pillows.  It was nice but LeConte Lodge was definitely memorable. 

A couple of tips I wish someone told me:

• Grotto Falls Parking for Trillian Gap and Rainbow Falls for rainbow falls trail up.  I think they are both the same difficulty however Trillian was much less traveled.
• Most hikers take the Rainbow Falls trail, Trillian gap is practically empty, we bumped into the lamas and a couple of tourists from Mt. Le Conte Lodge, but otherwise quiet.  Mind you, the trail is a bit more difficult but my teen and tween did it, as well as my 40 something yr old body :)
• We didn't need to pack so much, I think a couple of bottles of water and a change of clothes or at least just a change of underwear.
• We did not eat on the way down except a Cliff bar.  We all wanted to get down, however we had a bagged lunch that we bought at the lodge, which was a decent lunch when we got back to the room.  You do not have to carry it up the mountain - so I would consider purchasing it for the way down.
• You can go up to the Lodge and not stay the night.  They have lunch for day travelers but I don't think they can guarantee they will have it.
• We didn't have phone service on the trail, I didn't try at the lodge but my hubby said he saw someone on the phone.
• I hear the boulevard trail is quite an adventure (as is the Alum trail) trail and probably not good for the faint of heart.  Of course, that makes me want to go, perhaps when the kids are a few years older. ;)   

That was our cabin to the left. This my good bye picture of LeConte Lodge

Our path down Mt. LeConte (in the Great Smokey Mountains) was a stream of water

Into the mists of the forest, at the top of the Rainbow Falls Trail where few tourist seek.