Mount LeConte Overnight Hike links:
• Phil's Place
• 1001 Hikes to Mt. LeConte and Counting
• A Community of Mt. LeConte Enthusiasts
• Great Smoky Mountains, Mt. LeConte - "The Great Smoky Mountains get more annual visitors than any other National Park in the U.S., but surprisingly most people never see the backcountry which has some of the most pristine wilderness in the Southeast. On this hike, we started at US 441 and climbed to the Mount Collins Shelter via the Husky Gap and Sugarland Mountain Trails. Once on the ridge, we followed the Appalachian Trail across Newfound Gap and up to the Boulevard Trail which crosses the summit of Mount LeConte at 6593 feet. There is both a shelter and clustering of commercial buildings available for rent on the mountain, and both Myrtle Point and High Top have spectacular views near the summit. The shortest decent from Mount LeConte is via the Alum Caves Trail, but this route takes the longer and more gradual decent along the Bullhead Trail. It intersects with the Two Mile Branch and Old Sugarlands Trails after 5.9 miles and these trails lead back to an overnight parking area at Sugarlands Visitor Center on US 441."
• Rambler's Trails, Hiking the Southern Appalachians - "Mount LeConte is one of the most popular destinations in the Smokies. Why is Mount LeConte so popular? A major draw is the lodge located just below its summit. The lodge has eight cabins and draws hundreds of hikers to the second highest peak in the park each year. Reservations are usually booked a year in advance. The views from Cliff Top and Myrtle Point are spectacular. In addition, the mountain is readily accessible with over 6 trails culminating on its summit. Alum Cave Trail and the Boulevard Trail are the favored routes to Mount LeConte. The Boulevard Trail is probably the easiest route to Mount LeConte. From Newfound Gap it is 8 miles to Mount LeConte via the Appalachian Trail and the Boulevard Trail. While the Alum Cave Trail is shorter at 5 miles, it is uphill all the way with about 2500 feet of elevation gain."
• Mount LeConte - "Eight, Four, Two Pole and Guest Marsh Wilkes set out from Two Pole's cabin early in the AM with the porch thermometer reading a balmy 0 degrees upon departure. Granny, Whiteman, Snowman, Bomber, Nena and Guest Laura Pounders had stayed the night in the limelight of Pigeon Forge and had enjoyed a warmer overnight temperature of around 9 degrees. We learn on the weather report that our destination for the night, Mount LeConte, had an overnight temperature of only -10 degrees and around 14 inches of snow. We also learn that all roads in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park are closed due to the snow."
• Mount LeConte, summitpost.org - "Mt. LeConte is located within Great Smoky Mountains National Park. At 6593 feet, it is the third highest peak in the park and the sixth highest in the whole Appalachian chain. The mountain rises abrubtly from east side of the French Broad River Valley in Tennessee approx. 30 miles south-east of Knoxville. The summit towers nearly a vertical mile above its western base near the busy tourist town of Gatlinburg. The mountain actually sits about 2 miles north of the main ridgeline of the Smokies, connected to Mt. Kephart by a ridge known as the Boulevard."
• Mt LeConte, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Hiking & Overnight - "Located at 6,593ft elevation on the top of Mt LeConte in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, LeConte Lodge is the only place where a visitor can sleep overnight in a snug, permanent structure with hot and hearty meals on tap. The cozy rough-hewn cabins are furnished with upper and lower double bunks making them ideal for two couples or a family. There is no electricity, the mellow glow of kerosene lamps light your accommodations and propane heaters warm the cabins. There are flush toilets but no showers, basins are in all cabins for sponge baths but no one is anxious to get wet all over as the daytime temperature has never reached the 80’s even in the height of summer."
• The Hike - "Today, LeConte Lodge is the highest inn providing lodging for visitors in the East. Although LeConte is the third highest mountain in the Park at 6,595 feet, it is actually the "tallest" mountain in the Eastern United States, rising over a vertical mile from Gatlinburg. Rustic accommodations include the lodge, a dining hail, and a cluster of small cabins equipped with double-bunk beds. Dinner at the dining hall is served at 6 p.m., breakfast at 8 am. A packtrain of llamas brings food, bed linens, and other supplies to and from the Lodge three times a week. These animals do not damage these heavily used trails as much as horses."
