No Rest for the Weary

Well, no surprises here. As I've done for the last several weeks, I followed up Tuesday's long run with yet another trip up LeConte. For this trek, I headed up the mountain with Joshua Jones who decided to celebrate his birthday with a trip up Alum Cave trail and down the Trillium/Brushy MT. Route.

Little Duckhawk Ridge

On the summit, it was another quiet day. Total, we saw four other folks near the lodge. Having the place largely to yourself is nice, but I am looking forward to LeConte Lodge being up and running soon.

Near Myrtle Point

Looking towards the Pinnacle

If you plan on using Trillium Gap trail anytime soon, you'll probably have some blowdowns. Maybe even some ice.

Birthday boy navigating an icy patch on Trillium

With side-trips and all this day's mileage totaled near 16. Had someone told me it was a 25 mile hike, I would have believed them.

And the fun doesn't stop there...

Thursday, I had decided, was my day to rest and catch up on some coursework. I'm terrible at both of these things. Dad called and was curious if I felt like biking in Cosby, well of course I was. The plan was to do an out and back on HWY 32 along the border of GSMNP. Me being me, I decided I would simply ride from Gatlinburg to meet pops in Cosby.

Route of Thursday's Ride

The ride from Gatlinburg to Cosby is agreeable to the eye, with views and waterfalls along the route. I would also say it can be an undulating stretch of highway, my legs were fairly well cooked by the time I hit Cosby.

Noisy Falls, holdin' true to its name

Mt. Cammerer in the background

Initially, I had decided I would come straight back along the HWY 321 route. As the day wore on I managed to convince myself that going home through the Pearl Valley area would be best, effectively adding about 15 miles to my ride.

At the turn around, Davenport Gap

Made it back to Gatlinburg in about 5hr15min, the day's route ended up totaling 70 miles. This trip made for my first of the season and allowed  ample time to plan this Spring's potential multi-day bike ride.