Sunday, May 15, 2011

A Mt. LeConte Initiation

Thursday I had the opportunity to take my old college roommate on his first trip up LeConte. Though more of a slack(line)er and rock climber than hiker, he surprised me by making the trip up Alum Cave Trail in a little over two hours.

Stinkin' Willie near Gracie's Pulpit

For Hoy's first trip up I'd hoped for a crisp day with unlimited visibility... we didn't quite get it. But this time of year just being able to see out from the summit is a stroke of luck.



Not great visibility, but plenty of good cloud watching

Some people know how to live

Though setting a brisk pace up the mountain, we were by no means in a hurry and spent almost two hours goofing around and eating a buffet of leftovers we toted up the mountain.


Drinking in the views before heading back down
Since the trip up didn't blow his legs to pieces I thought I'd set a quick pace down the mountain and see if I couldn't break the guy down. No such luck. I think the only person that may have been beaten up some may have been my Dad, who was somewhat bitter about the brutal downhill pace.

Satisfactorily Exhausted
Despite demands for a double cheeseburger with mac sauce and a 4 piece chicken mcnugget, Hoy survived his first LeConte climb without complaint. Maybe next time I'll have to make him run up instead...

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