October 2022 Foliage, Mount LeConte of Great Smoky Mountain National Park

by admin

Second day of my road trip to the south Blue Ridge Mountains. I would be hiking to Mount LeConte, an iconic mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Mountains in Autumn Colors

This is actually the most popular trail in the park, per AllTrails. I planned to take a slightly different variation to Myrtle Point, totalling 20.9km roundtrip with 944m of elevation gain (though my GPS tracked closer to 19km).

Unfortunately I had some issues checking into the booked hotel in Pigeon Forge last night, so I woke up late and only left the hotel at 9am. After grabbing breakfast it’s 10am by the time I reached “Alum Cave Trailhead”. It’s a popular trail and the two small parking lots were already filled, so I parked at a turnout 400m from the trailhead. (Unlike many others, I didn’t trust my car’s clearance with parking on the shoulders.) So by the time I started my hike it’s 10:20am.
Here’s GPS tracking:

Park Road
Colors of foliage. Many cars used the road shoulders as overflow parking for Alum Cave Trail.
Walker Camp Prong
The first footbridge crossing the creek that flew along the park road.
Alum Cave Creek
The second footbridge crossing the creek that flew along the trail.
Alum Cave Creek
The same creek farther upstream. It only took a few hops from the trail to reach the waters.
Alum Cave Creek
The same creek farther upstream. It only took a few hops from the trail to reach the waters.

After leaving the trailhead, the trail first followed Alum Cave and then Styx Branch as its tributary. Foliage was extensive along this section, the golden colors of leaves under the sun’s illumination felt warm and welcoming, as they seemed to reward every step I took with a different view.

Trail
Trail
Trail
Trail
Trail
Trail
Trail
Trail
Trail
Trail
Trail
Trail
Footbridge
One across Styx Branch.
Trail
Trail

The trail followed the creeks closely, that in certain places, it’s just a few steps to reach the water, with more autumn colors around.

Alum Cave Creek
Alum Cave Creek
Alum Cave Creek
Alum Cave Creek
Styx Branch
Styx Branch
Styx Branch
Styx Branch
Styx Branch
Styx Branch

About 2km from the trailhead, one would reach Arch Rock. It’s like a tunnel where the trail passed through, an interesting rock formation.

Arch Rock
Arch Rock
Arch Rock

Not long after leaving Arch Rock, the trail departed from Styx Branch and continued uphill.

Styx Branch
Taken on a foot bridge. The trail departed from the creek from here on.
Dried Creek
Dried Creek
Dried Creek

And there were more foliage colors. The colors weren’t as extensive as earlier, but probably due to the higher elevations, some of the leaves were turning red, adding to the variety of the palette.

Trail
Trail
Trail
Foliage Colors
Foliage Colors
Trail
Trail
Trail
Trail

About 3km from the trailhead, the trail reached its first overlook, with views of surrounding mountains. Many opted to take rests at the boulders nearby. In my opinion, the colors of foliage were most stunning between this overlook and Alum Cave, at 3.5km.

Mountains
Mountains
Mountains
Mountains

Finally, at 11:30am, I reached Alum Cave, which, despite its name, was an alcove created by some overhanging cliffs. The angle of the rocky bluff made for some exciting sights, however, the trail underneath it was dusty and on a significant incline. Most hikers on the trail made Alum Cave their destination.

Alum Cave
Entrance to Alum Cave
Cliff of Alum Cave
Cliff of Alum Cave
View from Alum Cave
View from Alum Cave
Alum Cave

After some photos and rests at Alum Cave, I continued the hike just before noon. The trail was noticably quieter beyond Alum Cave.

Trail

Along certain sections of the trail cables were installed as handrails. In my opinion they were totally redundant when the trail was dry (it may be a different story in icy winters).
Trail

Along certain sections of the trail cables were installed as handrails. In my opinion they were totally redundant when the trail was dry (it may be a different story in icy winters).
Cliffs
Trail
Trail
Trail
Trail
Trail
Trail
Trail
Trail
Trail
Trail
Trail
Trees
Trail

Along the way there were a few overlooks, none as exciting as the first one though.

Mount LeConte
The cliffs of “Cliff Top” clearly visible in the left.
Mountains
Mountains
Called “West Point” on maps.
Mountains
Mountains
To the east, I don’t know their names.

Towards the top, coniferous forest started to dominate the landscape from the foliage colors earlier. They lined the trail in an almost ceremonial manner, as if to welcome me to the top.

Trail
Trail
Trail
Trail
Trail
Some steep ascent before the cliff top.
Trail
Some steep ascent before the cliff top.

At the trail junction of LeConte Lodge, I turned right and headed for “Cliff Top” first, which was a great overlook with views mostly to the south and west.

Mountains to the West
Mountains to the West
Mountains to the Southwest
Chimney Tops
Mountains to the West
“West Point” on maps.
Distant Clingmans Dome
Mountains to the West
Mountain Villas near Gatlinburg

In line with the name of “smoky” mountains, the mountains to the south against the sun, like Clingmans Dome, appeared hazy even though they weren’t that far away.

View from Cliff Top

I stayed for about half an hour at Cliff Top, before continuing onto Myrtle Point. There was a trail leading east from Cliff Top, bypassing LeConte Lodge, whose entrance was a bit hard to find at first.

Trail
Trail
Trail
Trail
Trail
Trail
Trail
Trail
Trail
Trail
Trail

Along the way to Myrtle Point, there was a clearing along the trail, offering views to the east, as a preview of Myrtle Point.

Mountains to the East
Mountains to the East
Mountains to the West
Mount Kephart and the Jumpoff, where I was the previous day.
Myrtle Point
Distant Newfound Gap

Summit of Mount LeConte

I passed this unremarkable summit on way to Myrtle Point. It’s hidden among dense forests without any views.

Finally, I reached Myrtle Point at 2:15pm. It’s another overlook, just like the previous “Cliff Top”, but this time facing east. Just that the views were as hazy.

Mountains to the South
Distant Mountains to the South
A tiny corner of the parking lot at Newfound Gap popped into the view.
Mountains to the South
The trail to Mount LeConte passed through the valley in the foreground.
Mountains to the Southeast
Anakeesta Knob. The ridge of Appalachian Trail in the background.
Mountains to the West
Mount Kephart and the Jumpoff, where I was the previous day.
Town of Pigeon Forge
Mount LeConte from Myrtle Point

But along the trail to Myrtle Point, there were a few clearings, offering views to the north, where the mountains showed up with their clearest details in the sun. I bet some of the mountains were also visible from Charlies Bunion, where I was the previous day. The variety of colors spanning the spectrum from red to green was a welcomed departure from the hazy views earlier today.

Mountains to the North
Mountain
Mountains to the North
Mountains to the North

I stayed at Myrtle Point till almost 3pm before heading back. Along the way, I checked out LeConte Lodge.
Built in 1926 and located close to the summit of Mount LeConte, it boasted as the highest guest lodge in the eastern United States. The lodge featured many individual cabins for visitors to experience the mountains in a stylish way. With its limited capacity, the lodge was highly sought-after with a lottery system for reservations.

For a lodge with only trail access, I was very surprised that it featured a proper dining hall with food services, unfortunately only available to overnight guests. So after a quick visit to the not-so-exciting gift shop, I continued downhill.

LeConte Lodge
LeConte Lodge
Lodge Office
This building also served as a gift shop.
LeConte Lodge
Mount LeConte Shelter
Some distance away from Mount LeConte Lodge, providing space for sleepbag campers.

And here was some more foliage along the trail.

Trail
Tree
I didn’t see its roots?
Trail
Trail
Trail
Trail
Trail
Trail
Trail

It’s a bit unfortunate that I slipped and injured my toenail along the way. Otherwise, things went smoothly and I was back at the parking lot at 5:40pm.

With enough daylight left, I made a few additional stops on my way back to the hotel. The first was at “Chimney Tops Overlook”, with views of some outstanding rocky spires. The trail leading to “Chimney Top” was a popular one in the park, but unfortunately for safety concerns, following a wildfire in 2016, the final section of the trail was closed to the public. Since the exciting part was off limits, it wasn’t on my list this time.