Mt. Leconte

I'd heard about Mt. Leconte from my dad. He and my brother had hiked up the mountain over a decade ago. Dad had enjoyed it so much that he'd been talking about it ever since. Mt. Leconte is like a primitive bed and breakfast located on top of the Smokey Mountains. Guests hike up the mountain (it takes approximately 5 hours – depending on how hard you go at it) and stay in small kerosene heated and lighted cabins. Dinner is served at 6 p.m. and is followed by a stunning sunset that is best viewed at a bare rock at the point of the mountain – about fifteen minutes from the cabins. After a hard sleep, if you are able to wake up, you can view the sunrise, have a hearty breakfast and head back down the mountain. The trails up and down are filled with postcard perfect views and your guaranteed to get a workout.

There is only one problem – the cabins usually fill up a year in advance. With an active family of four – planning that far out is difficult at best. But with the kids on spring break we were looking for something quick to do as a family - we called Mt. Leconte on a whim and asked if there happened to be any cancellations that week. It just so happened there was a guy who had just called in with a torn ACL. We took the reservation immediately and drove the 5 hours down to Tennessee two days later.

What a great time. There is nothing like the solitary act of hiking a mountain that strips the real world stress away. It's easy enough to enjoy the scenery and difficult enough that your brain can't wander back into work or personal problems. My wife is a photographer and we stopped often for her to snap off a shot of nature. She took over 300 pictures in 24 hours and would have probably taken more if she wasn't so tired by the end of the trek. We were proud of our 9 and 11 year olds. They had a blast and usually had to be told to get back on the trail or slow down (I have a healthy fear of heights and I have to admit to having some stress watching the kids on some of the more challenging paths). In these times of child obesity, as a parent, there is no small joy to watching your kids hike up and down a mountain.

We came back worn, sore and wanting to go back. There was some sacrifice for me – my calves were so sore from the down hill (I got to carry the family backpack) that I couldn't run for a number of days. This threw my training off and caused me to miss the last leg of the Louisville Triple Crown of Racing. But there will be other races. The purpose of my running is to relieve stress and be healthy. I was doing that on Mt. Leconte and enjoying my family. It doesn't get much better than that.