MOUNT LECONTE
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
107 Park Headquarters Road
Gatlinburg, TN 37738
(865) 436-1200
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.
- click to see a video from this backpacking trip in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park: February 3, 2005
- click to see trail photos from this winter hike to Mt. LeConte: February 3-6, 2005
- click to view a detailed trip report for this backpacking trip in the Smokies: February 3-6, 2005 (password required)
- click to view a trip report for this backpacking trip in the Smokies: February 3-6, 2005 (password required)
- click to view this hike at yourhikes.com and add your trip report or feedback
- click to view maps of this hike in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park: area map, detailed maps: day one, day two, day three, profile map
- click to see a Great Smoky Mountains National Park map, Great Smoky Mountain National Park trail map
- click to see a recap of our annual cold weather Klondike Hikes into the wilderness which began in the early 90’s
- click for more information on the Appalachian Trail
- click for the Long Trail discussion forum
- click for the Southeastern Destinations discussion forum
- click for Appalachian Trail hiking and backpacking books
- click for other North Carolina hiking and backpacking books
- click to access the guidebook Trail By Trail: Backpacking In The Smoky Mountains which has details on this destination
- click for other hikes in Great Smoky Mountain National Park
Speak Your Mind