by Larry Weir

Carol and I decided to celebrate our “sandwich” birthdays on October 16th and 17th with a bucket list item. Mount LeConte is the highest elevation in The Smoky Mountains in Tennessee at 6400 ft. We started the hike at 3500 feet. The trail we hiked is 11.6 miles in and out.

Mount LeConte was a challenging hike made more challenging with rain at the lower elevation and snow and low temperatures at higher elevations. We preserved, but the hike tested us to the limits, and I was humbled by the challenge. I’m still taking inventory of all my body parts which were close to failing. We stayed overnight at The Mount LeConte Lodge in a rustic cabin (propane heater, kerosene lamp, and no running water).

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