Fastest known time for the mile-high climb

Luke Bollschweiler's track on his mile-high challenge

 
 Are you up for a one-mile vertical climb? Mount Le Conte stands ready to test you. At 6,593 feet, High Top stands more than 5,280 feet above the West Prong of the Little Pigeon River in downtown Gatlinburg.

Luke climbing the Bullhead Trail

 Trail runner Luke Bollschweiler of Maryville, Tennessee, made that climb on Saturday, May 23. Starting on River Road in downtown Gatlinburg, Luke ascended the Sugarlands Trail and Bullhead Trail up to High Top, and then returned via Rainbow Falls Trail, Twin Creeks Trail, Cherokee Orchard Road, and Airport Road. That's 23.1 miles horizontally (plus a mile vertically) in 3:46:54.

 It's not a record he expects to last forever. As he wrote on Facebook: "I'm sure I have a FB friend reading this that could beat my new record—so go for it! I could see someone I know cranking out a 3:35!"

 The challenge was previously completed in 4:33:57 last Dec. 14 by Christopher Hanlon. Chris proposed these rules:

1. Start anywhere on River Road in Gatlinburg north of LeConte Creek. This ensures you start below 1313' MSL and gain a vertical mile to the summit.
2. Dip your hand or foot in the river and start your watch. Run to the summit of Mount Le Conte (High Top at 6,593) and back via any route of your choosing.
3. Stop your watch when you touch the river again at the bottom.

 Another possible route is from Emert's Cove below the covered bridge (el. 1,300) via Greenbrier and Trillium Gap.

 Luke also has the fastest known time for the Tour de Le Conte—running all six trails that lead to the mountaintop last Dec. 27. He estimates he has 20 summit trips to Le Conte. 

 To see other fastest known times for Mount Le Conte, click here and then click on route tabs below the map. 

 The vertical mile: There are a few other places in the Southeast where it is possible to climb a vertical mile.

 ➤Clingman's Dome (6,643 feet) could be approached by three long routes: 20 miles via the Sugarland Mountain Trail from Gatlinburg; or 25 miles via Tremont from the Little River in Townsend* (1,120 feet); or 32 miles via the Appalachian Trail from from the foot of Fontana Dam (1,276 feet). Luke ran most of this route (from the top of the dam to the Dome) in 6:52 on March 30, 2019. That was the first leg of the Smokies Challenge Adventure Run, which follows the Appalachian Trail through the Smokies. He completed the SCAR in 14:28:33 for 71.4 miles. That race is featured in the documentary film Ultraman.

 ➤Mount Guyot (6,621) from the vicinity of Cosby School (1,280). That's about 17 miles one-way.

 ➤Mount Mitchell (6,684) could be climbed from the town of Old Fort, N.C., where the Catawba River falls to 1,400 feet. There are two possible trail routes (via Graphite or Montreat) that would be about 25 miles one-way. Another option is the annual Assault on Mount Mitchell bicycle race, which starts in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and involves cumulative ascents of 11,000 feet (about 5,800 net) over 102.7 miles. 

 ➤Richland Balsam (6,410, the highest point along the Blue Ridge Parkway) via 35 road miles from Lake Jocassee (1,100) in South Carolina.
 ➤Grandfather Mountain (5,946). This would be a real stretch. Grandfather stands 4,746 above Lake James at the mouth of the Linville River. To get a full mile of climbing, you would need to start 78 miles away in Shelby, N.C., where the First Broad River falls to 666 feet. 

 * The lowest point in the national park is Abrams Creek at Lake Chilhowee (normal pool 874 feet). That would be a climb of 5,769 feet to Clingman's Dome, but there is not a practical route to hike it. The Abrams Creek campground is at 1,160 feet. From there, the hike to Clingman's Dome would be 35 miles. 

 The New England alternative would be climbing Mount Washington (6,288) from the town of Gorham, New Hampshire (800 feet), which is 15 miles away. If you run the annual Mount Washington Road Race, you'll be 630 feet short of a vertical mile. 

 In Colorado, the Pikes Peak Marathon climbs 7,800 feet to the 14,115-foot summit.
 Arizona has the Hole-to-Hump Challenge, which involves a 70-mile jaunt from the bottom of the Grand Canyon (Hance Rapids at 2,600 feet) to the top of Humphreys Peak, the state's highest point at 12,633 feet. The total climb is over 10,000 feet. 
 In California, the lowest point in the U.S. (Death Valley at minus-280 feet) and the highest peak in the Lower 48 (Mount Whitney at 14,495 feet) are both in the same county, so some hikers attempt the Lowest to Highest Route, a 135-mile-long, nearly 3-mile-high journey that usually takes almost a week.

A decade of 'I hiked it' T-shirts

Chivonne Smith climbed Le Conte for the 16th time to get this T-shirt
 

 Here are the "I Hiked It!" T-shirts designed by Le Conte Lodge since 2010. I found these images in the bountiful archives of the Lodge blog. Which design is your favorite? Leave a comment below.
 The 2020 design features the Lodge dining hall on the front (with a graphically understated "I Hiked It!" boast) and the trail maps on the back.

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014 front

2014 back

2013

2012

2011

2010

The glorious dawn of the post-quarantine era

Even after a plague, the son always rises (Photo by Up'N'Adam Adventures)

 When the Great Smoky Mountains National Park reopened May 9 following the COVID-19 shutdown, no one was surprised that the first men on the mountaintop were named Adam—Adam Gravett on his 63rd lifetime climb; Adam Williamson, 44th; Adam Ozment, 40th; along with "honorary Adam" Chris Maulden, 59th. They climbed by moonlight to Myrtle Point, defying two inches of crusty snow, to witness the first sunrise after the quarantine. Maulden and Ozment were also there for the first sunrise of 2020. 

Playing it cool: Gravett, Ozment, Williamson

 Ozment and Maulden each have made five sunrise trips to Myrtle Point this year. Ozment wins the tiebreaker for the early bird award, based on this even more auspicious sunrise at Max Patch. 
 Also on opening day, Dr. Ed Jones made his 422nd climb, ranking 15th on our honor roll. On May 10, Timothy Massey logged #60, Philip Clarkson #59, and Melissa Coatney #26. Clarkson, the winter caretaker at the Lodge, is the 2020 leader with 12 climbs. Massey is halfway to his goal of #20for2020. Coatney, now up to #27, is aiming for #100 by the Lodge's 100th anniversary.
 On May 11, the llamas made their first trip since the quarantine.  I'm assuming they were led by Alan Householder, who ranks in our Top 5 with more than 1,200 climbs.
 Le Conte Lodge officially reopened May 18 after an eight-week shutdown. Social distancing has changed the experience―for example, meals are being served in cabins, rather than the traditional family-style dinner and breakfast in the dining room. Here is a description of the changes.