Milestones at the mountaintop: 2019 updates

Kilt it! Bill Yeadon's goal was to climb Le Conte 75 times before turning 75. He made it with 5 years to spare.

 Tennessee's Mount Le Conte may be the most addictive peak in the Southeast—if not all of America. When the roll is called up yonder, dozens of hikers can say they have climbed Le Conte more than a hundred times. Six men have made it more than a thousand times.
 Since I launched this project in 2012, I've identified 51 men and 20 women who have climbed Le Conte at least 100 times. I am aware of a few others who are not yet listed, and I encourage them to let me know their totals or estimates. 

 From the Lodge logbooks this summer, I've added Dr. Ed Jones of Knoxville with #413, Larry Russell of Sevierville with #238, Stephen Sidbury of Knoxville with #220, Mae and Roger Snyder of Maryville with #208, Alvin Sanders with 200-plus, Kent Roberts of Maryville with #172, Earl Monger #166, Greg Donahue of Pigeon Forge with #162, Keith and Darla Large of Pigeon Forge with #116, Ben Fitzgerald from Augusta with #109, Jenny Rhyne with #105-plus, Jeff Wadley of Kingsport with #105, Brian Worley of Knoxville with #103, Gary White of Double Springs, Ala., with #102, and Steve Odom of Kingsport with #102. 
 I've added Charles Engelbracht of Waynesville, N.C., who estimates he has climbed Le Conte more than 100 times—as he started about 1978 and has been making the trip three to four times a year for 40 years. 

 Also, I've posted #141 in memory of Ernest LuAllen, who suffered a fatal heart attack on the Alum Cave trail in 1992. I was glad to find his total in Paul Dinwiddie's journal.

2019 Leaders

39 Adam Gravett (58 lifetime)

29 Dr. Ed Jones (416)

24 Larry Russell (238)

19 Adam Ozment (33)

15 Roy Helton (29)

12 Linten Atkins (100)

12 Nelson Eddy (50)

2019 logbook
Listed in alphabetical order:

 MELISSA ADAMSON, Pittsburgh, Pa., #32 on May 6. 
 SCOTT ADKISSON, #17 on Aug. 16. 
 DREW AKIN of Nashville TN, #21 on Aug 29 along with his sister DEMI AKIN, #3. Drew said this is the 17th consecutive year he has climbed Le Conte, starting at age 6. He is carrying on the tradition established by his grandfather BILLY AKIN, who climbed Le Conte 48 times.
 MIKE ALEXANDER, #29 on July 8.
 ADAIR ALLEN of Knoxville TN, #21 on Sept. 11. 
 DAREL ANDERLE, #50 on Aug. 25. 
 SHIRLEY ARGABRIGHT, #14 on July 28.
 AMY E. ARNOLD, #15 on Sept. 2.  
 D.J. ATCHLEY #32 on Sept. 22.
 CLAY ATHERTON, #25 on Oct. 7, with Tracie Atherton #12. 
 LINTEN ATKINS of Newport TN, #100 on Dec. 31 (via Bulhead), #99 on on Dec. 23 (via Alum), #98 on Nov. 24, #97 on Nov. 21, #96 on Oct. 5, #95 on Sept. 20 (with SHANA ATKINS #11), #94 on Sept. 2, #93 on Aug 16, #91 on July 5, #90 on June 14, #88 on May 9 (with CONNER ATKINS #24).

 CLYDE AUSTIN II of Kingston NC, #77 on Oct. 11.
 JULIE BABB, #15 on Sept. 29.
 KARETZA BACKUV of Pigeon Forge TN, #23 on July 29. 
 RANDY BAKER #40 on June 28.
 DAVID BALDWIN #38 & CLAIRE BALDWIN #20 from Brentwood TN., on July 17.
 JAN & DENNY BARKIMER, #22 on Oct. 14. 
 SCOTT BARNES of Harriman, #20 on Oct. 17. 
 PAMELA LEWIS BARRS from Knoxville TN, #53, on Oct. 21. "Going for 100," she wrote in the Logbook after #50 on Sept. 9.
 STEVE BARRS from Knoxville TN, #37 on Oct. 18. 
 KELLY BARRY, #30 on Sept. 1. 
 MARVIN BEARD, #36 on Aug. 15.
 KENT BEDENBAUGH of Columbia SC, #22 on July 21. 
 JOYCE & KARLA BELL, from Aiken, S.C., #33 on Sept. 8. 
 JENNIFER BENNETT, #23 on Aug. 22. 
 TINA INGE BENTRUP, #33 on Sept. 2. 
 TONY BERRY #35 on July 12.
 ED BEST JR. of Maryville TN, #60 on Aug. 31. 
 BRANDI BIVENS of Lenoir City TN, #20 on July 29.
 RACHEL GOETZE BLACK of Knoxville TN, #17 on Dec. 28, #16 on Oct. 13, #15 on Sept. 7.
 SHIRLEY BLACK of Alabama, #18 on July 5.
 J. BLANK of Knoxville, #331 on Oct. 13. 
 GEORGE BOATWRIGHT, Louisville, Ky., #30 on July 20. 
 PARKER BOWLING, #19 on Sept. 21. 
 JANICE BOOTH, #24 on June 1.
 JOEL BOOTH, #24 on June 1.
 TOM BOOTH of Laceys Springs AL, #24 on June 1.
 BRAD BOWERS #40 on July 12. 
 TOM BOWERS #30 on July 12. 
 MISSY BOWERS, #18 on July 12.
 PAUL BOWLEY, #25 on Sept. 1. With LINDSAY BOWLEY, #10.  
 HANK BOWMAN, #21 on July 21. 

 CHARLIE BRADY of Boone NC, #34 on Oct. 30, marking the 29th consecutive year he has climbed Le Conte. 

 GALEN BRADLEY of Sevierville, #30 on Oct. 7. 
 GARY BRIDGES of Raleigh NC, #35 on Oct. 19, with Aimee Bridges, 24 straight years. 
 SCOTT BRISTOW #30 on July 26. 
 PHIL BROOKOVER, #20 on Sept. 29. 
 KENNY BROWN, #50 on June 26. 
 CHARLOTTE M. BURDETTE, Knoxville TN, #58 on Oct. 24, #57 on Oct. 10, #56 on May 25.
 JOE CAGLEY, #26 on Sept. 20. Previously: #25 on July 25; #24 on May 31, hiked up Alum Cave Bluff Trail in 1:30 and jogged down in 1:05.
 CHRIS CALVERT, #19 on June 18. 
 KEITH CAMERON of Mascot TN, #14 on Oct. 18.
 RAY CAMERON, #20 on Aug. 27, his 73rd birthday.
 DOUG CAPEHART of Cincinnati OH, #21 on Oct. 29. 
 HARRY CARLTON of Hendersonville TN, #36 on Oct. 19. 
 BOB CARR, #32.
 JOSH CARR of Pigeon Forge TN, #20 on June 15. 
 SCOTT CARUSO of Huntsville AL, #20 on Oct. 9, with SALVADORE CARUSO #20.
 RIC CHANDLER, #67 on Aug. 19—matching his age. 
 BILL CHATFIELD, #50 on June 9. 
 ARLENE CHERRY #30 & RON CHERRY #30, Knoxville, on June 29.
 BRIAN CHISOM #25 and JANET CHISOM #13, from Virginia, on Aug. 12. 
 JOHN CLAPP of Raleigh NC, #25 on July 12.
 JAMES CLARK #36 & DENISE CLARK #23, on May 20.
 PHILIP "P-NUT" CLARKSON #30, from Maryville, Tenn.
 JOHN CLAYTON of Gatlinburg TN, #18 on Nov. 4, #17 on May 31.
 MELISSA COATNEY, #24 on Dec. 23, #23 on Nov. 11 in 1:40 up Alum Cave, and #22 on Oct. 14 in 2:26 up the 6.6 mile Rainbow Falls trail. She has set a goal of climbing Le Conte 100 times by 2026—the 100th anniversary of Le Conte Lodge. 
 STEVE COX #18 and JUDY COX #17, Oct. 3. 
 ROBERT CULBERTSON #33 & MICHELLE CULBERTSON #27 on Sept. 28. 
 BILLY & KATHY CULWELL of Hayden AL, #17 on Sept. 21. 
 LOLITA D., from Ukraine, #24 on Sept. 11.
 RADD DAIGLE, #31 on Oct. 18. 
 HILARY DAVIDSON #28, MARTIN DAVIDSON #28, GRANT DAVIDSON #28 on Sept. 8.
 BRENDA DAVIS, #41 on Sept. 2. 
 SUSAN DELTON, #30, on Aug. 8. She wrote in the logbook: "30+ years."
 GREG DONAHUE of Pigeon Forge TN, #162 on Dec. 20, #161 on Oct. 11, #160 on Sept. 6, #159 on June 28.
 ELLIE DOUGHTY, #38 on Aug. 13.
 PAUL DOUTHITT #22 and KATHY DOUTHITT #22 on Oct. 3. 
 DENNIS DuBOSE, #36 on Oct. 22, with HOLLY DuBOSE #30. 
 MARGARET ANNE DUBOSE of St. John's Episcopal Church in SC, #17 on Oct. 25. 
 KAREN DUNEGAN, #21 on Aug. 30. 
 AARON DuVALL of Louisville KY, #21 on Oct. 3.
 DR. NANCY EAST, #17, #18, and #19 as she completed the Tour Le Conte on Oct. 25. Previously Oct. 15. 

 NELSON EDDY of Murfreesboro TN, #50 on July 27. Nelson climbed Le Conte 12 straight months to celebrate his 50th birthday, and repeated the feat as he turned 60. He joined a notable club with #50, including Steve Oliphant, Adam Gravett, and David Worth.
 DOUG EDWARDS of Maryville TN, #82 on Sept. 27. 
 NANCY EIKORR, #26 on June 6. 
 DAWN EIPELDAUER of Oak Ridge, 50 consecutive years. 
 JANE EPP of Sylva NC, #20 on June 9.
 ROBERT EMORY, #26 on Oct. 4.
 BOBAK ETEZADI of Knoxville TN, #23 on Sept. 14, with AMIR ETEZADI #15. 
 BILL EVANS of Knoxville TN, #26 on Sept. 11. 
 MIKE & PAULINE FANGUY, #46 on Sept. 19. 
 TONY FITCH of Morristown TN, #15 on Aug. 4. 

 BEN FITZGERALD of Augusta GA, #109 on Oct. 30, #108 on Oct. 28.
 STEVE & HANNAH FRANKLIN of Knoxville TN, #30 on Sept. 14. 
 GARY S. FREE of Tallassee TN, #18 on Sept. 27, #16 on Sept. 14. 
 SUSAN FRICKS of Charleston SC, #22 on Aug. 8. 
 JERRY & BETH GILLEY, Maryville TN, #30 on Sept. 17. 
 SHANE GILLESPIE, #19 on Oct. 3. 
 GEOFF GLIBBERY, #17 on Aug. 16. 
 JENNIFER GOOD, #50 on Nov. 4. 
 DAVE GOODY, #69 on Sept. 5. 
 JACK GOTTING of Louisville KY, #17 on Sept. 16. 
 TIM GRANT, Taylors SC, #27 on Sept. 1. With MADDIE GRANT, #10.
 ADAM GRAVETT, #58 on Dec. 21, #57 on Nov. 24, #50 on July 21. He did #55 on Sept. 21 to celebrate his 52nd birthday with sunrise at Myrtle Point. Three of his summit trips were on May 1, when he completed the Tour de Le Conte with ADAM WILLIAMSON and ADAM OZMENT. 
 MIKE GRAYBEAL of Burlington NC, #28 on Sept. 1. 
 DANA GUMP, #27 on Nov. 2, #23 on June 14.
 ANNA HALTIWANGER #79 & WILL HALTIWANGER #78 from Columbia SC, on Aug. 9.
 CHARLIE & BRANDY HAMMACK, of Morristown, Tenn., #32 on Sept. 27, #31 on Sept. 2. 
 NORM HARBER of Goodlettsville TN, #32 on Oct. 3. He has been leading church group hikes to the Lodge since 1992, and this was probably their last trip because the Lodge no longer allows them to grandfather their annual date. 
 ROBIN HARDIN, Tennessee, #26 on July 21.
 TERRY HARDY, #20 on July 26. 
 LEE HARWELL, #38 on Oct. 11 for sunrise. Previously #37 on Sept. 13.
 FRED HARRISON, IAN HARRISON, and KELLY HARRISON from Lebanon OH and Florence KY, #25 on Aug. 12. 
 LARRY & BETH HARWOOD, #24 on Aug. 30. 

 KAREN HATFIELD #50 & RANDY HATFIELD #50 on Christmas Day (sunrise)

Previously #49 on Nov. 3, #48 on July 27. 
 MIKE HAWK, #69 on Oct. 5. 
 BEV HAWKINS, #15 on Aug. 15.
 TIM HEATH, Clyde, N.C., #31 on July 14. 
 ROY HELTON of Pigeon Forge TN climbed Le Conte 15 times in 2019. HIs lifetime total was about #29 on June 19. 
 CARRIE HENDERSON of Waterloo SC, #15 on July 19. 
 BARRY HILL, #30-plus according to the logbook Sept. 7, est. 25 in March 2020.
 LINDA HILL of Tennessee, #30-plus, on Aug. 8, celebrating her 64th birthday.
 TYKE HILLMER, Knoxville, #31 on June 28.
 DORIS HIPPS, #31 on Sept. 12. 
 RICK HOBSON of Hilton Head SC, #36 on Oct. 20. 
 STEVE HOGG of Lexington KY, #30 on Nov. 11. 
 RONNIE HOLBERT, #63 on Sept. 1—his first summit hike in nearly six years, and his first hike since having knee replacement surgery. 
 GREG HOLDEN, of St. Petersburg FL, #30-something on Aug. 18. 
 ALLAN HOLLADAY #27 & OLIVIA HOLLADAY #22, on July 17. 
 JIM HOLLIS of Rock Hill SC, #45 on Nov. 10, #41 on May 20.
 DEBBIE HOLLIS #12, May 20.
 NATALIE HOUGHTON of Knoxville TN, #20 on Aug. 2.
 JORDAN HOUGHTON of Chattanooga TN, #20+ on Aug. 2. 
 CONNIE HOUK, #41 on Oct. 13.
 JACK HOWARD, #27 on Nov. 19. 
 ANDY HUFF #48 and CYNDI BOWLING #46 led the annual hike by descendants of Lodge founder JACK HUFF, who probably climbed LeConte more than 2,500 times. Also in the Aug. 9 group were PARKER BOWLING #18, HUNTER HUFF #16, and CAIT BOWLING #14.
 BOB IRWIN #36 & JANET IRWIN #34, from Greencastle, Indiana. I met the Irwins on Mount Collins July 29 and we talked about Le Conte, and they shared their lifetime totals. As I described this blog to them, they said they had heard of a preacher who had climbed Le Conte about 1,500 times. The only preacher I know of is the late Rufus Morgan, "Moses of the Mountains", who finished with 174. If you know of a preacher (or anyone else) who is missing from the honor roll, please let me know. Email LeConteLog@gmail.com.
 ROB HUTCHINSON, Atlanta, #24 on Aug. 12.
 JESSICA ISAF, #22 on July 20. 
 LARRY ISRAEL, #46 on June 3. 
 SUZANNE JACKSON #25 & ROBERT JACKSON #25 on July 4.

 DRU JAMES #30 & ENNIS JAMES #30 on Oct. 29. "Trip #30, birthday #70," they wrote in the logbook. "Hope to have more of both."
 DANNY JANSEN, #20 on July 7. 

 JOHN & MARY SUE JENKINS, #39 on Oct. 9. 
 MIKE JENNINGS, Chattanooga TN, #55 on Aug. 8.
 NITA & JIM JOHNSTON, #32 on June 28.
 DR. ED JONES of Knoxville TN, signed in with #413 on Nov. 16, his 26th summit hike of the year, giving him 584 miles hiked in 2019. Also Dec. 28, Dec. 21, and Dec. 7. He hit the 400 milestone on June 16.
 BRYANT JONES of Atlanta, #25 on Oct. 13. 
 JIM JONES, #35 on Oct. 13. 
 DAVID JONES, #33 on Oct. 10. 
 CONNIE KEEBLER, #45 on July 12.
 FRANK KEHREN of Knoxville TN, #17, and GEORG KEHREN of Erkelenz, Germany, #5 on Sept. 16. 
 LESLIE KEPLER of South Charleston OH, #28 on Sept. 21. 

 LIDDA KING #22 & TED KING #22, from Knoxville TN, June 19.
 BOB KIRCHE of Maryville, TN, #40 on July 3.
 MATTHEW W. KOLLSTEDT, #25 on June 3. 

 JILL & PAUL KONTZ, of Greenville SC, #28 each on Sept. 15. 
 MIKE LANCASTER, Ellijay, Ga., #22 on July 18.

 FRANK LAMONS of Atlanta, #45 on Oct. 11. 
 JOCELYN LANE, of Newport TN, #19 on Aug. 13. 
 DARLA LARGE & KEITH LARGE of Pigeon Forge TN, #116 on Oct. 27, #113 on Aug. 11, #111 on July 4 (with ALEX LARGE #30, LEE LARGE #21, and EMILY LARGE #3.)
 CODY LARGE, Gatlinburg TN, #45 on June 16. 
 HOLLIS LATHAN, Knoxville TN, #14 on July 4. 
 DAVE LINDSAY, Clemson SC, #22 on July 5. 
 DREW LISICKI, #29 on July 5. 
 BETH LOFQUIST #21 & VICTOR LOFQUIST #21, on Nov. 19. 

 GREG LUNNY of Jacksonville Beach FL, #23 on June 9.

 JERRY LUTH of Findlay OH, #160 on April 15. He didn't start climbing Le Conte after he turned 60.

 JUDY MAHONE of Nashville TN, #42 on July 25. 
 SANDY MAIO, Massachusetts, #22 on Aug. 12. 
 CASEY MAJNI, from Knoxville, #27 on Oct. 12, #26 on Aug. 10. 
 BRIAN MANESS, #50 on June 15. 

 FRANK MARCH of Wears Valley TN, #38 on July 29. 
 JUSTIN MARTIN, #30 on Aug. 30. 
 GRAYSON MARTIN, JAY MARTIN, & DAMON MARTIN, #27 on Aug. 30. 
 TIMOTHY MASSEY, Tallahassee TN, #52 on Nov. 24, #51 on Nov. 8, #50 on Oct. 19. 
 THOMAS McADIREY, #16 on Aug. 27. 
 JOHN R. McALILEY VI, #25 on Aug. 8, accompanied by 3-year-old JOHN R. McALILEY V #1. 
 WALT McFALLS, #36 on Oct. 7.
 ERIN McINALLY, Atlanta GA, #14 on July 5.
 CATHY McLEOD, #17 on June 11.
 L.E. McKINNEY, #20 on Sept. 26. 
 SUSAN McLEMORE #30-plus & JIM McCLEMORE #30-plus, on Sept. 29. 
 JEAN McMANN, #30 on June 9. 
 CHRIS MAULDEN of Knoxville TN, #54 on Dec. 21. 
 BRADY MESSER, #27 on Oct. 12, #26 on Aug. 10. He wrote in the logbook: "The streak is still alive."
 JAYDEN MICHAEL, #14 on Oct. 13.
 JOHN MINCEY, #38 on Oct. 11. 
 KEN MOLLER, #50 on June 21. 
 EARL MONGER, #166 on Oct. 4. 

 JIM MOORE of Knoxville TN, #75 on May 25.
 GRIF MORPETH of Columbus GA, #38, led a group including his father up Le Conte on April 15. His father Jim Morpeth posted on Facebook: “In 1978 I began hiking to LeConte Lodge with Herb Cawthorne. For years I went many times—20 to 30, I don’t know. At some point I slacked off and my son Grif picked up the tradition and he’s been coming every year since 1992. Years passed and I decided my back was too bad to carry a pack up the rigorous trails and back down.” Then after three years of training with a physical therapist, Jim was able to return to the mountaintop at age 75. “I can’t begin to tell you what it meant to me—part of my soul is on top of that mountain! Thank you Grif for helping your old dad go looking for his soul!" 

 ROBERT MORRISON of Woodstock GA, #75 on June 21. 
 ROBERT MORRISON, #50 on Oct. 21, with CHRISTY MORRISON #25. 
 SUZANNE MORRISON, 30-plus on Nov. 26. 
 EARL MUNDY, #34 on Sept. 5. 

 HENRY NEEL of Jefferson City TN, in his 20th season working at the Lodge, doesn't keep count of his hikes, but told me on July 31 that he's probably climbed the mountain 500 to 600 times.
 DICK NORTHRUP #42 & PAT NORTHRUP #38, from Tecumseh MI, on Nov. 3. Previously, they climbed the mountain June 21 to celebrate their 39th anniversary and Pat's 65th birthday.
 BERT NORTHRUP, Tecumseh, Mi., #37 on June 28. 
 STEVE ODOM of Kingsport TN, est. 100 on Aug. 20. Steve said he has not kept an exact count but has been climbing the mountain for 40 years, with multiple trips in many of those years. He is among 67 individuals on the honor roll with at least 100 climbs.
 STEVE OLIPHANT, a native of Oak Ridge TN and a resident of Spartanburg SC, has logged annual climbs to Le Conte since 1972 and made #52 on Oct. 20. Steve has collected a wealth of historical information on the Smokies trails and landmarks. Click here to read his detailed report on his 49th trip—including a poem written by one of the CCC stonemasons who built the Bullhead Lookout, now better known as the Pulpit. Previously: #50 on April 16.
 JEFF OSBY, #20 on Aug. 2, hiking in a hailstorm. 
 BRANDON OWENBY of Sevierville TN, #20 on June 2. 
 JESSE OVERBAY, #25 on June 21. 
 ADAM OZMENT of Mascot TN, #33 on Dec. 21, #32 on Nov. 24. Previously #31 on Oct. 24 with his father Nathe, #30 on Oct. 4, his 30th birthday. On hike #28 on Sept. 30, he set a personal speed record of 1:21 up Alum Cave and 0:56 down. Also: Sept. 19, Aug. 25, Aug. 11, July 21, June 29, three on May 1, three on April 16, March 17, March 4, Jan. 6, 
 BEV PARLIER of Brevard, N.C., #36 on Aug. 4. 
 DANA PARISH, #17 and JAMIE PARRISH, #4 on Aug. 27. 
 WENDY RUTH PAXTON, #37 on July 28.
 LIV PAXTON, #23 on July 28. 
 JIM PAYNE, #37 on Sept. 1. 
 ANDY PAYNE, #24 on Sept. 1. 
 HOWIE PEEBLES of Greeneville TN, #19 on June 15.
 MEG PELLEY of Tennessee, #16 on Nov. 16. Previously: #15 on Aug. 25, with daughter Abby Pelley, #11.
 JAN PENDLETON of Friendsville TN, #87 on Oct. 11, #75 on July 25, #74 on July 12.
 CHARLES PETTRIE of Chapel Hill NC, #26 on Sept. 27. 
 LEONARD PILKINGTON, #20 on Nov. 21. 
 LORI PHILLIPS of Wears Valley TN, #20 on Aug. 21. 
 ADAM PITT, #22 on July 20. Also hiking with him: Alex Pitt #15 and Sara Pitt #15. 

 ALAN PORTER of Gainesville GA, #16 on July 25.
 WARING PORTER, #25-plus on Oct. 2.
 MIKE PURYEAR, of Waco TX, #52 on Oct. 15, #51 on Sept. 27, #50 on his 65th birthday Sept. 3 (with CLAIRE PURYEAR #16).
 EDIE & DAVE RACE, #37 on Sept. 30.
 SCOTT RADER, #25 on Aug. 25. 
 JAN RANDLES of Talbott TN, #40 on Oct. 10, #39 on Sept. 19. 
 CLAIRE REAGAN #48 & DAVID REAGAN, #48 on June 28.
 MELISSA REAGAN, #14 on Aug. 8. 
 TERRY REECE #32 & SANDRA REESE #7 on July 29. 
 ROGER C. REEDY, #26 on Oct. 24. 
 PATSY REEVES of Killen AL #18. She wrote on the Lodge facebook page in August that she has made the trip 18 times, including 16 stays at the Lodge. 
 DANNA RENFRO #25 on July 25. Previous: #24 on July 12, #23 on June 1. 

 DOUGLAS RENFRO, #19 on June 1. 
 KEVIN RENFRO, #68 on July 12, #67 on June 1.
 JEANNE RENFROW, #45 on Nov. 2. 

 JERRY RHYNE, Statesville NC, #105-plus on Aug. 23. 

 M.L. RICKER of Chillicothe, Ohio, #29 on Nov. 21.
 JEFF RIDDLE of Mahomet IL, #19 on Sept. 24. 
 KENT ROBERTS of Maryville TN, #172 on Nov. 2, #171 on Sept. 21.
 RICK RODRIGUEZ, #25 on July 5. 
 GUY ROGERS of Tennessee, #99 on Nov. 8, #75 on July 21. 

 MARILYN ROGERS, #30 on Nov. 3. 
 MELISSA ROGERS of Lenoir City TN, #15 on July 27.
 ELIZABETH ROWLAND, of Sevierville TN, #56 on Aug. 21. 
 JESSE ROY, #20 on Oct. 3. 
 ERIC ROYSTER of Atlanta GA, #20 on Aug. 11. 
 PHIL RUMSEY #50 & SANDY RUMSEY #25, from NC on Nov. 13. 
 LARRY RUSSELL of Sevierville TN, #238 on Oct. 23. Previously: #237 on Sept. 30, #236 on Sept. 19, #235 on Aug. 19, #234 on July 15, #233 on July 9, #232 on July 3, #229 on June 21. 
 ALVIN SANDERS, 200-plus on June 15.
 J.P. SARSKOWSKI, Milwaukee, #32 on June 14. 
 VICKIE SAUCEMAN #41 & JESSE SAUCEMAN #30 on Nov. 19. 
 DEBBIE SCALF, #16 on Aug. 30. 
 J.D. SCHLANDT of Clinton TN, #46 on Aug. 17. 
 CHUCK SCHWARE, #29 on June 7.
 SARA PORTER TAMAS SHAMBLIN, #27 in Aug. Her family was a member of the Smoky Mountains Hiking Club, and her first hike was at age 6 in 1966. 
 LAURA SHATTLES, #15 on Aug. 15. 
 PAMELA SHELTON, #25 on Oct. 5. 
 SHELDON SHEPARD, #25 on Aug. 10.
 JOHN SIMON, #20 on Aug. 12. 

 ROGER SIMS, #20 on June 1. 
 AMY SLIFKO of Cleveland TN, #26 on Aug. 23. 

 DEWEY SLUSHER of Blue Ridge GA, has more than 300 lifetime ascents. He has made at least one climb on every week of the calendar year, including the hottest day ever recorded on Le Conte Lodge (81.5 on June 30, 2012) as well as one of the coldest days on record (minus-17 on Jan. 7, 2014). The last official count I had for Dewey was #230 on March 16, 2017. I don't have all his climbs for 2019, but I do have these dates: Jan. 12, Feb. 10 and 17, June 2, Sept. 1, Nov. 2, and Dec. 22.
 STEPHEN SIDBURY, est. #220, Dec. 31. JOE SIMPSON, #70 on Aug. 16. 

 KATHY SIMPSON, #31 on July 7. 
 CHIVONNE SMITH of Cartersville GA, #15 on her birthday, Aug. 24. 
 MINI SMITH of Atlanta GA, #24 on Sept. 11.
 SHANNON SMITH, #23 on Sept. 8. 
 D.W. SNIDER, #14 on Aug. 27.
 DANA SOEHN, #30 on June 2. 
 MAE & ROGER SNYDER of Maryville TN, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with their 208th hike together on Aug. 15. We now have 31 hikers who have climbed Le Conte 200 times. 
 EDD SPENCER, #20 on July 24. 
 JEFF SPLITSTOKER, of Wheaton MD, #19 on June 18. 

 TOMAS STAFFEN, #70 on Nov. 1. 
 DANIEL STAMM, #30 on Sept. 29. 
 JOHN STEINKAMP #14 and son NICK STEINKAMP #13, from Fort Wayne IN, on July 3.
 MITCHELL STEVENS #14 & GLENN STEVENS #10, Oct. 3.
 DAVID STRENDS #40 & GINNY STRENDS #40 on Oct. 25. 
 SARAH STRICKLAND, #17 on Sept. 8. 

 SYLVIA TALLEY, #50-plus on Aug. 15. 
 STEVE TAYLOR of Young Harris GA, #23 on Oct. 10. 
 JAYLAN TEETERS of Knoxville TN, #15 on Aug. 31.
 JOHN TEETERS of Knoxville TN, #15 on Aug. 31. 
 CASSIE TEMPLE of Ohio, #18 on July 19.
 JEFF THOMAS of Knoxville TN, #72 on July 13.
 MARVIN THOMAS of Knoxville, #50 on Oct. 6.
 DOUG TORRANCE of Signal Mountain TN, #50 on Nov. 24. 

 BRAD TRAVIS, #52 on Sept. 26, #51 on July 13.
 HENRY TREXLER #37, BRENT TREXLER #35, and CHARLIE TREXLER #20, from Charlotte, N.C., May 20.
 W. TROWELL, #28 on Sept. 29. 
 BOB TURNEY, #49 on Sept. 12, #48 on his 72nd birthday, Aug. 11. 
 KIM UYAK of Mount Pleasant SC, #20 on Sept. 28. 
 ROBERT VASSEY of Georgia, #77 on Oct. 12. 
 AMY VASSEY of Georgia, #68 on Oct. 12. 
 JUAN VEGEGA, #27 on Sept. 1. 
 BOBBIE VETTRICK #25 & WILL VETTRICK #25 with their 6-month-old son Reg.
 JEFF WADLEY of Kingsport TN, #104 on Sept. 14, #101 on May 16.
 GINA & DAVID WAGNER, #17 on May 25.

 JOE WALDREP, #28 on June 4. 

 MIKE WALKER #30 & ANN WALKER #8, Chattanooga, June 14, the day before their 40th anniversary. Mike previously #26 on July 7.
 DAVID WALLACE of Knoxville TN, #19 on Aug. 25. 

 BRETT WARD of Sweetwater TN, #20 on May 11, climbing the 5-mile Alum Cave Bluff Trail in 1:20 at age 63.
 ROB WARE of Chattanooga TN, #60 on May 15.
 AUDRA WARNER, #18 on Nov. 3. 
 BETH WEAST of Charlotte NC, 30-plus on Nov. 26.
 ANN WEAVER #20 & AARON WEAVER #20, of Lenoir City TN, July 30.
 BOB WEBB of Mooresville, #35 on Sept. 27. 
 TIM WEBB of Double Springs AL, #174 on April 14. That matches the lifetime total of RUFUS MORGAN, who was probably the oldest ever to climb Le Conte. 
 CLAYTON WEBSTER of Decatur GA, #51 on July 25, leading a group of over 30 hikers from the Over the Hill Hiking Club near Atlanta. He recalled that the first night he stayed at the Lodge, it costs $7. (In 2020, it will be $151.50)
 BO WHEATLEY, #25 on Nov. 9. 

 GARY WHITE of Double Springs AL, #101 on Aug. 13. Previously #100 on May 6. We now have an Alabama chapter of the Le Conte Honor roll. Others are TIM WEBB of Double Springs, #174, TILLROE SMITH of Moody AL, #345, and Auburn grad ED WRIGHT, #1,310.
 MICHAEL WHITE of Columbia TN, #25 on Nov. 11. 

 KELLIE WIDNER of Seymour IN, #25 on July 10.
 CINDY WIESNIESKI of Gahanna OH, #46 on Sept. 9. 
 THEUNEY WILLIAMS of Dallas TX, #65 on Sept. 11. 
 BEAL WILLIAMS, #38 on Oct. 21. 
 KEN WILLIAMS, #31 on Nov. 16.
 JOHN D. WILLIAMS, Kingston TN, #36 on Nov. 5, #35 on Oct. 15, #34 on Sept. 17, #33 on Aug. 8, #30 at age 69 on April 23. "Trying for 100 in 2025," he wrote in the logbook. 
 ADAM WILLIAMSON, #41 on Dec. 21, #40 on Nov. 24.
 JIM WILSON, #53 on Nov. 19.
 JACK WILSON #20 & ELIZABETH WILSON #18, on June 3. 
 JENNIFER WILSON, #20 on Aug. 24.
 RANDY WOLFE #30 and ELIZABETH WOLFE #30, from Knoxville, started in the 1960s. 
 ORLIE WOOD of Cosby, #29 on Oct. 9. 
 BRIAN WORLEY of Knoxville, president of the Smoky Mountains Hiking Club, #103 in October, with Ben Cathey of WVLT-TV, who filed this story. 
 CHARLIE WORLEY, #25 on Sept. 13.  
 JOSH WYRICK, #34 on Oct. 10. 
 KRISTI YATES #35 on July 12. 

 BILL YEADON of Indianapolis IN, set a lifetime goal of #75 by age 75. He has been hiking Le Conte since the mid 1970s. "It wasn't till about six years ago that I thought about people shooting their age in golf," he said. "Seeing I hate golf, I tried to figure out how many times I could match the # of times to my age, and it came out to 75. I live in Indiana, so I have a little drive to get there. But I made it by 70. Love that mountain." Last August he hit #70by69, and he made #75 on July 28 with five years to spare. He was accompanied by family, including nephew KEVIN JARDINA #32. "Big Bill" is the fourth hiker to post #75 this summer. 
 PAUL YICKEY, #32 on June 19. 
 THERESA YU, #40 on Oct. 40.

➤ Click here to see milestones for 2018 and previous years.

Hiking your age: Ozment reaches #29by29, #30by30

Adam got to change the date on the sign at Le Conte Lodge

 One of the more notable accomplishments for a senior golfer is "shooting your age." That means your 18-hole score is equal to (or better than) your age. On the professional golf tour, Sam Snead famously did it twice at age 67 in 1979, when he shot rounds of 67 and 66 in the Quad Cities Open in Illinois. Five-time British Open champion Tom Watson has shot his age sixteen times in competition, including a 63 at age 65. 
 On Mount Le Conte, the equivalent is "hiking your age." This is when your lifetime total for summit hikes matches your age. 
 Adam Ozment, a physical therapy assistant in Knoxville, hiked his age on Oct. 3 when he made his 29th climb on the last day of his 29th year. Then he repeated the feat before dawn Oct. 4 to celebrate his 30th birthday with #30.
 This is the third time this year he has made the climb two or three times in a 24-hour span. He made the Oct. 4 loop (up Alum and down Bullhead) with his Tour de Le Conte co-hikers: 52-year-old Adam Gravett posted Climb #56 and 43-year-old Adam Williamson #39. The three Adams now have a total of 125 climbs at a combined age of 125.
 Ozment is among the youngest to hike his age on Le Conte. Ron Valentine was just 13 when he began climbing Le Conte in 1946, and we can presume he was still a teenager when he hiked his age. The early operators of LeConte Lodge would have been in their 20s when they did it: Paul Adams counted 81 hikes by age 24, and Jack Huff (who was 22 when he began running the Lodge in 1926) hit 1,000 by age 37. And of course, some of the Lodge staff are young enough to have hiked their age, just by going downtown on their weekends off.
 Many of Le Conte's most renowned climbers were in their 60s before they hiked their age, since they started relatively late in life—Gracie McNicol made the first of her 244 climbs at age 62, Ed Wright started at 57 on his way to #1,310, and Margaret Stevenson started at 48 on her way to #718. Paul Dinwiddie made his first climb at 15 but claimed only 40 trips before he turned 65. Then he got busy, hiked his age at 67, and set a lifetime record with #750 at age 78.

 Obviously, all of the hikers who have posted at least 100 climbs have "hiked their age" somewhere along the way. 
 A similar distinction could be made for those who hiked their age in a single calendar year. Wright made 111 hikes in 1998 when he turned 73, Dinwiddie 101 in 1991 when he turned 76, and Stevenson 88 in 1991 when she turned 79.
 There will be more. Kristen Mosley, who made hike #9 on Sept. 2, has stated a goal of #40by40.

 If you have hiked your age—or if you know someone who has—please let us know. Leave a comment below or email: LeConteLog@gmail.com.
 Here are a few others who have hiked their age on Mount Le Conte:

• ADAM WILLIAMSON, #43 at age 43, Jan. 25, 2020.
• CHRIS MAULDEN, #50 on his 50th birthday, Aug. 21, 2019.
• ADAM GRAVETT, #51 at age 51, on Aug. 11, 2019.
• TIMOTHY MASSEY, #51 at age 51 in 2019.
• ED WRIGHT, #62 at age 62, June 13, 1988. That summer, Wright was training to climb Colorado's Longs Peak, so he often made multiple climbs in a day. By the time Wright turned 63, his total was up to #78. Among his 1,310 lifetime hikes, there were three days when he made triple trips and 125 days when he hiked the mountain twice.
• RONNIE HOLBERT, #63 at age 55, on Sept. 1, 2019.
• MARGARET STEVENSON, #66 at age 66, climbing Rainbow Falls Trail in snow March 16, 1978. Her final summit hike was #718 in 1997. 
• PAUL DINWIDDIE, #67 at age 67 on Sept. 25, 1982. He had reached #66 on his 67th birthday. He retired in 1993 with #750—all but 40 of them after he turned 65. 
• RIC CHANDLER, #67 at age 67, Aug. 19, 2019.
• BILL YEADON, #69 at age 69 in 2018. He's now up to #78 at age 71 and has a goal of #100 by age 75. 
• GRACIE McNICOL, probably in 1963. She made her 65th hike on her 71st birthday in 1962. 
• REV. RUFUS MORGAN, #96 at age 85 in 1969. I don't have precise records of when his total matched his age, but he was probably in his 80s. Rev. Morgan kept going to age 93 and retired with #174. 

Conquering 'Mount LeHope'

 We are always happy to hear from those who have overcome physical challenges to reach the mountaintop. Two of these milestones happened on September 1, the birthday of Ed Wright—who overcame heart and knee surgery on the way to his record total of 1,310 hikes. 
 Glenda Coker posted this on the Le Conte Lodge website in 2012: 

Hi. I would like to thank you for the awesome experience of hiking Alum Trail last yr. I have hiked Mt. LeConte in the 90’s but this was my true mountain top experience. Sept 01, 2009, I had the right lobe of my lung removed due to a rare bacteria. Due to complications, I had a 2nd surgery in Nov. In very critical condition, Mt. LeConte was my vision to set a goal of my favorite mountain. I spite of all odds, many medications and a faith I could hike it again my dream was fulfilled. Against ALL odds, there was a cancellation last yr. on the very date I had surgery previously. I was at the top of my Mt. LeConte my dream fulfilled in everyway, 9/1/2011. Because I made it to the top, it has been a beacon of others who have on the same journey I was on. Mt. LeConte is more than a physical mountain to me. It is Mt. LeHope!! A vision that came true. I did get to see the other side of the mountain in more ways than imaginable! Thank you so much. I will be back.

 Ronnie Holbert of Morristown, Tenn., chose Wright's birthday in 2019 for his first summit hike after he underwent double knee replacement surgery. Wright (1925-2009) made his last 43 hikes after having double knee replacement in 2001—not to mention 132 climbs after heart surgery in 1999.
 Dr. Kip Miller of Jackson, Tenn., made his 100th hike in 2000, just 24 days after he had heart bypass surgery. The last I heard from Kip and his wife Jean was in 2018, when they made their 254th climb.

 Dick McAliley climbed Le Conte five times after suffering a stroke.

 At least three visually impaired hikers have climbed Le Conte, including Rev. Rufus Morgan on his 93rd birthday in 1983, a 1969 hiker known as "Cousin Joe," and Beth Winkler on Sept. 6, 2020. 

 Terry Tinnell climbed the Trillium Gap trail in a wheelchair on his 55th birthday in 2013.

 Daniel Bice climbed the Bullhead Trail in 2019 on a prosthetic leg.
 Amanda Ratliff has overcome two cardiac surgeries to climb Mount Le Conte twice and Mount Cammerer three times. 

50by50by50: How cool is that?

Chris Maulden with "the Gary tree"

 

 Chris Maulden of Knoxville marked his 50th birthday on Wednesday morning, Aug. 21, by climbing Mount Le Conte for the 50th time. The weather chimed in with a refreshing temperature of 50 degrees at the Lodge.
 Though Chris may eventually climb Le Conte a hundred times, he is not just chasing a number. "My friend Gary passed away a few years ago, and we scattered his ashes at a location close to Cliff Tops, so I go up a few times a year," he said. "This has more to do with my friendship than with an accomplishment of 100 trips."
 Gary Thaler was hiking the Alum Cave Trail with Maulden in 2010 when he became ill. Doctors at the LeConte Medical Center in Sevierville diagnosed a lethal genetic condition that attacked his internal organs. Gary survived for four years before he died at age 43, but he never had the opportunity to complete his hike. His family got permission to scatter his ashes in the national park, and Maulden did so around an evergreen sapling that now stands 13 feet and is nicknamed "the Gary tree."

Margaret Stevenson's 718th hike, at age 84 on May 21, 1997

 It's not uncommon for hikers to celebrate their birthdays at Le Conte Lodge, even though it's not easy to bake a cake above 6,000 feet.
 The earliest birthday hike we know about was by Paul Fink, who climbed Le Conte on his 29th birthday, June 8 1921, as part of an expedition to measure the mountaintop elevation. Paul thought Le Conte might be the highest mountain in the eastern U.S. His findings resulted in a triangulation by the U.S. Coast  & Geodetic Survey, commissioned by the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce, which established the elevation as 6,593 feet. See Paul's journal, Mountain Days. 
 Next was Cletus Garnes. "His first hike to Mount Le Conte was in August 1926, on his 12th birthday," Ed Wright wrote in his journal. That would have been the first year that Jack Huff operated LeConte Lodge. Garnes was 76 when he returned to the mountaintop with Wright in 1991. 
 Here are a few notables: 

• REV. RUFUS MORGAN (1885-1983) of Franklin NC, climbed the mountain for his 92nd and 93rd birthdays, and his final hike Oct. 15, 1978 (via Trillium Gap Trail) was #174 for him. As far as we know, he is the oldest person to climb Le Conte. He actually made reservations to return for his 94th birthday, but had to cancel the trip for health reasons.
• GRACIE McNICOL (1891-1991) of Maryville TN, made the last of her 244 ascents on her 92nd birthday in 1983. She was also up there for her 90th and 91st. From 1955 through 1966, she celebrated 12 straight birthdays at the Lodge.
• LENORE GUNDY COSTELLO (born 1916) of Lake Alfred FL, climbed Le Conte on her 90th birthday in 2006. I do not have full details, but it appears she went via the Boulevard Trail.
• DICK McALILEY (1928-2014) celebrated his 85th birthday at the Lodge in 2013.
• A man named JENNINGS led a family group up Le Conte in 2012 for his 84th birthday.
• ED HUDSON (1917-2009) of Oak Ridge celebrated his 81st birthday by climbing Le Conte on May 20, 1998.
• ED WRIGHT (1925-2009) of Jensen Beach, Fla. (formerly of Oak Ridge), climbed the mountain on his 65th, 68th, 70th, 72nd, and 80th birthdays. The latter one in 2005 was #1,297 of his lifetime total of 1,310. Wright's friends and family have a memorial hike on his birthday, Sept. 1.  
• ULA RAE MYNATT of Cosby, Tenn., celebrated her 80th birthday at the Lodge in 2011.
• JEAN ANN MILLER of Jackson, Tenn., celebrated her 79th birthday in 2012 by making her #239 climb along with her husband, Dr. Kip Miller.
• RAY CAMERON made his 20th hike on his 73rd birthday Aug. 27.
• BOB TURNEY made his 48th climb on his 72nd birthday, Aug. 11.
• DOROTHY BYWALEC NEWMAN climbed LeConte Oct. 1 to celebrate her 70th birthday.
• PAUL DINWIDDIE (1915-1995) of Knoxville celebrated his 67th birthday with his #66 climb in 1982. He eventually reached #750, with 708 of those after he turned 65. 
• JO ANN CHRISTOPHER of Knoxville climbed Le Conte Sept. 9 to celebrate her 67th birthday. She signed in the logbook with "too many to count."
• ADAM GRAVETT made #55 on his 52nd birthday, Sept 21, 2019.
• DAVE WORTH completed the Tour Le Conte on his 26th birthday in 2011, covering 44 miles in 10:03:41.
• MARGARET STEVENSON (1912-2006) often had her party at the Lodge, but since her group usually hiked on Tuesdays or Wednesdays, the party was not always on her exact birthday, July 17. Friends still remember her birthday with an annual hike to the Lodge. Margaret's bronzed hiking boots and copies of her journal are on display in the Lodge office. She started climbing Le Conte at age 48 and continued until she was 84, when she decided the descent was too dangerous for her. She continued hiking elsewhere in the national park well into her 90s. Friends and fellow hikers have continued to celebrate her birthday, including her 100th in 2012, her 101st in 2013, 102nd in 2014, 103rd in 2015, and 104th in 2016.

Margaret Stevenson's bronzed hiking boots

 Some individuals have made the bucket-list trip for the first time on their birthdays: Terry Tinnell chose his 55th birthday in 2013 to become the first person in a wheelchair to reach the Lodge; and Edwinnia Inman turned 50 on Nov. 14, 2011, the day she climbed the mountain for the first time.

Remembering the hottest days ever on Le Conte

 The recent 100-degree heat wave across the South is a reminder that for decades, the thermometer at LeConte Lodge never topped 80 degrees Fahrenheit. (Grace McNicol's journal from 1983 mentions that the record high was 80 "years ago.")
 Then on June 29, 2012, this happened: 

 The next day, it hit 81.5. It was too hot for the llamas to work, so a helicopter had to be used to get fresh supplies to the Lodge. 
 With deference to global warming, I'm glad to report that the mountaintop hasn't come close to 80 since 2012. Over the past seven years, the high has been 77 in the summer of 2019.
 In case you are wondering, the all-time lows are minus-32 in January 1985, minus-26 in 1982 and 1983, and minus-24 in 2015.
 Here are the weather records from LeConte Lodge:

Can you help solve the riddles of the logbooks?

 Admiral Richard Byrd was a great explorer, and I wouldn't be surprised to hear that he might have visited Le Conte Lodge in its early years, since he was friends with Arno Cammerer and other leaders of the national park movement.
 But the admiral died in 1956, so I am assuming someone else signed his name in the LeConte Lodge logbook on July 19, 2019, with the comment: "Long Live the Confederancy!"

 Several of the regular hikers of Le Conte send me snapshots of the logbooks so I can update my honor roll of those who have climbed the mountain at least 50 times. Admiral Byrd claims to have "over 100," but the real admiral was prone to exaggeration, so who knows if this can be substantiated? 
 If you know "Admiral Byrd" and he has indeed climbed the mountain over 100 times, ask him to email me at LeConteLog@gmail.com so I can add him to the honor roll.
 It's not unprecedented to find a prank in the Logbook. On Ed Wright's 689th hike in 1994, he noticed an unfamiliar name had signed in at 6:30 that morning: Charlotte McDowell, #426, from Waynesville, N.C. Her note said she was doing two trips on the Greenbrier Trail. Ed knew there is no such trail (although the Brushy Mountain trail does start in Greenbrier), and he certainly would have met anyone with hundreds of climbs. Ed figured out that it was a joke by the Lodge staff.
 Other times, people sign in with only their first or last names. If you can vouch for any of these people, ask them to email me at LeConteLog@gmail.com.

The Wessners signed in July 15, 2019, with 224 and 215 climbs. Almost a year later, on July 13, 2020, they signed in with 25. 

Rick and Vera signed in with 100 climbs on March 19, 2019. On that date, staff and key volunteers were getting the Lodge ready to open.

Stacy and Trever from Sevierville signed in Nov. 2, 2019, with #192 right after Ed Jones with #411. Not only do I need their last name, but I'd also like to know if this is supposed to be #192 each. A few couples list their combined total. 

McKay Wilding from Brigham City, Utah, signed in June 18, 2019, with #420. Because I have never the WIldings in the logbooks before, I presume this was a joke and I have not added them to the honor roll.

 The LeConte Log is an honor roll, and we operate on the honor system. Unless I have reason to doubt your claim, I will include you here if I can read your number and name on the Logbook.
 If you see any fabrications or exaggerations that need to be corrected or deleted, please let me know. 
 Thanks to everyone who sends me snapshots of the Logbook when you sign in. I don't get up to the Lodge very often—so I depend on folks like you to help me keep the Le Conte Log honor roll up-to-date. Thanks!

Tim Wood #40: 'Le Conte held his heart'

Debora Wood designed Tim's gravestone to feature the four peaks of Le Conte

 
 When Tim and Debora Wood were married in 1982, they honeymooned in Gatlinburg and decided on the spur of the moment to take a hike up the Alum Cave Bluff trail.
 "We had no water, no snacks, nothing to prepare for an 11-mile hike," Debora said. "I think we both had on ridiculous shoes. We made it to Alum Cave, where we discussed heading back to the car. We decided to press on, and within a few minutes on the trail about 40 feet ahead, was a black bear. We stopped to see what he was going to do, and he eventually climbed up the mountain and left the trail.
 "We continued on, telling ourselves we would get a Coke from the machine at the Lodge. Ha-ha! We eventually reached the Lodge, thirsty and hungry. There were the most wonderful smells wafting from the kitchen as they were preparing for dinner. Fresh butter was on the tables and baskets of cookies. No one was around, so we didn't think they would mind too much if we took a cookie. We found the water pump and drank and ate our cookie.
 "Out of shape and unused to this type of strenuous hiking, we were miserable for the next couple of days. So began our life and love of the Smokies."

Tim kept hiking despite cancer 

 Tim worked for General Electric in Louisville, Ky., and his family made annual vacation trips to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. "He would hike other trails—he liked the Greenbrier area also—but Le Conte held his heart," Debora said.
 About 15 years ago, they began coming twice a year, in February and November. "He never missed a hike, even in rain and snow," Debora said. "There were a few times we looked at the forecast just so he could hike in the snow."
 Tim didn't keep count of how many times he climbed Le Conte, but with Debora's recollections, we have estimated 30-40 times—"at least four times with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer," she said. "Such a trooper and lover of life. He fought really hard to live."
 On July 10, 2018, Tim died at age 67, and he was laid to rest in Beech Grove Cemetery near Shrewsbury, Kentucky. Debora designed his gravestone to feature a granite profile of the ridgeline of Mount Le Conte—as viewed from the Park Vista Hotel in Gatlinburg, where he always requested a room facing the mountain.
 "Tim was a man of many talents—sailor, photographer, artist, nature-lover, and hiker," Debora said, "but most of all a great husband and dad."

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IF YOU ARE READING THIS ON YOUR PHONE, you will need to switch from the mobile view to full screen (iPhone users click on "View web version" below) to see our Honor Roll and other lists we've accumulated.

Up and Adam: All 6 trails in 24 hours

Here's one way to do the Tour Le Conte, starting in Cherokee Orchard and ending in Greenbrier Cove. The colors indicate elevation. (Map by John Northrup)

 

Adam Gravett, Adam Williamson, Adam Ozment

 Have you ever climbed all six trails to Mount Le Conte? For most of us, that's a lifetime goal. On the other hand, there are a few unstoppable hikers who have completed the entire "Tour de Le Conte" in a single day.
 It's been done at least 30 times, four of those by John Northrup, the manager of LeConte Lodge. He wrote about the challenge in a 2017 post on the Lodge blog, High on Le Conte.
 On May 1, 2019, three friends who answer to the same name—Adam Gravett, Adam Ozment, and Adam Williamson—completed the Tour Le Conte, hiking 44.5 miles in 23 hours and one minute. If you want to follow along, here is a RELIVE animation of their odyssey. They started at 2 a.m. at Newfound Gap and hiked up the Boulevard Trail, down Trillium Gap, up Bullhead, down Rainbow Falls, shuttled over to U.S. 441, ascended Alum Cave and descended Brushy Mountain to finish in the midnight darkness in Greenbrier Cove.
 Local TV stations interviewed the Adams to get their story. Watch on WATE-TV or WBIR-TV, or read about them in Blue Ridge Outdoors magazine.
 The Tour de Le Conte is also known as the TLC, the Tour Le Conte Challenge (my preference), the 24 Hours of Le Conte, or the Le Conte Triple Summit. 
 The first successful TLC was November 7, 1993, by Lee Lewis and the late Mike Povia. Amy Povia has her dad's completion time (22:29) tattooed on her wrist for inspiration. Lewis (who has climbed Le Conte well over 100 times) wrote on Facebook in 2018:

"When Mike and I did this 25 years ago, we didn't have any inkling of what a gauntlet would be thrown down. We hiked it because it had not been done before (to our knowledge) and why not. Our record, although maybe not the fastest because we hiked it, we did not run it, cut any switchbacks, or take off-trail shortcuts, but we still did it within our self-imposed time limit of 24 hours, and that record stood for 17 years. We had John Mansfield sign off on our homemade sheet at the Lodge and Tom Brosch sign off at the trail heads/shuttle points to prove we had been there. We did not have cell phones or even camera documentation, and because of that we enjoyed every step, we enjoyed conversation, we enjoyed our friendship—we hiked."

 I keep an informal list of completers on the sidebar of this blog. (If you're reading this on a mobile device, you'll need switch to "View web version" to see the sidebar.)
 The fastest known time for the TLC is 8:35:34 by Luke Bollschweiler in 2019. He covered 47.5 miles, up Rainbow Falls, down Trillium Gap, up Bullhead, down Alum, up the Boulevard, and down Brushy Mountain. 
 He broke the 2011 record of 10:03:41 by park ranger David Worth, who wrote on his blog:

"I enjoy these sort of challenges because at the end of the day there are no cheering crowds and no finishers' medals. You are alone with the trail and the truth of the situation. Quiet moments on the trail and an honest sense of fatigue are reward enough. There are purists who argue against these speed hikes and runs, viewing them as nothing more than a continuation of our hurry-up culture. For me, a day of trail-running is more than a simple race against time. It's how I've come to appreciate the trail the most. Thoughts of grocery lists, school work, and everything else yet to be done take a back seat. I'm able to experience the trail directly, without mental chatter."

 Only a few others have broken the 12-hour barrier. 
 Other than Northrup, I know of only two hikers who have completed the full TLC more than once: Brian Thomas and Shawn Carson. In 2011, they completed 45.7 miles in 22:02 (Rainbow to Trillium, Bullhead to Alum, Boulevard to Brushy). In 2015, they changed course (Boulevard to Bullhead, Rainbow to Trillium, Brushy to Alum) and covered 46.4 miles in 19:32. Thomas has a blog called LeConte24.com that's a great resource for anyone who is considering the challenge.

Bullheaded: Daniel Bice climbed Le Conte on one leg

Daniel Bice makes his way through a snag

 The 7-mile-long Bullhead Trail isn't the easiest or most popular way to Mount Le Conte. It was closed for nearly two years following the 2016 wildfires in the Smokies, and even after it reopened in October 2018, it has often been blocked by the falling trunks of charred trees. 
 But none of that stopped Daniel Bice of Knoxville, who successfully climbed the Bullhead Trail to Mount Le Conte on April 20, 2019, on a prosthetic leg. His lower right leg had to be amputated four years ago because of blood clots.
 "That's a tough hike. I don't care who you are," he told TV station WBIR. "It would even be tough for someone who's not an amputee. It's a tough little deal, but the thing is, we made it."