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| Mike Maples (in hooded jacket) on one of his last trips to Le Conte. Click here to see his video of the hike. |
When I started this blog in 2016, I emailed Mike Maples and asked him to help me identify hikers who have climbed Mount Le Conte at least 100 times. Knowing how often he hiked, I suspected he might be among them. "I've not been up there that many times," he responded. "Maybe 35 to 40 times over the years."
As usual, Mike was being modest. I found an old logbook where he signed in with 75.
Mike gave me some helpful hints, like he did for so many hikers who sought his wisdom, perspective, or guidance. Friends called him "the mountain Jedi" for his knowledge of the Great Smoky Mountains, her trails, and relics. Mike was less obsessed with the mountaintops than he was with the families and communities who once lived in the hollows below. He wrote several books about the Smokies.
For the past few months, Mike has been fighting cancer, and on the morning of Tuesday, March 5, at age 66, he passed from this life. He was an expert on cemeteries in the Park and was buried March 10 at the Huskey Cemetery east of Gatlinburg.
Fellow hikers have been posting remembrances. "You touched more people than you will ever know," Brian Brubaker said. "We lost a great park ambassador, historian, story teller and all around great person today. You will be sorely missed. Rest easy my friend."
Philip Clarkson: "The Smokies lost a great friend today! You were the most interesting person I had the pleasure of meeting. You had so many stories about our beloved mountains!"
Mike gave me some helpful hints, like he did for so many hikers who sought his wisdom, perspective, or guidance. Friends called him "the mountain Jedi" for his knowledge of the Great Smoky Mountains, her trails, and relics. Mike was less obsessed with the mountaintops than he was with the families and communities who once lived in the hollows below. He wrote several books about the Smokies.
For the past few months, Mike has been fighting cancer, and on the morning of Tuesday, March 5, at age 66, he passed from this life. He was an expert on cemeteries in the Park and was buried March 10 at the Huskey Cemetery east of Gatlinburg.
Fellow hikers have been posting remembrances. "You touched more people than you will ever know," Brian Brubaker said. "We lost a great park ambassador, historian, story teller and all around great person today. You will be sorely missed. Rest easy my friend."
Philip Clarkson: "The Smokies lost a great friend today! You were the most interesting person I had the pleasure of meeting. You had so many stories about our beloved mountains!"
—Tom Layton
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