Following the footsteps of the Tour trailblazers

Katie Baker (right) with a friend who hiked with her up Brushy Mountain Trail

 Katie Baker wasn't going to let rain spoil her 40th birthday parade. That was the day she intended to complete the Tour de Le Conte—hiking all six trails that lead to Mount Le Conte in a span of 24 hours. 
 Accompanied by friends, Katie started up the Brushy Mountain trail at 5:07 a.m. on Oct. 19, then went down Rainbow Falls, up Bullhead, down Boulevard, and up Alum to LeConte Lodge for the third time in 12 hours. The rain intensified as she hiked down the Trillium Gap trail and made her way behind the torrent of Grotto Falls. At 10:02 p.m., after 44 miles and nearly 17 hours of hiking, she reached the Trillium trailhead on Roaring Fork Road. The Trillium Gap trail actually continues another 2.4 miles to Cherokee Orchard, but by that point the storm had made it dangerous to continue, so she and her hiking partners decided to stop there. 
 Does that count as a completed Tour de Le Conte? 
 The question stumped me, since there are no written rules for the Tour de Le Conte. The spirit of the challenge is to hike all six trails that lead to the top of the mountain, which she did. All the other routes start at roadside trailheads, so to me, there's nothing wrong with stopping at the first road you reach coming down.
 I've asked other completers for their perspectives. One of them told me that back in 1993, the original completers of the Tour de Le Conte, Lee Lewis and Mike Povia, also stopped at the same place Katie did. 
 When I initially reported that Katie's completion time of 16:55 was the fastest known time for a female, she emailed me apologetically. "I don't deserve that title," she wrote. "Had we done the last two miles to Cherokee Orchard, I think it would have been the fastest, but I am happy we stopped at Roaring Fork. It was becoming unsafe out there.
 "If this means we didn't 'do' the Tour, I understand. Having traveled so far and crossing the summit three times should count for something. I hope this makes it right in the eyes of the Le Conte family, and I hope a gal comes along soon who crushes the record."
 Her wish came true six days later, when Dr. Nancy East completed her Tour in 16:13, including the extra miles between the Roaring Fork and Cherokee Orchard trailheads.
 I would appreciate opinions from the hiking community on how to define the Tour de Le Conte. For now, I am crediting Katie with finishing the Tour, but I am not posting her time on the list of completers since it would be unfair to compare it to others who went the extra miles. Your comments on this are welcome below. 
 To me, the gap at the end of Katie's hike is similar to the one between Newfound Gap and the Alum Cave trailhead. We accept that most completers will take a car between those trailheads, even though Nathaniel Klumb recently used a bicycle for that section.
 To me, anyone who completes all six trails from the trailheads to the Lodge has earned Tour de Le Conte bragging rights.
 Katie's respect for "the Le Conte family" comes from deep roots in the Smokies. She is the great-granddaughter of Fanny Cable Carringer (1894-1986) of Cades Cove. Katie is a homeschooling mother of three, and a published author who has climbed Mount Le Conte five times.

WHAT SHOULD WE CALL THE TOUR? 

 Tour de Le Conte has become the popular name for the six-hike challenge. Personally, I  prefer it without the "de", since Tour Le Conte has a lyrical cadence that matches Tour de France. Also, I like 24 Hours of Le Conte as a nice parallel for 24 Hours of Le Mans, the French auto race featured in the film, Ford vs. Ferrari. 

THE 5-TRAIL TOUR: A WORTHY ACCOMPLISHMENT

 Some hikers disregard the Brushy Mountain Trail as part of the Le Conte network because it connects to the Trillium Gap trail so far below the summit. Still, the other five trails form a worthy challenge that deserves recognition. 

 In 1999, Ann Marie Otis and one of her students at Christian Academy of Knoxville, Katie Felde, completed the five highest trails in 18:30—then made it to school the following day.
 In 2016, Minta Ray and Taylor Drake successfully hiked the five highest trails, covering 39 miles in 19 hours. At the end, they went up and down Alum. 
 Ed Wright's journal mentions a man named Kent LaVoi and a friend named Brant or Brandon from Sevierville who attempted the tour on Nov. 25, 1997. Kent signed in twice at the Lodge but evidently did not make the third loop.