Linton Kerr #33-34-35: All 6 trails in 1 long day

Linton Kerr with Melanie Salas as they reached the Lodge for the second time. 

 Congratulations to Linton Kerr of Kingsport, Tennessee, for completing the Tour de Le Conte on Saturday, June 13. 

Actual mileage was 48.5, subtracting
 the shuttle from Alum to Newfound  Gap

 Starting at 4:40 a.m. in Cherokee Orchard, he went up Rainbow and down Trillium in 4:48, up Bullhead and down Alum (two laps complete in 10:06), shuttled to Newfound Gap, and went up the Boulevard and down Brushy Mountain, finishing at 9:26 p.m. in Greenbrier.  He covered 48.5 miles in 16:46:27, sustaining a pace near 3 mph. He went out of his way to tag High Top on each climb and also went by Myrtle Point and Cliff Top, which made his route a little longer than others. Beyond the finish-line gate, he had to hike two more miles, because the Porters Creek road is closed because of a washout. 
 He now has 35 lifetime climbs of Mount Le Conte. With two exceptions, he's been to the mountaintop every year since 1994.  
 Linton had high praise for Melanie Salas, who ran 37 miles with him before stopping because of the heat. "I could not have completed this without the support of a wonderful friend," he said. "I am so proud of what this lady accomplished in her first day ever on Le Conte."
 Linton is the first Tour completer reported in 2020 and the 27th since it was first accomplished in 1993. We have a list of completers in the sidebar of this page. Mobile viewers will need to switch to fullscreen mode to see the sidebar.