Hannah Thompson, Lauren Keeton, Kathryn Placer, Joy Blair When Lauren Keeton and Kathryn Placer watched their husbands complete the Tour de Le Conte last year, they were inspired to try it too. In the pre-dawn hours April 2, Lauren and Kathryn along with friends Hannah Thompson and Jason and Joy Blair headed up the Brushy Mountain trail, starting a 45.1-mile day that would encompass all six trails on Mount Le Conte. They went down Boulevard, up Alum Cave, down Bullhead, up Rainbow Falls, and down Trillium Gap, finishing at 3:10 a.m. Sunday, April 3, in a time of 23 hours and 1 minute—ten minutes faster than the husbands on their initial tour last August. As planned, Joy Blair did only the first four trails. Jason had planned only to accompany them for the dark hikes before sunrise, but along the way his wife encouraged him to continue and he completed the Tour for the third time in nine months. Jason now has three tours, ranking second to LeConte Lodge manager John Northrup with four. These are the first four completions of the Tour reported in 2022. It’s been accomplished at least 64 times by 32 men and 10 women individuals since 1993.
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