Vertical Milestones

T.J. Melinn starts his fourth vertical mile by dipping his toe in the Little Pigeon River.

The vertical mile is a hiking challenge that involves climbing Mount Le Conte from the riverside in Gatlinburg. Hikers start by dipping a toe in the Little Pigeon RIver near Ripley's aquarium (elevation 1,313 or less) and then climb 5,280 feet to High Top.

The typical route follows the Cherokee Orchard Road up to Rainbow Falls Trail. Bullhead and Trillium Gap offer alternative routes,and .it is even possible to do via Brushy Mountain Trail by starting near the Emerts Cove covered bridge below Greenbrier. Depending on the route, the round-trip hike is usually more than 22 miles.

Holly Bryant from Andrews, N.C., holds the record with nine vertical miles. Others who have reported multiple vertical miles are Larry Russell and Tim Massey with five each, T.J. Melinn with four, Bonnie Northrup and Jason Schenk with three, and Lee Fortune with two

The first vertical mile may have been in 1922, by Frank Machamer Jr.. He signed the logbook: "Made it in 3 1/2 hours from Gatlinburg. It's hell, but it's great." It's not clear where Mahamer started or if he climbed a full vertical mile.

OIn April 18, 1930, 32-year-old Nick Robinson walked 51 miles from Knoxville to LeConte Lodge. He started at the Andrew Johnson Hotel on Gay Street in Knoxville, which means he climbed over 5,400 feet, climbing the old Rainbow Falls trail (4.1 miles) in 1:48.

LeContest.com has recorded more than a hundred vertical miles in recent years. Melinn recorded four vertical miles in the summer of 2026.

To get credit for the full vertical mile, hikers need to continue past LeConte Lodge to the summit at High Top. Don't be fooled by the "Elevation 6,593" sign on the dining hall.

Recent vertical milers:

Date	Hiker	Route up, down	Miles	Time	Lifetime vertical miles
2026/08/29	Jason Schenk	Bullhead	up 10.62	3:55:37	3
2026/08/22	T.J. Melinn	Rainbow		22:19	4
2026/08/22	Lee Fortune	Rainbow	21.19	5:39	2
2026/08/16	T.J. Melinn	Bullhead	24.49	15:00:20	3
2026/08/16	Jason Shenk		22.26	9:37:37	2
2026/08/09	T.J. Melinn	Rainbow, Bullhead	23.74	11:39:28	2
2026/06/30	Jeff Goulder	Rainbow		7:19 up, 12:38 round trip	1
2026/06/26	T.J. Melinn	Rainbow, Bullhead			1
2026/06/26	Philip Elwick	Rainbow, Bullhead			1
2026/04/02	Constance Perry	Rainbow	22.6	5:23 up, 4:30 down	1
2026/04/01	Rita Koehn		23.4	9:16	1
2026/04/01	Daniel Koehn		23.4	9:16	1