We have 88 hikers on the Le Conte honor roll with at least 100 ascents. That number will soon increase, as Tim Massey has set a goal of 100 by the end of 2021.
Tim, a carpenter from Tallassee, has been busy lately, packing loads of cedar shingles to LeConte Lodge to reroof one of the buildings. He will be making additional trips to install the roof, shingles, which should get him to 100. Knoxville TV station WATE produced this feature on Massey. His 93rd climb is scheduled for Sept. 27. He has made the trip 19 times this year and 40 times over the past two years.
On Aug. 18, Tim and Austin Funderburg of the Lodge crew also completed the vertical mile from downtown Gatlinburg to High Top on Le Conte. That’s a climb of 5,299 feet. The roundtrip route up Rainbow and down Bullhead was 21.6 miles and took them 5:57. This is the third time this year Tim has completed the vertical mile.