By Lauren Hughes
When I first began thinking about attempting the Tour De Le Conte, I was really given pause by the night-hiking component. Certainly, there are those out there that can hike fast enough to complete the tour in the daylight hours, but I am not one of those hikers. To be honest, I wasn’t even sure that I would be able to complete the hike in 24 hrs, let alone without substantial time in the dark.
Up until this point, my longest hike had been a long, brutal twenty-miler day, with pretty modest elevation by comparison. I’d had several hikes in the upper teens with some good climbs, but that is a far cry from the rigor required to summit Mount Le Conte back to back to back.
I began to think seriously about giving it a go. This year marks my 40th birthday, and I had wanted to do something harder than I’d ever done before. Earlier in the summer, I decided to just start hiking the trails, no commitment, just see how it goes.
So after a few long days, 20-miler, 25-miler, 31-miler, I’m in! I think I can do this. But still, this dang darkness! While the summer solstice had came and went, I started looking at other celestial events that might just brighten my way. Turns out, we still had 2 supermoons left in 2024. One of which, August 19, was also a seasonal blue moon. It felt right. That felt like the day. How often would I try and hike 45 miles in one day … maybe once in a blue moon, maybe?
The day was set, the plan was made. I started off up Bull Head Trail 3:53 am on August 19th. My plan was to start Bull Head, the most open-skied trail in the dark with all the glory of the bright supermoon, lighting my way. I had even considered that I might not even need my headlamp, because the moon would be so bright.
That was not the reality. The reality was--it was cloudy and rainy, and I couldn’t even see the moon. Donning my disposable poncho and headlamp, it was a wet and dark climb for the first ascent. The views down to Gatlinburg were pretty astonishing, though. The lights looked so far away, contrasting with the darkness of the park. I didn’t even realize I had made it to the Pulpit, until I practically ran into it.
The rain puttered on and off for the rest of the day. My plan was to take a picture in front of the iconic Dining Hall at Mount LeConte with each ascent. It was so socked in, that I actually walked past it the first time and had to turn around to get my picture! I headed down Boulevard to Newfound Gap to rendezvous with my wonderful husband, who agreed to be my support person/shuttle driver/stat keeper for this endeavor. WIth leg one in the books, we headed down to Alum Cave parking lot to begin leg 2.
I oriented the route with a couple things in mind:
I needed a short shuttle between trailheads because time is a concern.
I’m faster hiking uphill than hiking downhill. The downhills are tough for me. So I wanted the steepest and most technical routes to be my ascents. Leg 2 would be up Alum Cave, down Trillium Gap. I was still feeling pretty good, but my feet were soaked. They'd been wet since the very beginning. I decided that I was going to go ahead and swap my socks. While my shoes were still going to be wet, I thought at least changing the socks might help. I pealed off the wet pair and oof-the nail on my big toe was blanched white. That nail didn't look good.
Once again, rocking the poncho and fresh socks, I hit the summit of Mount Leconte with it being totally socked in. I would end up with no views from the top the whole time. The descent down Trillium Gap went off without much trouble, but this toenail was beginning to become painful and felt loose. The leg down to Brushy Mountain was the most difficult, being quite rocky. I hit Cherokee Orchard parking area and once again met my husband, who had a lovely pre-cooked hamburger patty, water, and snacks waiting for me. He even drove into town and bought me another pair of socks! I confessed at that time, I was feeling pretty tired and considering calling it. As much as I appreciated the socks, I was afraid that my nail was either already off or would come off with them. So I declined the offer.
One of my hiking mantras is that "Sometimes the way you feel is a lie.” I FELT tired, but my pace was saying that I wasn’t done yet. I was actually still about 2 hours ahead of my target schedule. My pace hadn’t slowed at all. And to quit, would mean it was all for naught. I had put a lot of planning into this. I had asked a lot of my family to make this possible for me. My husband and I had both taken time off work, and made the drive, waking up at 2:45 in the morning. And, in my heart, I felt like it was a one-shot deal. I finish or I don’t. I wasn’t likely to make another attempt.
He kindly asked me how I would feel if I finished, and how I would feel if I quit. And that was the move. There were the answers I needed. Nothing I didn’t already know, but he made me say it out loud. I didn’t stay too long, less time to change my mind. I knew once I started the third leg, I probably wouldn’t quit. There’s no easy way down from the top! You’re in it then--might as well go all the way.
I made the 3rd ascent at 9:45 pm. All I lacked was finishing, but I was beginning to slow down and my toe was throbbing. Woo-boy did I struggle down the 3.6 miles of Trillium Gap to Brushy Mountain. The combination of the rain, darkness, fatigue, and rocks, oh the rocks-I thought that section would never end! I kept checking my GPS--surely I’m almost there. I was not. Of the whole Tour, that section stands out in my mind as the most difficult part. When I finally hit Brushy Mountain, I thought I was going to cry with happiness!
One trail left!! I had gotten really confused about how long it took me to get there from Mount Leconte. I started to panic, afraid that if I kept that slower pace, I wouldn’t finish in time. Brushy Mountain is the only trail that I had not hiked previously. Now it was still raining, and dark-dark, and I had no idea what was ahead. I just hoped that most of the rocks were behind me. And they were!
I just tried to keep moving swiftly. Just keep going, you’ll know when you get there. It’s funny how your eyes start to play tricks on you in the dark. Several times, I thought I was seeing signage, or person, or anything else that might have signaled I was almost done, but it was just the light of the headlamp reflecting off a rock. When I finally hit Porter’s Creek, it was the home stretch! I knew I would make it.
Seeing the headlights in the parking lot at 2:28 in the morning and having my husband there to greet me was the absolute best feeling. What a day! Final time was 22:35! I made it. And I feel like I was right all along, once in a blue moon is frequent enough for me!
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