Tour de Le Conte
- Jun 21
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 23
The Tour de Le Conte involves hiking all six trails to Mount Le Conte in a span of 24 hours. The challenge ordinarily is more endurance than speed.
But the tour turned into a footrace for Christopher Schneider on May 30 and T.J. Melinn on June 21. They both had to hustle to their finish line in Greenbrier. Schneider completing 43.4 miles in 23 hours and 58 minutes, and Melinn 47.6 miles in 23:55:34.
At least 126 persons have complete the Tour de Le Conte challenge since LeContest.com has been keeping records, including seven in 2026.
June 20: Melinn, known as the Bearded Hiking Guide, completed the Tour only six weeks after his first Le Conte climb. Starting at midnight, he climbed Trillium Gap, descended Bullhead during sunrise, climbed Rainbow Falls, descended Alum Cave, climbed the Boulevard, and came down Brushy Mountain after dark.
On the way to the finish line, he was paced for two miles by friend Philip Elswick. If you wonder if you might be able to take on the tour, consider that Melinn's longest previous hike was 28 miles.
The Bearded Guide offers more details and photos on his Facebook page.
May 30-31: Schneider and Jason Bintz teamed up for a Tour but Bintz was sidelined by injury after four hikes. Danita Holcombe accompanied Schneider for the last two hikes, including the final 4.5 miles down Brushy Mountain. to the Greenbrier trailhead.
Starting late afternoon May 30 on Alum Cave Bluff, Schneider and Bintz reached LeConte Lodge at 7:45, enjoyed a sunset descending Bullhead, and climbed Rainbow Falls overnight, returning to the lodge at 3:15, taking care not to disturb the overnight guests while refilling their water. Dawn was breaking when they reached Grotto Falls on the Trillium Gap trail. Bintz resigned after 26 miles, but Schneider drove to Newfound Gap and continued the Tour via Boulevard.
May 1-2: Kris Bible and Andy Rohrer started May 1, 2026, in Greenbrier and finished May 2 in Cherokee Orchard. They also pushed the 24-hour limit, with Rohrer finishing in 23:21 and Rohrer in 23:30. They went up Brushy, down Boulevard, up Alum, down Trillium, up Bullhead, and down Rainbow.
March 14: Three Knoxville friends completed a rare winter tour. John Sorah, his father Chris Sorah, and their friend Alan Thoms completed a full circuit of of Mount Le Conte's trails. The weather was mild but the trails atop the mountain were icy.
Starting at 3:57 a.m., they hiked up Trillium Gap, down Bullhead, up Rainbow Falls, down Alum, up Boulevard, and down Brushy Mountain, finishing at 10 p..m. That's 43.6 miles in 17 hours and 8 minutes.
The only previous winter tours were by Luke Bollschweiler in December 2019 and Timothy Schandling in March 2024.
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