On the road again

Drove back to Pigeon Forge in more rain - with fog.  How do these people stand it?  Whoops, it seemed a lot like the PNW!

Back at our favorite cheap motel, we unloaded the car completely so we could leave it at the trailhead overnight the next day.  Packed our backpacks and went to see Water for Elephants at Pigeon Forge's brand new (open two weeks) movie theater.  Really nice leather seats!  Light dinner back at the Old Mill Pottery Cafe and early to bed for our big adventure.

The hike to Le Conte Lodge was glorious.  Five miles and about 2800 feet in elevation, we hiked along beautiful streams, through lush forests and interesting rock formations, all the while gazing out at the Great Smoky Mountains.  We used several log bridges to cross the streams and wire cables to steady us up the steep rock ledges. 

You come to the lodge from the top and it's just what we wanted it to be.  A collection of wooden buildings, some very old and none new.  Heat is propane, light comes from oil lamps and there's no running water.  They are very proud of the two new flush toilets in the outhouse building!  There's a registration/gathering building, a dining hall, eight individual cabins and three larger cabins.  We were in the latter, with three bedrooms and a common room.  Our bunkmates were six delightful men from Myrtle Beach, two of whom slept in the common room. 

Interestingly, the group of 40-45 people were mostly 50s and 60s.  It was our most expensive room of the trip, by more than double.  And so worth it!  Dinner and breakfast were set meals - we understand they serve the exact same meal every day and night for the seven month season!  It was $9 for an unlimited glass of wine and even I got my money's worth!  Dining by gas lamp at 6600+ feet with friendly, interesting people - couldn't be better.

We walked 1/2 mile roundtrip to the lookout point for sunset but it was cloudy and we didn't see a thing.  In the morning we hiked two miles rt before breakfast to watch the sunrise and it was clear and spectacular. 

After over-eating at breakfast (these Southerners really know how to make biscuits) it was hard to leave so we sat in wooden rockers on the porch and soaked up the sun.  Alas, we had to leave sometime so we hiked back down the mountain to civilization, which was not all that friendly. 

We tried to park in Gatlinburg and couldn't find a space so headed back out to Pigeon Forge.  We were on our way to a brewery when we decided to try Five Guys Burgers & Fries.  There are 750 stores in 40 states but none in Washington and that's a shame because it was fabulous.  Just what you want after a demanding hike.  We've passed a dozen of them during this trip - probably a good thing  but it was a great lunch/dinner.