On November 19, 2008 I had Total Knee Arthroplasty (knee replacement) on my right knee. Shortly after that I started planning my return to Mt. LeConte. I knew that the annual airlift resupply of the lodge would be in mid-March, so I set that as my goal. I had no idea how far I would be able to hike, I just knew that I would give it a try and go as far as my knee would allow.

Nora, Stephen and I left Indy early on the morning of March 15, heading for Gatlinburg with plans to hike the Alum Cave Bluff Trail on the 16th, the planned airlift date. We stopped at the Bass Pro Shops in Sevierville to buy a new daypack and then continued to Gatlinburg. By mid-afternoon we had checked into condo number 3062 at Summit Manor in downtown Gatlinburg. The condo was very roomy and comfortable and was less expensive than the price of two hotel rooms. (Learn more about the condo.)

After resting from our trip we took the elevator to street level and walked the short distance to Calhoun’s Restaurant for dinner. It has become a tradition of ours to eat at Calhoun’s with other fellow hikers the night before a hike. Unfortunately the forecasted bad weather had caused many to cancel their plans for this hike. We missed our friends very much, but we enjoyed a wonderful dinner nonetheless. After dinner we took to the streets of Gatlinburg to visit some of the shops. As we went from shop to shop we noticed that there was an unusual number of older gentlemen with white hair and long white beards, many of them wearing some combination of red and white attire. We later learned that a Santa convention was in town. 

On Monday morning the weather forecasters were proven to have good credentials. Their prediction of cloudy and rainy weather proved to be true. Undaunted, we dressed for bad weather and headed out for the trail. At Campbell’s Overlook I took a picture of Balsam Point, the only peak on Mount LeConte that we saw this trip. 

At the ACB trailhead we took some traditional pictures as we prepared to start our hike. Nora caught this picture of me flexing my new knee. As we crossed the bridge over Walker Camp Prong we noticed the abundance of water flow. The same was true for both Alum Cave Creek and Styx Branch. I don’t know if the drought is officially over, but this was for sure the most water we have seen in these streams in a long time. 

By the first foot log we lost one of our hikers. Nora was feeling somewhat under the weather, so she turned around and headed back to the parking lot. As Stephen and I continued we passed the mini-waterfall on Styx Branch and I couldn’t help but remember the airlift hike of two years ago. While taking a picture of the mini-waterfall, one of the ladies on the hike dropped her camera into the water. Strange the things you remember while hiking in these mountains.

Arch Rock presented me with my first real challenge of the hike. Stephen waited for me at the top as I tested my new knee’s ability to climb the uneven steps up though the arch. And the rocks above the arch were no treat either. As I later found out though, the climb up was nothing compared to climbing back down. The return trip was the only time on this hike that I actually questioned my sanity in attempting this hike.

After crossing the Styx Branch a fourth time, passing the 1993 washout, the trail collapse of ’07 and Table Rock, we arrived at Inspiration Point. It was here at the two-mile mark that my knee let me know that to go farther would not be a good idea. The mechanical parts were working fine, but the organic parts (muscles) were becoming tired. So, Stephen and I ate our lunch, took some pictures of the Eye of the Needle, Square Eye and Dolly’s Peaks, and otherwise took in and enjoyed the surroundings. The balsam aroma that filled the air was awesome. 

Soon Inspiration Point started getting crowded as other hikers arrived. After talking for a while with some the newcomers, we began our return down the mountain. At the site of the ’07 trail collapse we met five volunteers who were headed for the lodge to help with the rescheduled airlift on Tuesday. At Arch Rock the rain that had been holding off began to fall in earnest but did not last long. My return hike was much slower than the hike up. I have discovered that my new knee likes going up hill much better than going down hill. I had told Stephen to go on ahead and I would catch up with him at the parking lot. By the half-mile mark some of the hikers we had met at Inspiration Point were passing me on their way down. One particularly thoughtful couple offered to walk with me and carry my backpack. I thanked them but assured them I was doing fine.

As I crossed the last bridge, Nora was waiting for me and photographed my triumphant finish to what had been a challenging but very rewarding hike. A journey begins with one step and this was my first step in getting back to the top of Mt LeConte. I’m thinking maybe Labor Day weekend.

From the Alum Cave Trail parking area we drove the short distance to the North Carolina airlift staging area. The area was closed and barricaded. We took a few pictures but for the most part there wasn’t anything to see but fog.

When we left Gatlinburg at 8:30 on Tuesday morning, the whole area was covered in a very thick blanket of fog. After arriving home in Indy I called the lodge office to see if they had been able to do the airlift. I was told that the fog finally cleared at about 11:00 a.m. and they were able to start the resupply. At 4:15 p.m. the airlift was still in progress.