I chose a very grueling hike to test out what kind of shape I was in, so I planned on taking Bull Head up Mount Le Conte and then Trillium Gap back around. This is probably the longest Mount Le Conte Loop hike, and it would have been over a 20-mile day with over 5,000 ft of elevation gain. I forgot the Bull Head was closed during the week due to trail renovations, so I had to audible and go up Rainbow falls trail. I would still end up with over 18 miles and by the end I was wasted.
I have done this loop a few times, but I usually take Trillium Gap up, and Rainbow falls back down. I Chose to do it this way because one, Bull Head was closed, but two I wanted to the higher elevation gain going up to judge my strength. It also has been a bit easier on my knees lately, doing the slighter grade down.
- Rainbow Falls -
The Rainbow Falls Trail is 6.7 miles to the top of Mount Le Conte. It gets its name from the almost 80-foot waterfall located just 2.8 miles up the trail. This waterfall is the highest single drop waterfall located within the bounds of the Smoky Mountains National Park. From here it is another 3.9 miles up to where the trail ends at the Le Conte Lodge.From there I hiked up to Hight Point, that is the true summit of Mount Le Conte standing at 6,593 ft. After I tagged to the top, I went over to Myrtle Point where I had my brunch, coffee, and did some rehydrating for the push back down the mountain. I also took in some great views as well.
- At the Summit of Mount Le Conte "High Top" -
To get to the Trillium Gap trailhead I had to back track past High Top where the junction is right before you get back to the Lodge. Trillium Gap is an 8.9-mile trail that has the lowest elevation gain of any of the Le Conte trails, but the lesser elevation is traded for a longer trail. After 3.6 miles you will reach the Brushy Mountain trail junction and from there it is about 1.5 miles to Grotto Falls. Grotto Falls is a 25 ft waterfall and is the only waterfall in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park that the trail takes you behind the falls. Once past Grotto Falls it is roughly another two miles of trail that will follow the Roaring Fork Motor Trail road back to the Rainbow Falls trailhead and complete the loop. A challenging but still one of my favorite hikes in the park. To break it up and give yourself more time you could always spend the night in the shelter on top of Le Conte. You will need to get a permit to do this, and there are no fires allowed there. As always, my friends hike on and stay safe out there.
- The Grotto Falls -
- 3D Rendering of My Route -
My
Route
Rainbow
Falls Trail Trillium
Gap Trail Total
Miles Total
Elevation Gain Total
Time
This tribute video to Frank has been over a year in the making. I wanted to do the hike closer to the one-year anniversary of his passing the rainbow bridge but did not get it done for a few months after that. Between being busy at work and technical difficulties uploading the video to YouTube I had to scrape my first edit and do it again on new video editing software. Finally, I am able to share my tribute hike with you all.
Words cannot do justice to my feelings about Frank, so this video is my attempt to do so visually. Frank was the sweetest, gentlest, and bestest dog companion a person could have so I hope it comes through.
Thanks for watching, and as always, hike on and stay safe!
Video’s Featuring Frank:
Hiking the North
Old Mac Trail with Frank
Frozen Head Stat
Park, Wartburg, TN January 12, 2020
There are often small events in life that create big turning points. One such event was running into a German Shepperd puppy at a camping trip over eight years ago. Whatever the reason Mary Ellen decided at that point we were getting a dog and along came Earl.
I never wanted a dog, I was a cat guy, but Earl taught me that I was in fact a dog guy. When I saw Frank pop up on the foster’s socials it was a no brainer that we got him as Earl could use a companion. Larry was a bit more of a fight, but Mary Ellen was right, and he fit right in and our three stooges were born.
For whatever reason Frank and I bonded, and he quickly became my ride or die pup. He would actually wake me up on the weekends if I did not get up early enough, so I could watch him run out in the yard while I drank my coffee. He was sweet, loyal, and just the bestest boy!
Frank loved to go hiking with me and would get super excited when we went on our adventures. He would probably do double the milage as he would go from one side of the trail to the other looking for chipmunks, squirrels, birds, and such.
When Frank crossed over the rainbow bridge, he left a huge gap in our hearts and our lives. We still had Earl and Larry, but Frank was the life and soul of our yard. He was always running, chasing birds and butterflies, so with Frank who needed TV. So, Frank now works behind the scenes and has led us to some very special dogs.
Because we needed life in the yard again, we decided to adapt a little English Pointer Maggie, who has taken up Frank’s gusto in the yard and goes hiking with me. Frank led us to Greece, where we found Cookie who possessed that sweet setter personality and gentleness. Finally, back to Greece one more time as we await our little Turner who is Frank’s doppelganger in appearance.
We may be a little crazy, but I am certain Frank has had a hand in all three for our new arrivals. Frank will be forever missed, but he lives on in our hearts and these three new fur babies.
Red River
Gorge Geological Area August 22-24, 2025
Blog Post:
In July of
2024 my friend Greg and I took a trip to Red River Gorge with the purpose of
climbing the Indian Staircase, hiking the Double Arch Loop. Both these hike
wrong turns were made and it has been driving me crazy ever since.
It drove me
crazy so bad that I decided to take a half day off from work this year and head
back up to Red River Gorge just so I could rectify those mistakes. I again
stayed at the Natural Bridge State Park campgrounds and used that as my base
camp. The park as two locations for the campgrounds and I was across the street
from where we stayed the last time. I think I prefer the previous location a
little bit better, but I have no complaints.
After getting
camp set up I decided to hike some of the park trails up to the Natural Bridge,
and it is a beautiful park. The Natural Bridge is huge, and has some fun
sections and a lot of amazing views. It is a steep climb up to the bridge, but
they have a “sky lift”, which is like a ski lift, for you to ride to the top if
you are so inclined. I will be spending some more time here in the future to
check out more of the park’s trail system.
Day two was
my big day. My plan was to get up early get breakfast and head off to the
Indian Staircase. After that hike I would get back to the Jeep and cruise over
to the Double Arch trailhead, have lunch and head out for my second hike of the
day. The day started out hot and muggy and ended the same way.
On my way to
the Indian Staircase I had no problems navigating this time and knew the exact
spot I screwed up last year. The first quarter mile or so is up hill but not
bad, it is a good warmup for what is to come. The climb starts out rutty and
rocky then eventually turns to the sandstone face you expect. Once you get up
the first little part you will follow a trail to the left that will take you to
the first section of handholds in the rock. After three sections of these you a
pretty much on the top of Cloud Splitter.
It was an
amazing climb, and even though I need to start exploring new sections of Red
River Gorge I feel I will be drawn back here again. On top you have beautiful
views, and the hike down has many other things to see. One could spend a whole
day or two just exploring this area, but I had a busy day, and it was on to my
next stop.
I was lucky
to find a good parking spot and the Double Arch trailhead, had lunch and
rehydrated for my second hike of the day. I wanted to do the whole loop and get
back over to Courthouse Rock and Auxier Ridge but that would not be in the
cards for me today.
This first
part of the Double Arch hike is on a gravel road that has been fenced off. There
is forest on either side, but it is the boring part of the hike. The real fun
begins when you reach the stairway that will take you down in the canyon then
back up to the arches. Once I got down the stairs, I knew the whole loop was
going to be out of the questions. My fingers and toes started to cramp, and my
hips became real sore. The hot muggy day caught up with me as I just couldn’t
hydrant fast enough.
I made it to
the arches, and it was a beautiful sight to see though I really did prefer Courthouse
Rock and Auxier Ridge sections of the hike. I did make the section of the hike
I missed and called it a win for the trip. I plan on coming back to get the
whole hike one day.
Great trip,
just not enough time to get everything I wanted done. I plan on coming up here
in the future and hopefully and can spend maybe three days hiking with two
travel days. It is not a far trip from the house. I would also like to backpack
the area and kayak the Red River. As always my friends, hike on…and stay save
out there!
The Three Hikes of the Trip:
Hike One – Natural Bridge
State Park Natural Bridge
State Park / Sladye, KY August 22, 2025
Fund hike through the Natural Bridge park, the views and scenery are amazing.
Greg and I on our first trip to Red River Gorge where we hike both
the Indian Staircase and Double Arch Loop. We took wrong turns on both hikes,
which lead me back a year later to see the areas we missed.
Here is the unedited video of my 2025 climb up the Indian Staircase.
What a fun and thrilling adventure to reach the top of Cloud Splitter via
this route.I would not recommend this
climb for people scared of heights, young children, or dog.
Decided to spend a couple of nights out in the backcountry of Cherokee National Forest. What was special about this trip was that for the second night my wife joined me with Earl and Maggie.
The first night I was fighting the coming dark to get setup and try my hand at a backcountry birthday dinner in honor of my father. His favorite meal was hamburgers and French fries, so I made it over the campfire. I think it would have turned out better if I had more time to get some coals in the fire and had light to actually see what I was doing.
It was probably a tad warm to have the dogs out there, but for the most part it went well. Maggie must have hurt her tail from running on the rocks and playing in the stream. At night she could not get comfortable, and we noticed the next day that she could not hold her tail up. It did heal up after a couple of days at home, and she is back to her normal self.
I would still like to try and get Maggie out on a longer hike with a backcountry camp at the end. I think if I could wear out, she would be calm enough to camp.
Finally got to a campsite I have been eyeing along the Bald River, and it is a great spot. You are off the trail a bit so you don't have people hiking the trail right beside you and plenty of resources for fires, and bush crafting can't wait to get back when it is a little cooler.
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