The beautiful autumn weather
outside my back door just wouldn't let me stay at home Wednesday, 10/31/07. I decided rather late in the morning that
I'd go hike on the north face of Mt. LeConte and enjoy some views I'd not yet seen this year.
There are two trails on the north
face of Mt. LeConte: Rainbow Falls trail and Bull Head trail. If you've been up to Mt. LeConte via a trail other
than Alum Cave then there is a good chance it was the Rainbow Falls trail. Probably you've never hiked Bull Head trail
since it is the least used of any of the five trails that lead to Mt. LeConte. The lower elevation trailheads for these
two trails are only about 0.6 mile apart and they join together at the top near the Westpoint summit of Mt. LeConte. Each
trail follows one of two ridges that are split by LeConte Creek; Rainbow Falls climbs up the Rocky Spur and Bull Head trail
goes up an unnamed spur that has a profile some say resembles a bull's head. Both trails offer excellent views of the
surrounding mountains and valleys.
My plan was to hike up Rainbow
Falls trail and come back down Bull Head trail. It would be my first time to hike UP the Rainbow Falls trail.
Now, only one day later, I'd look forward to going back for another hike along one of those two trails--in either
direction. The other trail has probably seen the last of me until enough time passes that I forget how knarly it was.
I arrived at the Rainbow Falls
trailhead at noon which left me only 7 hours of daylight (sunset was to be at 6:30 pm). I wasn't certain I could
do the full hike in 7 hours and had decided that if I wasn't at or very near the summit by 3:30 pm that I'd turn around
and come back down the mountain. I always take extra food & clothing plus a hiking headlight but what fun is there
in hiking alone in the dark when you cannot see all the lovely fall colors?
Trick or Treat? Who put all of that iodine in the drinking water
at LeConte Lodge? Yuck! On my last visit--Halloween day--the normally delicious water at LeConte tasted strongly
of iodine water purification chemicals. I hope this was a temporary situation--otherwise
I'll be filtering my own water on the next trip. Suggestion to hikers: Taste the LeConte water first before you
"contaminate" your otherwise delicious drinking water with LeConte-wine. Posted 11/1/2007.
