"First ascent logged! This was both my and my hiking buddy Zane's first hike up any type of mountain. I'm 19, as of writing about to turn 20, and Zane just turned 20. Mt Le Conte seemed like a great first hike as it's very safe and popular. The plan was to camp and make this more of a multi day trip, but the regulations on dispersed camping seemed difficult. As a result, we plan on camping on a future hike up Mt Mitchell. Future readers can see if that comes to fruition lol. Anyways, it was an 11.2 mile trail in and out - I took the Alum Cave Trail route - and it took around 5:36:00 to complete including all of our breaks for pictures, snacks, and rest. We began just after noon EST and finished just after 5:30 EST. I tracked about 2,854 ft of elevation gain. Took some great pictures and enjoyed some great views. This was also my first time in a national park - sans some visits via driving through one etc. Generally would consider the ascent hike as quite average in difficulty, albeit the snow melted into black ice and made for some slippery moments. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park was lots of fun. Very pretty even in the winter and saw lots of people both on the trail a..." — ethanquick • Jan 3, 2026

"We left the cabin at 5:45am and got to the trailhead by twilight to make a go on Mount LeConte 12 miles and 3,000+’ of elevation in GSMNP - through Arch Rock, past Alum Cave and on up. Got into LeConte Lodge as they were locking it down for winter and strolled around camp. LeConte Lodge is the only lodging in the NP and you have to hike in on foot. No road access, resupplied by air drop. At its highest elevation of 6,593 feet at High Top, Mount Le Conte rises more than 5,300 feet above its base in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. As we summited, it started snowing as we made our way out to Myrtle Point to check out the scenic vistas across the Smokey’s - but there were none - we were surrounded by fog and cloud in every direction. Regardless we made the best of it. Descended by 1pm and headed to dumb ole' Cades Cove. " — wiweasel • Nov 22, 2023

"Max and I climbed. Took a bit to convince him to go but I think he enjoyed it. Cool archway we climbed under. A little crowded overall, but nice. Especially nice as we climbed higher. 90s below, low 60s at the summit." — slally • May 28, 2012

"Summited with four others from our Southern Appalachians geology field trip. It was still pretty icy near the top. Falling icicles as tall as 6 feet were landing on the trail at Alum Cave." — lazerpuppynerdsammich • Mar 6, 2012

"We had planned this for a year and talked to the LeConte Lodge to make sure that we were going to climb with the Llama train that resupplies the lodge. We met the Llama wrangler at the Trillium Gap trailhead at 7am, and headed up. Got good video of the Llama's moving behind Grotto Falls, which was worth the whole climb. Had a snack at Trillium Gap, where I went on to climb Brushy Mountain. The Great Explorer slowed down a bit on the final climb to the lodge, but we still made it in time for lunch (and to see the Llama's start down). Bagged the high point, Cliff Top, Myrtle Point, and made an attempt at West Point between lunch and dinner. " — edwandall • Apr 13, 2011

"It was a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky. Three friends and I began the hike early in the morning and it was the first snow hike I had ever done. This was one of the first hikes that gave me the hiking bug." — OverTheRidge • Feb 1, 2011