"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

"This peak was definitely not worth bagging. From the Alum Cave going north, you take an old, overgrown trail that disappears halfway up the mountain. You literally are pulling yourself up by grabbing rhododendron plants. At the ridge again the ridge route is extremely overgrown." — srphilip • Sep 3, 2014

"I parked and started at the Alum Cave Trailhead. The Arch Rock is an excellent geological site, and hiking up through it is well worth the hiking effort. Alum Cave is beautiful but not a cave in my opinion. It is more of a cliff out crop, over hang or escarpment. The trail leads under the escarpment and is impressive. At this point the trail breaks away from Alum Cave and a sign points to the Le Conte Lodge. The summit is completely in the opposite direction of the sign and makes you want to head in the other direction, which I did. I hiked up the Alum Cave edge for several hundred yards and it just got to steep and thick. The rock was wet and slick, full of vegetation, so I headed back down to the trail where it broke from Alum Cave. The trail circumnavigates the summit and never hits the summit. I continued around until the trail starts to lose elevation on the Northwest side of the summit. Here you must bushwhack to summit. Pick your poison, because this is where it gets difficult. I chose a spot with the least resistance but had good hand holds with the Magnolia roots. It is hard to image or picture, but it is a class 3 climb at this point with soft mossy soil and roots as your..." — marshallstewart • May 19, 2014

"Off trail bushwhack from Alum Cave Bluffs. ONLY for those who like doing this sort of thing. Purely one of those "I did it" adventures. Most of the mountain tops in this National Park have no views and this is no exception. Very easy to get off track as I did coming down. I ended up coming down farther away from the Bluffs than where I went up. Zero view at the top and only a couple spots on the way where you could see tops of other mountains sticking up (see pic). I posted a blog on the hike at GoSmokies: http://gosmokies.knoxnews.com/profiles/blogs/to-the-top-of-the-mountain" — grsmguy • Jul 29, 2013