Tuesday, August 10, 2021
We had a rather lazy morning. I downloaded pictures from two cameras and the phone to the computer and wrote up the last couple of days. We were all tired from a very active day yesterday, and the kids didn’t get up until almost 8:00. They had a big breakfast of cereal, fruit, sausage and eggs, and then Josh had a yogurt.
Melissa loves the hammock, and is in it swinging high every chance she gets. Amazingly flexible. Who else could sit in a hammock with their feet resting on the edge of the hammock to each side of her, legs stretched out in a super split? Then she is holding onto her toes, smiling!
Our event of the day was to hike Mt. LeConte to the bluffs, about half way to the top, about 2.3 miles up. We had reviewed some of the hiking possibilities, and this was the one chosen. It is an hour drive from the campground on the River Road that follows Little River, the one we tubed yesterday. This is a picture-perfect trout stream. A river is bigger than a stream, so in trout stream terms, this is a big one with lots of big boulders and lots of big pools. We saw some people fishing it, but not so many. With so many people visiting the park, the traffic was busy on a very narrow two-lane road that curves many times following the river up the mountain. I honked at several people who crossed the yellow line.
Poor Melissa gets car sick, and this is not a good road for people who get car sick. She was a little wobbly by the time we got to the trailhead. Cars filled the parking lot and lined both sides of the road in both directions. We finally found a spot a half mile from the trailhead. Several people were fishing a beautiful pool below us. Getting down the steep bank must have been interesting. Getting back up would be a real challenge.
It’s a beautiful hike up Mt. LeConte, following a very pretty trout stream. The Bluffs are a huge rock overhang with water dripping over the edge. This could be a big waterfall after a heavy rain. A lady said I should continue a quarter mile further to “The Fields” for a spectacular view. While Martha and the kids ate lunch, I hiked ahead. The climb is more steep as you go higher, and I never found “The Fields”, so I headed back. The walk down wasn’t so bad, but still a long walk. Everyone was tired by the time we drove an hour to get back to camp.
It was a good night to make pizza in the new oven, and it was a big hit, letting Josh and Melissa make their own. It was a good pizza and a fun way to let everyone participate.
