It’s surprisingly difficult to find a looping route for a 1-night backpacking trip in the Great Smoky Mountains. The Mount Le Conte loop is one such possibility though. However even here it involves hitchhiking back to your start or bushwhacking it — I found the latter impossible due to the dense vegetation. That said, it’s a great trip, even if the weather is fairly adverse as it was when I did this trip in March 2016.

How long?
2days, 1 night

How many miles?
17 miles / 27.61km

How?
Hiking + wilderness / backcountry camping
Map required, compass optional, unless you plan to bushwhack back to the start (trails are. well maintained & sign-posted; still I would carry a compass just in case)

Maps?
National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map #229 or #317 (I’d recommend #317 over #229 though)

Itinerary:
Newfound Gap -> Mount Le Conte -> Newfound Gap

Leg1: Newfound Gap -> Mount Le Conte

The route is reasonably straightforward: start from Newfound Gap and take the Appalachian Trail until the Boulevard Trail branches off, then follow the latter until you reach the Mount Le Conte shelter where you’ll spend the night. The the next morning, follow the Alum Cave trail down. When you hit the highway (route 441), you can either hike the road back up to Newfound Gap, hitchhike or try to bushwhack it back. I originally intended to do the latter, but the vegetation was too dense. Also conditions were very poorly (fog) with visibility less than 10-15 meters, so I did not want to risk getting lost. So I hitchhiked back up, which worked quite well thanks to a trio of kind Floridian backpackers.

If you do this hike as an overnight, be sure to reserve a backcountry permit from the Great Smoky Mountains NPS webpage. You have to select the Mount Le Conte shelter — there’s only 12 spots and on weekend, even in winter they will go fast. You can book the permits up to 30 days in advance and print them off at home; no need to collect them in person from the backcountry permit office in the park.

I arrived at Newfound Gap at around 1pm and it started raining just as I had got my stuff ready and was about to set off. However the clouds overhead were mostly scattered, even if densely so, and so I decided to wait that shower out — no need to be soaked right from the start. And fair enough, 10 minutes later it had stopped again. So I set off. Another 10 minutes later it was pouring down again — doh! Luckily I brought a wide rimmed hat and was wearing a quite water resistant coat and equally water repellent hiking pants. Also most of my clothes were synthetic and quick to dry, so no need to worry too much. Also I had spare clothes and my backpack is actually completely water proof — you can actually immerse it underwater. In the end it was not too bad: there were several showers as I hiked to Charlies Bunion (where it rained hard and was windy as hell) and then back to the Boulevard Trail. But once on the Boulevard Trail it stayed mostly dry, though foggy and overcast. In the evening the skies finally cleared a bit and I had great, lonely, views from the Cliff Tops overlook.

The upside of the iffy weather: hardly anybody on the trails, even though it was a Saturday. The rain and clouds actually let you appreciate that you are truly in a temperate rain forest. At times you will walk in dense fog and when it lifts, you get treated to a wild view of fog hanging in valleys and hugging densely forested mountains.

So you start the hike on the famous Appalachian Trail. In the Smokies, the Appalachian Trails runs pretty much along the state border between North Carolina and Tennessee so you can have all kinds of fun walking with one leg in one state and the other in the other state. If you really just want to get up to Mount Le Conte as quickly as possible, just continue until the Boulevard Trail branches off the Appalachian Trail. However, you can also hike a mile or so further along the Appalachian Trail to Charlies Bunion. This is a rocky outcrop with some very fine views apparently. As I got there it was quite foggy, it rained hard and the wind was howling fiercely. Still the fog lifted now and then to reveal a wild sea of fog rushing through a long valley with steep mountains rising on either side.

So I did not stay too long at Charlies Bunion, but still, I was glad I came here — the trail otherwise stays mainly well within the trees, whereas here it had opened up and you can appreciate expansive views (even in the conditions that I had to deal with). From here you then trace your steps back for a mile or so and then hit the Boulevard Trail. You then just have to follow this one all the way to Mount Le Conte.

After the final climb, there will be a short trail branching off to the left to Myrtle Point — go there! It’s a fine view over the hills you just hiked through! The clouds had cleared by now and the view was fine indeed.

Now just head back to the Boulevard Trail and continue until a short while later you will come past the shelter. It’s just a lean-to, so it’s open on one side, but someone had hung a tarp along the open wall, which was quite a nice protection from the elements. Before you set up shop for the night though, just hang you backpack on the bear cable, then head, without all that heavy weight on your shoulders, up to Cliff Tops. If the weather is fine, this is a simply spectacular view. The cover image for this post shows me gazing over the Smokies from here. I stayed here until sunset, which was really quite spectacular, then headed back to the shelter for dinner and to get ready for the night.

All 12 spots at the shelter had been reserved for the night, but I was the only one who had bother to come out in this weather. It was going to be an eerie night all alone on top of Mount Le Conte. The fog rolled back in during the night, and there was some large-ish animal (a bear? unlikely as it was still winter, really, but possible… — I certainly did not fancy to go outside and check!) that busied itself with some task behind the shelter.

You are at ~6,500 feet here, and in March that means it gets really cold. So hopefully you brought some warm & dry layers and a warm sleeping bag. I had hung my rain soaked hat outside and in the morning it was frozen solid, as was the water in my bottle. It was a pleasantly lonely, calm, foggy and eerie morning.

Leg 2: Mount Le Conte -> Newfound Gap

It would stay foggy all the way down to Highway 441. The hike back down is easy: just follow the Boulevard Trail until the Alum Cave Trail branches off, just past the Mount Le Conte Lodge (still closed in March; otherwise you might be able to get some warm food and drink over there), then hike the 5 miles downhill.

Once at the trailhead, I quickly saw that the vegetation was too dense on the other side of the road, to bushwhack my way back up to Newfound Gap. I also had enough of walking in dense fog, so I just hitchhiked back up. The 5th or so car stopped, and some kind backpackers from Florida took me up to Newfound Gap. Inf atc they had permits for Mount Le Conte for the coming night, so I gave them an update on the trail and shelter conditions.

Once back up at Newfound Gap, the clouds and fog finally cleared and a crisp, spectacular, wintry landscape was revealed. The fog had frozen in the trees and the view was simply a marvel to behold.

Data files (click on the link, then download whatever format you prefer from the gpsies website):

Leg 1: http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=honcqxyugucmsoyw
Leg 2: http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=mcjsmnjjjkzlhlbe
Complete route: http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=qoeyfbdnscxvpyzz