Backpacking on Mount LeConte
Sunrise at Icewater Spring
Getting fresh water the hard way, with a microfilter pump
Charlie's Bunion: a magnificent rocky craig flanked on either side by a narrow walkway that is dangerously precipitous
My friend Larry Smith took all these photos. He has painted this view of Charlie's Bunion, as well as other scenes from the Appalachian Trail. See the banner ad at the bottom of this page.
There is nothing like an early morning walk in the woods. 
Me, with two of my friends. I'm on the left. We weren't this happy for the entire trip, believe me. Read about our trudge up "Mount Mordor" below.
They're not called the "Smokey Mountains" for nothing. This was the morning after the big storm, coming down the other side of Mount LeConte.
We were on the Appalachian Trail in early June, which is when most of the flowers are in bloom. It looked like a professional landscaper had come in and worked his magic. Well, the truth is, He had.
Coming back down on the Alum Cave Trail
There are some very clever, unique sections to Alum Cave Trail, like this staircase, which, I believe, was made of logs. Flowers and petals sprinkled much of our trail over the four days.
This is the river at the base of Mounte LeConte, which we followed out. Larry has painted this as well. Unfortunately, at a spot near the end of the trail, a bus-load of teenagers decided to walk up the river, disturbing the rocks and upsetting the natural balance of the river. The only bad thing about being out in nature is seeing how disrespectful humans can be.
Four Days and Forty Miles on the Appalacian Trail and the Tallest Mountain in the Eastern United States
I don't think I have to sell anyone on the beauty of North Carolina in general or Great Smoky Mountain National Park in particular. It is the most visited park in the national park system, boasting the greatest variety of animals in the world (with over 1,600 black bears), more flowering plants than any other North American national park (over 1,600 varieties), more native tree species than all of northern Europe (over 100), over 800 miles of maintained hiking trails (including the famed Appalachian Trail), and a range in elevation from 800 to 6,643 feet, including the tallest mountain in the Eastern United States, Mount LeConte. To say the least, it is spectacular and breathtaking.
In 2007, I had the opportunity to hike up Mount LeConte with three buddies as part of a four-day, 40-mile backpacking trip. Little did we know that the weather would turn against us, and we would almost be fighting for our lives before we reached the top. But starting out, it was very pleasant. That's the way mountains are: they change on you suddenly. One minute they're loving on you, and the next they're trying to kill you, as Jim Craig points out to Jessica in The Man From Snowy River.