As you have figured out by now, I like to hike. I like it when my wife and daughter go along. Unfortunately, while I know my limits, I sometimes forget theirs. This was the case on our family hike up Mt LeConte in Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Even with planning, and training, the ups and downs of a mountain hike can be a greater challenge to one's stamina than expected.
We started our hike up the mountain like every other hike up Mt. LeConte. Everybody has to have their picture taken at the trailhead sign.
Didn't we look happy. We had our reservation at Mt LeConte Lodge for the night, we had done extra hiking to build our endurance, and all we had to do was make our way up to the top. This is where our adventure began.
I had done the trip the year before with my brother. It was an adventure as well, but that is a story for another time. Let's just say that my wife's adventure up the hill was a bit more than she expected. That adventure up the mountain was capped off with her being hit in the head by hail. It hurts when you get hit by hail, even when it is small. I honestly wondered if she was going to sit down and quit right there, but she was a trooper. After few minutes to gather ourselves, we got back moving. We finally reached the top, trudging through the rain. Just so folks would believe the hail part of the story, the video taken at the lodge shows that it started hailing again. Fortunately we were under a porch roof.
So, we made it to the top. To my wife, while there was a sense of accomplishment, there was as much the dread of having to go back down the next day. She did not like the Alum Bluff Trail. I was observant enough to recognize that she did not want to go back down that way because of fear of some of the narrow areas below Clifftops. So while we enjoyed our time at Mt. LeConte Lodge, we started planning to take another route down the mountain. We discussed it with the others in our group, and it is decided that the next day, my wife, daughter and I would go down the Trillium Gap trail. It is longer, but is not as difficult as far as ledges and such.
So the following morning, we wake up. We eat breakfast. We take our photos before heading down the mountain. We say fair well to the rest of our group that is going back down the way we came up, and arrange for them to bring our car to the trailhead where we will arrive at later in the day. So down the trail we go. There are five trails up and down Mt. LeConte. The trail we chose to go down is one that is used to resupply the Lodge with perishables, clean sheets and the like. Most things such as food, propane, etc. are airlifted in during the late winter. The Lodge uses llama as beasts of burden to haul stuff up and down the mountain. The llamas are surefooted, and can carry a reasonable load. They also do less damage to the trail than did the horses once used for the same task. However, they do leave behind an obvious mark. LOTS OF LLAMA POOP!
Well, as we went down Trillium Gap Trail, without a paper map; this was MY FAULT; we used the bandana map that my wife had purchased at the Lodge. To entertain my daughter, I started pointing out LLAMA POOP! It became a game. As the trail seemed to get longer, as verified that we were going the right direction by flowing the LLAMA POOP! toward the trail head where our car would be. Of course as we go down the trail we are looking here and there. At one point, we here a noise ahead. Suddenly, there appears this swarthy, bearded man followed by a caravan of llama.
He told us to get on the up-hill side of the trail as the llamas aren't very willing to share the trail, and if your going to be knocked about by them, it is best not to be knocked down the mountainside.
Well to make a long story a little shorter, we did get off the mountain safely. My wife will still hike with me, but only on shorter hikes. And as it turns out, LLAMA POOP has a special meaning for my daughter and me. For most folks, if just sounds gross, but for us it is a shared memory of overcoming a physical, mental and emotional challenge. So, when things work out for you, even when things did not quite work out as planned, you too can say LLAMA POOP. It works for me.
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