Its Better to be Sorry than Safe

Many of my best memories were born out of spontaneity. Irresponsible athletic accomplishments are no different. Like deciding, (the night before) in a bar, to enter the 12 Hours of the Hill of Truth (solo), and on a whimsically purchased and never before ridden steel hardtail and rigid singlespeed bike.

In the immortal words of Jim Dandy, “Always do sober, what you said you would do drunk.” Running to the top of Mt. Leconte is another pursuit of irresponsible confidence. The peak of Mt. Leconte sits at 6,593 ft. above sea level. We started our journey at about 2,500 ft.

We set out in the fog of the Smoky Mountains, heading up Rainbow Falls trail, arduously climbing through the rocky path littered with creek crossings. The fog broke slowly and the misty mountains began to reveal themselves. Covered in a dusting of snow and ice, the forest was postcard perfect in the higher elevations. It wasn’t until we got up over 5,000 ft. that we rose above the clouds and into the blue sky.



At the top it was in the low 20’s and the wind was piercing. We were not dressed for a long stay, and I was the only member of our 3-man team (Duey, Erin and myself) to climb to the final .2 mile to the rocky summit. The slippery ice covered climb was difficult and the uninhabitable top of the mountain was beautiful and fierce.
The run was 13.6 miles roundtrip covering over 4,000 ft of vertical. It took 5 hours to complete.