In afterthought, I should have started out a little earlier. I should have hit the trail head just as dawn hit. I slept in a bit and headed out a little before 0700. Below are a few pics of the drive out there. The only drive to a summit where you will see the Titanic, John Wayne, and King Kong.
I arrived at the trail head shortly after 0800 hours. The trail head is located on the Clingman Domes road. There is am information sign describing the Indian Gap Road.
Indian Gap
Into the Rabbit Hole.
The hike begins easy enough. Follow the trail towards Newfound Gap. Along the way you will run into a metal platform helping you over a fence line. As you can see a few of the hikers support local law enforcement.
Turning Tree
This is where the fun begins. Navigation is fairly straight forward. The ridge line is fairly narrow so in most parts keep the down hill on your left and right and you should be good. Do bring along a GPS, or be good with a compass and map. The brush is thick, and at times you will want to check your bearings to keep from back tracking. The first quarter of a mile is the easiest. There is even a faint trail that can be seen at times. It soon disappears and you are faced with a tough bushwhack. At some point my HT died and would not turn on. After returning home I put in my spare battery and it fired right up. I am currently charging the battery, and hope it is still serviceable. It should have lasted throughout the hike.
Hours of this
The Big White Rock
There are a few spots where you can get a pretty good view of Mt. Leconte, including the Alum Trail.
Mt. Leconte and Alum Bluff
Setup, Finally
I setup and made my first contact at about 1230. I tried calling CQ for a bit, but no takers. It was difficult to setup my dipole, and I know it wasn't operating at its max efficiency. I need a smaller antenna like a mag-loop for this type of summit. There was a bunch or rag chewing on 7.200 so I dropped down around 7.196. No luck. I scanned around and made my first contact with K3IMC on 20m. I kept scanning and checked into a few nets to ensure I could activate. On one of the nets I made a contact with AB9LF. He said he was familiar with SOTA and would spot me. Unfortunately I don't think his spot was entered. I made one more contact and called for a few on the Freq AB9LF said was spotted, but received no calls. I was way behind schedule and knew I had to get moving if I was going to get off the mountain before nightfall. I packed up and headed back.
I only made six total contacts. None were my usual chasers. I hate when I cant get the chasers their points.
I would like to thank everyone for their concern for my safety. Whenever I pack into the back-country I am always well prepared. I never enter the backwoods unprotected. My Glock shared in my journey today. Remember to always follow your local firearm laws. I also carry a certain amount of survival gear. First aid gear, emergency shelter, 3 ways to start fire, and enough food and water for a comfortable overnight stay. I have had a great deal of first aid training, survival, and military experience. I also have an emergency plan in place. If the wife has not heard from me by sunset she knows to sound the alarm. I hate to hike alone, but I am confident of my abilities.
I do appreciate all the thoughts for my safety everyone. This is why I love the SOTA community. We are a tight knit community that cares. A special thanks to Erik, Dow, John, David, Gary, and Martha. You don't know how much your concerns mean to me. I endured some scrapes, bumps and bruises. No major injuries, nothing some Aleve wont take care of.
Today I had a tough day. Gear problems, antenna problems, and few contacts. Here is a quick breakdown of the day.
- Lost Compass 85 Dollars
- Lost Compass Pouch 10 Dollars
- Lost Patch on Pouch 5 Dollars
- Destroyed Combat Pants 60 Dollars
- Dead HT Battery 20 Dollars
- Knowing your friends truly care
Priceless
Again thanks everyone.
I will be working on a short video over the weekend that will show the fun bushwhack. I think it shows me falling toooo many times! Should be a good one.
73's And Keep Climbing
