This trip is back by popular demand. hopefully we will be able to hike up Alum cave trail to Mt. Leconte. The trail is roughly 5 miles with some beautiful scenery on the way up. more info on Alum cave trail can be found at: http://www.localhikes...

We will be meeting at REI in Kennesaw at 7pm and leaving at 7:15pm sharp on Friday night. depending on the time, we will camp the night at smokemont campsite or in a gatlinburg campsite ( hotel). in the morning breaking camp at 7am sharp and be on Alum cave trail by 8am. This is not a marathon so we will not be racing to the top. once at the top, hopefully we will have time to explore some trails and be able to watch the sunset from cliff tops and in the morning hike over to myrtle point to watch the sunrise. at 9am we will break camp and be on the trail by 10am and the ETA at the trailhead should be 4pm. that should put us back in the ATL not to late. if you have any questions you can reach me at [masked].

Trail difficulty: strenuous
Hike time: 6 hours

Items to bring: 2-liters of water, purifying tablets, backpacking stove, 1 breakfast, 2 lunches, snacks and 2 dinners and TP :-)

Winter items that you must have for your safety: hand & foot warmers, extra wool socks, rain gear, crampons, trekking poles, space blanket, 2 plastic bags, 20 degree or lower sleeping bag, sleeping pad and sunglasses or ski goggles. All of these items can be found at your local outfitter. also bring a tent for the first night depending on where we stay.

Directions: from REI in buford to Oconaluftee visitor center
Turn right to merge onto I-985 N, Continue onto US-23 N Entering North Carolina, Slight right to merge onto Sylva Rd/US-23 N/US-441 N/U.S 441 Bypass/US-64 E, Continue to follow US-441 N, Take the ramp onto Great Smoky Mountains Expy/US-441 N/US-74 W, Merge onto US-441 N via the ramp to Great Smoky Mts/National Park/Cherokee , Turn right at US-19 N/US-441 N, Take the 3rd left onto US-441 N
Destination will be on the left. We will meet here and then head up to our campsite as a group. drive time is estimated to 3 1/2 hours

Mileage: 310miles round trip. carpool cost is $24.00 based on 4 people per car.

camping cost for Friday night will be announced on February 10th. all money must be in cash and payed at the beginning of the trip.