Alum Cave Trail

The Alum Cave Trail, also known as Alum Cave Bluff Trail, is an American hiking trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, in Sevier County, Tennessee. The trail ascends Mount Le Conte, the sixth highest mountain east of the Mississippi River, and passes by many notable landmarks, such as Arch Rock, Inspiration Point, the Duckhawk Peaks, and Cliff Top, before merging with Rainbow Falls Trail near the summit.

History
The first recorded account of Alum Cave goes back to 1837 when three farmers, Ephraim Mingus, Robert Collins, and George W. Hayes from the Oconaluftee Indian Village in the Great Smoky Mountains applied at the Sevier County (Tennessee) Land Office for a grant of a  tract of land that would include Alum Cave and its salt deposits.  Tennessee sold the tract of land to the three men on December 6, 1838.  

The Epsom Salts Manufacturing Company was formed to mine the deposit. The materials mined were alum, magnesium sulfate, saltpeter, magnesia, and copperas. The easily accessible salts were depleted by the mid-1840s, but mining resumed during the American Civil War.

Description
The Alum Cave Trail is the shortest and steepest of the five trails leading to the Le Conte massif, which contains four separate peaks in all, the highest of which has an elevation of . Due to its short length and scenery (it is often considered Le Conte's most scenic route) it is the most common footpath for hikers seeking to reach the summit of Le Conte.

The entire trail is within Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The trailhead is  from the town of Gatlinburg, Tennessee, off Newfound Gap Road (U.S. Highway 441).

Trail Route

The Alum Cave Trail begins its ascent at  elevation, quickly crossing Walker Camp Prong and its tributary, Alum Cave Creek, which the trail then follows. This first leg of the trail is a gradual climb on a well maintained footpath through an old-growth forest, consisting largely of hemlock and yellow birch. The trail turns north along tributary Styx Branch, which it follows for a short distance to Arch Rock, a large black slate rock forming natural arch that the trail passes under.  The trail climbs to Inspiration Point, an outcropping of rocks about  in elevation, which on a clear day offers views of the surrounding landscape, most notably Little Duck Hawk Ridge. Not far from there,  from the trail head, is Alum Cave Bluff at  in elevation, and with orange cliffs  in height.

The first half mile or so beyond the bluff is the single steepest portion of the hike, and included in this section is Gracie's Pulpit. Named for the matron of the mountain, Gracie McNichol, who famously hiked the trail on her 92nd birthday, the pulpit marks the halfway point of the Alum Cave Bluff Trail. From here the onlooker can get as clear a view as any other along the trail of the four peaks of Le Conte: West Point, Cliff Tops, High Top, and Myrtle Point. 

As the trail crosses  elevation, the landscape is dominated by dead trees, due to balsam wooly adelgid and acid rain effecting the Fraser fir.  A prolific crop of young Fraser firs grows in many of these areas. At the terminus the trail merges into the Bull Head Trail just west of the Mount LeConte Lodge. The lodge provides the only commercial lodging in the national park, as it operates about ten rustic cabins with no electricity or appliances. The actual peak of Mount Le Conte and the overlooks of Cliff Tops and Myrtle Point are a short distance from the lodge.

References

External links

Alum Cave at National Park Service

Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Hiking trails to Mount Le Conte
Protected areas of Sevier County, Tennessee
Rock shelters in the United States