Mount LeConte (Winter Hiking)

Today I went hiked up Mount LeConte again.  I really like the cliffs on top, and if you go up on the Gatlinburg side there is the rainbow falls along the way.  What really struck me was how pretty everything is.  In the afternoon everything seemed so fresh.  A lot of time snow picks up dirt in it, so a day after it has fallen it loses its pristine color.  There was none of that, even where streams crossed the trail.

Summit of Mt. LeConte

There was so much silence.  In the summer there are always birds chirping, and if not them wind moving through the trees.  There were times today that when I stopped moving there was no sound - you could hear your own breath.  I go through my day listening to music everywhere and at everytime - sometimes I wonder if it would be best to get rid of that distraction and listen to the silence.  I always listened to music while doing my homework, but I know someone who rarley did - and they had great focus.

 A few pictures of things along the way:
                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

                                                                                

Drinking Hot Chocolate

 I gave my pocket rocket a field trial; making hot chocolate on the clifts of Mt. LeConte.  It worked really well.  I was impressed with how fast it heated up the water.  Made more noise than I expected, and the fuel was a little liquidy (you could hear it sloshing in the canister) so it might have been too cold for it.  Thanks Samuel!

I also managed to lose my tin cup, so I bought at fruit cocktail can for lunch and then used that can to boil the water.  It worked pretty well, but tasted kinda funny and my stomach felt weird afterwards.  That could have been do to eating only a can of fruit cocktail the entire day though . . .

Lost my tin cup