General Information
The Trillium Gap Trail ascends Mount Le Conte, one of the tallest (sixth highest) mountains east of the Mississippi River and passes both Grotto Falls and Trillium Gap before reaching the LeConte Lodge, near the summit. The trail to Grotto Falls is one of the busiest in the national park.
Abrams Creek, the longest stream entirely within the boundaries of the national park, follows alongside the trail for most of its length, as it plunges over Abrams Falls and into one of the largest natural pools in the area, which, during busy seasons, is often teeming with visitors swimming in its waters. The creek and waterfall were named for a Cherokee Indian Chief Oskuah, who later adopted the name Abram. The trailhead is located inside Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, about 10 miles (16 km) from Townsend, Tennessee.
The Trillium Gap Trail is one 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 6,593 feet (2,010 m).
The trail is the only horse trail on Le Conte and is traveled three times a week by llamas transporting supplies to the LeConte Lodge, except during the winter season, when the lodge is temporarily closed.
The trailhead is located inside of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, about 7.5 miles (12.1 km) from the town of Gatlinburg, Tennessee, off the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail.
The Trillium Gap Trail begins its 6.5-mile (10.5 km) journey up the northern face of Mount Le Conte in an old-growth Eastern Hemlock grove, at an elevation close to 3,200 ft (975 m). Although very easy (only rising 500 feet (150 m) in elevation over the first 1.5 miles), this portion of the trail does contain many small creek crossings. After the third small stream, Roaring Fork sidles up along the path, signalling the soon-approaching Grotto Falls at 1.3 miles (2.1 km). Here Roaring Fork tumbles thirty feet (9 m) over the falls, which the trail actually passes behind on its way to Trillium Gap and points beyond.
Once the hiker crosses the sometimes treacherous Roaring Fork (particularly after heavy rains), s/he begins a more steady ascent towards Le Conte. The trail here becomes more narrow and progressively rockier, a combination of the gain in elevation and loss of heavy activity along the trail. About a mile past the falls, the path enters into an expansive boulder field, where yet another small creek plummets down towards Roaring Fork. At 2.9 miles (4.7 km) the trail comes to Trillium Gap, tucked snugly between the peaks of Le Conte and nearby Brushy Mountain. The Brushy Mountain Trail extends to the left of the gap, which, if taken less than a half mile, offers excellent views of Le Conte and the towns of Pigeon Forge and Sevierville from Brushy Mountain.
After leaving Trillium Gap, the trail continues climbing for 3.6 miles (5.8 km) towards its terminus. Along the way the hiker passes through a heath bald, similar to that found on Brushy Mountain, which is created in exposed, high elevation, areas where the soil is thin and heath family plants dominate. About a mile past the heath bald, the trail enters the fraser and spruce fir zone prevalent in the higher peaks of the Smokies. Fantastic views of the towns of Sevier County are available here when weather permits, sometimes even extending to the outskirts of Knoxville, as the hiker closes in on the LeConte Lodge. The LeConte Lodge provides the only commercial lodging in the national park, as it operates about 10 rustic cabins with no electricity or appliances. The Lodge also operates an office which provides t-shirts and other merchandise for hikers and various amenities for guests of the lodge. The actual peaks of Le Conte all have separate trails a short distance from the lodge, with Cliff Tops and Myrtle Point each offering expansive panoramas of the mountains and valleys below.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Trillium Gap Trail", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0