Mt. LeConte located in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park has always been my favorite point to hike to for the past thirty (30) plus years. So when my daughter who was born a natural runner starting taking up hiking with me at the age of four (4). I knew our short term goal would be for her to top Mt. LeConte [third highest peak in the area at 6,593 ft] without assistance. The only hard part about getting someone her age to do… keep her from trying to skip her way to the top. I failed.
Madilyn completes round-trip via Alum Cave to Mount LeConte under 5 hours!