Mt LeConte Full Moon Backpacking Trip

August 10-11, 2025
September 7-8, 2025

Join us for this 2 day, 1 night backpacking trip in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. You'll hike a challenging 14 miles over 2 days with close to 6,000ft elevation gain. You'll camp at Mt LeConte, the third highest peak in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This trip is planned to feature sections of the Alum Cave and Appalachian Trails, sunset and full moonrise from Mt LeConte, and sunrise from Myrtle Point. These views really can't be beat!

"I had the BEST backpacking trip with Blue Ridge! ... Great pre-trip communication, quality
gear, plenty of food and snacks." - ST, Women's AT Backpacking Trip, September 2024

Cost:

$650 per person
Payment Plans, Scholarships, and Sliding Scale Fees are available for this trip. Please reach out to us at trips@blueridgehikingco.com for more information.

This trip will run if there are a minimum of 2 participants signed up. If the minimum has not yet been met, we'll contact participants two weeks before the trip to discuss options. The maximum group size is 6 participants. If your group has 4 or more hikers, we recommend a private backpacking trip! You can find more information about our private trip offerings by sending us an email.

In addition to your guide, this price includes backpacking gear for the trip, all on-trail food, transportation between the meet-up location and the trailhead, and all necessary backcountry permits. Price does not include personal items (clothing, shoes, toiletries, etc) or gratuity for your guide.

Sign-Up Details:

In order to sign up for this trip, please go to our Trip Calendar and select the trip start date (August 10, 2025 or September 7, 2025). You will find the trip listed there. 

A few weeks before the start of the trip, we will be in contact via email with an information packet for you to fill out. This includes a waiver, health form, and gear request form. Please complete and return this form at your earliest convenience. At that time we will also send a detailed packing list, and any trip-specific information.

Itinerary:

This trip meets at 8am at our location in downtown Asheville, NC. Your guide will hand out your gear and food, go over necessary packing items, and discuss safety, weather, and logistics for the trip. They'll walk you through how to properly pack your pack, and may look in detail at the personal items you've packed to make sure you're not carrying too many extra items. 

Once you've packed up your gear, you'll head to the trailhead in Great Smoky Mountains National Park to start your hike! Drive time is about 2 hours. You'll hike a challenging 5.5 miles up the Alum Cave Trail to the LeConte Shelter. You'll stay up to watch sunset and full moonrise. The following day, wake up early and walk to Myrtle Point for sunrise. Hike to the Appalachian Trail to finish your trip at Newfound Gap, with 8.5 miles of strenuous hiking. Shuttle back to Asheville at the end of your trip.

Note: Overnight camping for this trip is at LeConte Shelter, a 3-sided backcountry shelter. It is NOT at LeConte Lodge!

Hike generally finishes late afternoon the last day. Itinerary is subject to change based on a variety of factors, including weather, trail conditions, campsite availability within the National Park, and participants needs and abilities. Because of the late return time of this trip, we do not recommend flying out of Asheville the evening of the trip. Please inform our admin team or your guide ahead of time if you have a time constraint the last day of your trip.

Elevation profile created with Gaia GPS.

Trip Difficulty Rating:

Participants on this trip should have a minimum fitness level of 5 out of 10, and this trip is ideally suited for hikers with a fitness level of 6-7 out of 10. This is a novice trip, meaning hikers don't need to have any previous backpacking experience, but they should be comfortable hiking on their own for up to 30 minutes. This trail is more technically challenging than most of our other Novice trips; participants should have a high level of fitness. For more information about our difficulty and experience level ratings, please see our Trip Difficulty page.

Guide:

Your guide for this trip will be Tamera "Caboosy" Trexler. Tamera is a long-distance hiker with 12 years outfitting experience, who has been backpacking, hiking, biking and kayaking the regions of Western North Carolina and beyond for 30 plus years. She would love to share the waterfalls, peaks, pinnacles and forests, helping others to explore the lesser-known trails. Tamera is studying to become a Certified Blue Ridge Naturalist and can highlight this region's geology, ecology and history.

What we Provide:

Food: BRHC provides all on-trail food. Your guide will pass out the food for your trip on the first morning. You will be expected to carry your own individually packaged food (such as oatmeal packets) and some shared community items (such as a jar of peanut butter or a block of cheese). We do our best to cater to requests, but options are limited because it is important to keep food lightweight and fresh foods can be heavy and bulky. If you have food allergies or dietary restrictions, please notify your guide or our admin team ahead of time. 

Individual Use Gear: BRHC provides high quality, ultralight, cottage industry backpacking gear to make your experience as comfortable as possible.  We offer the following five pieces of gear at no additional cost:
Backpacks - We use a lightweight 60L pack. We will ask for your height and weight in order to fit the pack appropriately to you.
Tents - We have one-person tents and two-person tents available. Please let us know if you would like to share with a friend.
Sleeping Bags - We use a 20 degree synthetic sleeping bag. We also have sleeping bag liners available.
Sleeping Pads - These will insulate you from the ground and provide some cushion and comfort. We provide hikers with a closed-cell foam pad, for its excellent combination of weight and durability.
Trekking Poles - These will provide you with some added stability while hiking, and may be used to set up your tent.

Community Gear: BRHC provides all community gear for the trip, including water filters and back-up chemical treatment; camping stoves and fuel; bowls, spoons, and cups; trowels, toilet paper, and hand sanitizer; first aid kit; and map and compass.

What to Bring:

We will send all participants a detailed packing list a few weeks before the trip. You are expected to bring your own clothing/footwear, a headlamp, two 1L water bottles (Nalgene or disposable Smart Water bottles are good options), personal medications/toiletries, and approved optional items. Generally, comfortable trail shoes are better than heavy hiking boots. Please pack synthetic or wool athletic clothing rather than cotton. Cotton does not dry quickly and will not keep you warm when wet. For most trips you will need only one outfit to hike in, one outfit to sleep in, a raincoat, and a warm layer. A beanie and lightweight gloves are appropriate in most seasons as temperatures cool down in the mountains at night. You will not need a new set of clean clothes for each day, make-up, hair products, scented products or deodorant. Just bring a toothbrush and toothpaste and enjoy going all natural for the trip!

Cancellation Policy:

Trip cost includes a 15% non-refundable administrative fee. Hikes may be cancelled up to 1 month before the trip for a refund (minus the 15% admin fee). Within 1 month, a 50% refund will be offered. Within 1 week, no refunds will be offered. If Blue Ridge Hiking Company cancels the trip due to severe weather, we'll offer a refund less the 15% admin fee. We are unable to offer exceptions to this policy; we strongly recommend all hikers purchase travel insurance to cover their trip.

Hikers may reschedule their trip once (at least 1 month before their trip) free of charge. Additional changes to their reservation date may result in a rescheduling fee.

We hike rain or shine! While it is incredibly rewarding, backpacking is an endurance sport, and it can be challenging and/or uncomfortable at times. Maintaining a positive mindset, even when it is uncomfortable, is key to enjoying your time in the wilderness. With our focus on lightweight gear, our goal is for your pack to weigh around 25 lbs (or no more than 25% of your body weight).

If your guide does an exceptional job, please show your appreciation with a tip. Our team of highly trained professional guides never expects but always appreciates a tip. Industry standard gratuity for a guided backpacking trip is 15-20% of trip price.

If you have any questions regarding this trip, you can reach our office by phone at 828-713-5451 or by email at trips@blueridgehikingco.com.