The trailhead was located in Gatlinburg off near the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail. We had actually never been in that area before but the trailhead for Trillium Gap & Grotto Falls is also in the same area (another route to LeConte).
It was no joke starting out! It was steep and rocky. My knees were hurting from the day before and I was tired & hungry. All of that to say that I honestly was a little bit grouchy starting out and had to eat a good bit of dried mango to make it up the hill. :( I might have complained a bit more than usual.
Along the way, it is quite rocky with some huge old trees. Lots of mountain laurel also; in the spring I'm sure this hike is absolutely gorgeous.
And then we were there! It had been cold recently, and there was still some snow/ice around the falls. They were gorgeous! We totally ignored the warning signs and climbed right up the rocks to be as close as possible. We realized at this point that that the hike was well worth it; this might have been one of our favorite hikes so far! But at this point I couldn't have imagined hiking on up to LaConte!
So, in summary - this was a pretty tough hike, but short and well worth it! Rainbow Falls is definitely something to see!
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