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Listen to this article<\/title><path d=\"M12.5265 16.2C12.2326 16.2 12.0122 16.1265 11.7184 16.053C11.2775 15.9061 10.9102 15.6122 10.6898 15.2449C10.4694 14.8775 10.3959 14.4367 10.5428 13.9959L11.5714 10.3959C11.6449 10.1755 11.7184 9.95509 11.8653 9.80815C12.0122 9.66121 12.1592 9.51427 12.3796 9.36733C12.6 9.29386 12.8204 9.2204 13.0408 9.14693C13.2612 9.14693 13.4816 9.14693 13.702 9.2204H13.7755C14.2163 9.36733 14.5837 9.58774 14.951 9.95509C14.951 9.66121 14.951 9.29386 14.951 8.99999C14.951 7.38366 14.2898 5.8408 13.1877 4.73876C12.0122 3.56325 10.5428 2.9755 8.92652 2.9755C7.31019 2.9755 5.76733 3.63672 4.66529 4.73876C3.48978 5.8408 2.82856 7.38366 2.82856 8.99999C2.82856 9.29386 2.82856 9.66121 2.82856 9.95509C3.12244 9.66121 3.56325 9.36733 4.00407 9.2204H4.07754C4.29795 9.14693 4.51835 9.14693 4.73876 9.14693C4.95917 9.14693 5.17958 9.2204 5.39999 9.36733C5.6204 9.4408 5.76733 9.58774 5.91427 9.80815C6.06121 9.95509 6.13468 10.1755 6.20815 10.3959L7.23672 13.9959C7.38366 14.4367 7.31019 14.8775 7.08978 15.2449C6.86938 15.6122 6.50203 15.9061 6.13468 16.053C5.76733 16.2 5.39999 16.2 5.03264 16.2C4.66529 16.1265 4.29795 16.053 4.00407 15.9061C3.63672 15.6122 3.41631 15.3918 3.12244 15.0979C2.90203 14.8775 2.75509 14.5102 2.68162 14.1428L2.38774 13.0408L2.2408 12.6735C2.2408 12.6 2.16733 12.453 2.16733 12.3796C1.87346 11.2775 1.79999 10.1755 1.79999 8.99999C1.79999 7.08978 2.53468 5.25305 3.9306 3.9306C5.25305 2.60815 7.08978 1.79999 8.99999 1.79999C10.9102 1.79999 12.7469 2.53468 14.0694 3.9306C15.3918 5.25305 16.2 7.08978 16.2 8.99999C16.2 10.102 16.053 11.2775 15.8326 12.3796C15.8326 12.453 15.7592 12.6 15.7592 12.6735L15.6857 12.9673V13.0408L15.1714 14.1428C15.0979 14.5102 14.8775 14.8041 14.6571 15.0979C14.4367 15.3918 14.1428 15.6122 13.849 15.7592C13.5551 15.9061 13.1877 16.053 12.8204 16.053C12.7469 16.1265 12.6735 16.2 12.5265 16.2ZM3.71019 13.849C3.78366 14.0694 3.85713 14.2163 4.00407 14.4367C4.15101 14.6571 4.29795 14.7306 4.51835 14.8775C4.73876 14.951 4.8857 15.0245 5.10611 15.0979C5.32652 15.0979 5.54693 15.0979 5.76733 15.0245C5.98774 14.951 6.06121 14.8775 6.13468 14.7306C6.20815 14.5837 6.20815 14.4367 6.20815 14.2898L5.17958 10.6898C5.17958 10.6163 5.10611 10.5428 5.10611 10.4694C5.03264 10.4694 4.95917 10.3959 4.8857 10.3224C4.81223 10.3224 4.73876 10.249 4.66529 10.249C4.59182 10.249 4.51836 10.249 4.44489 10.249H4.37142C3.9306 10.3959 3.63672 10.6898 3.41631 11.0571C3.26938 11.351 3.19591 11.7184 3.26938 12.0857C3.34285 12.3061 3.34284 12.5265 3.41631 12.6735L3.71019 13.849ZM13.2612 10.3224C13.1877 10.3224 13.1877 10.3224 13.2612 10.3224C13.1143 10.3224 13.0408 10.3224 12.9673 10.3959C12.8939 10.4694 12.8204 10.4694 12.8204 10.4694C12.7469 10.5428 12.7469 10.6163 12.7469 10.6898L11.7184 14.2898C11.6449 14.4367 11.7184 14.5837 11.7918 14.7306C11.8653 14.8775 12.0122 14.951 12.0857 15.0245C12.3796 15.0979 12.5265 15.0979 12.7469 15.0979C12.9673 15.0979 13.1877 15.0245 13.3347 14.8775C13.5551 14.8041 13.702 14.6571 13.849 14.4367C13.9959 14.2898 14.0694 14.0694 14.1428 13.849L14.5102 12.6735C14.5837 12.5265 14.5837 12.3061 14.6571 12.1592C14.7306 11.7918 14.6571 11.4245 14.5102 11.1306C14.2898 10.7633 13.9959 10.4694 13.5551 10.3224H13.4816C13.3347 10.3224 13.2612 10.3224 13.2612 10.3224Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"hidden sm:inline\">Listen<\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/p>\n<p class=\"fp-leadCaption py-tight text-left font-utility text-utility3-size leading-utility3-line-height text-secondary\">A steep, rocky section of the Alum Cave Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park <!-- --> (Photo: Billy McDonald\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-body\">\n<p>Published April 1, 2026 03:45PM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Alum Cave Trail is one of the most popular\u00a0and picturesque routes in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP). It can also be unforgiving. On March 28, a 65-year-old hiker plunged 60 feet to her death from the trail\u2019s steep upper reaches. Authorities have yet to release her name. Her death marked the fifth fatality in the national park to date in 2026.<\/p>\n<p>What makes America\u2019s most popular park also among the deadliest?<\/p>\n<p>The Great Smoky Mountains encompass half a million acres of rolling, densely forested Appalachian foothills along the Tennessee-North Carolina border. Because the park is the nation\u2019s busiest, with approximately 12 million visitors each year, it also has among the highest rates of deaths. Between 2010 and 2020, more than 100 people died inside its borders.<\/p>\n<p>Vesna Plakanis is the owner of <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/awalkinthewoods.com\/\">A Walk in the Woods<\/a>, a guiding company based in the nearby town of Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Plakanis, 61, has lived in the area since the eighties and has been guiding hikers through the Smokies since 1998. She told <em>Outside<\/em> that the Alum Cave Trail<b> <\/b>is very popular, but also steep and exposed. It\u2019s roughly five miles one-way and takes hikers to the top of Mount Le Conte.<\/p>\n<h2>Hiking on Cave Alum Trail<\/h2>\n<p>At 6,593 feet, Mont Le Conte is one of the highest peaks in Tennessee. The route to the summit is a serious endeavor, and one Plakanis said hikers often underestimate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s technically the shortest trail to the top of Le Conte,\u201d Plakanis explained, \u201cbut you\u2019re still gaining around 3,000 feet in elevation.\u201d Around halfway up, the trail passes the Alum Cave bluffs, picturesque cliffside caves that have exploded on social media, further driving traffic to the route.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are a lot of people who go up there that just have no business being on that trail,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Le Conte\u2019s summit is also home to a 100-year-old mountain lodge, the highest in the eastern U.S., where the woman who died in March was staying, Plakanis said.<\/p>\n<p>A trip to this lodge is a bucket list item for many Smokies visitors, some of whom don\u2019t realize how difficult it is to access via the Alum Cave Trail. The route is so treacherous that many hikers cling to fixed cables. In the area around the Alum Cave bluffs, it can be easy to lose footing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThose bluffs are a powdery, mineral-laden sandstone, constantly eroding,\u201d Plakanis said. \u201cIt\u2019s basically like walking on baby powder.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Because the Smokies are a temperate rainforest, Plakanis added that the Alum Cave Trail is almost always slippery.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven if it\u2019s not raining on you up there, you\u2019re gonna get this cloud effect, a constant little \u2018seep,\u2019\u201d Plakanis said. \u201cThat trail is always slick in some spots.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe class=\"fp-remove\" style=\"border:none;overflow-y:hidden;background-color:white;min-width:320px;max-width:420px;width:100%;height:420px\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gaiagps.com\/public\/okb17JFaDVgfEUWRh7ap15OY\/?embed=True\" seamless=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>What Makes the Great Smoky Mountains So Deadly?<\/h2>\n<p>The biggest mistake Plakanis sees visiting hikers make is underestimating the park\u2019s dramatic climatic variance. Weather in the park often changes rapidly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt might be 80 degrees and sunny down here in Gatlinburg, but up in the mountains it could be snowing, there could be sleet, ice, or rain,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Preparedness also plays a factor. Plakanis said she regularly sees hikers starting on the trails wearing only shorts and a T-shirt, without water, snacks, rain gear, or proper footwear. Although elevations in the Smokies are low compared to parks in the American West, the park is still rugged.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey don\u2019t realize this is a pretty extreme ecosystem,\u201d she said<\/p>\n<p>GSMNP is also one of the few national parks in the country that doesn\u2019t charge an entrance fee because several major highways run through the park. As a result, anyone who dies on these highways is counted among its death statistics. <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" rel=\"noopener\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/aboutus\/mortality-data.htm\">NPS mortality data<\/a> show that out of the 65 people who died in the park between 2014 and 2019, 25 were involved in motor vehicle accidents.<\/p>\n<h2>A Particularly Chaotic Week in the Park<\/h2>\n<p>The March 28 death comes during an already chaotic period for the national park. A day prior, a married couple was hospitalized after a rockslide struck their car. Authorities later closed nearly eight miles of roadway to repair damage from the slide.<\/p>\n<p>For more than a week now, officials in the park have been battling two wildfires: the Rabbit Creek and Fox Gap fires. The fires ignited on March 22 and 25, respectively. As of April 1, the two fires have burned over 150 acres.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.outsideonline.com\/outdoor-adventure\/hiking-and-backpacking\/alum-cave-trail-death-smoky-mountains-safety\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Following a fatal 60-foot fall on the popular Alum Cave Trail, a veteran guide breaks down the extreme ecosystem and hiker behavior that make the nation\u2019s most popular park deceptively deadly. Listen to this articleListen A steep, rocky section of the Alum Cave Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Photo: Billy McDonald\/Getty Images) Published<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9908,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wild-living"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9907"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9907\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}