and everything was so complete... 02/11/2012
 I remember lying on the side of a hollow, waiting for L to come & mushroom, & seeing a red hare loping up to the side & thinking suddenly "This is Earth life." I seemed to see how earthy it all was, & I myself an evolved kind of hare; as if a moon-visitor saw me. Virginia Woolf Morning, SNOWWWWWW!!!!!!!! The mountain received an inch of snow and it is coming down hard up top. It looks like we may have 6" to a foot by the end of the day, according to my very scientific estimations (looking out my cabin window). The high was 36. The low was 15. It was 15 and snowing at observation. 441 is still closed and looks like it may be all day. If you are considering visiting the mountain, expect a longer hike up Rainbow, Bullhead or Trillium. Pay attention to the Park Service's website & twitter feed for updates on road conditions. Keep in mind - be prepared for serious winter hiking, the lodge is CLOSED! Also, check out your favorite blogger on Channel 10 news. My 15 seconds of fame!  Top photo: Cabin in the snow. Above: Wind gauge next to my cabin with hoarfrost. 3 Comments 
I know nothing whatever about true underlying reality, having never met any. I am pleased enough with surfaces - in fact, they alone seem to me to be of much importance. Such things for example as the grasp of a child's hand in your own, the flavor of an apple, the embrace of a friend or lover, the silk of a girl's thigh, the sunlight on rock & leaves, the feel of music, the bark of a tree, the abrasion of granite and sand, the plunge of clear water into a pool, the face of the wind - what else is there? What else do we need? Ed Abbey
Top photo & above: All kinds of Bobkitten sign!
Morning, It's actually starting to feel like winter up here. The air is crisp and all anyone wants to talk about is weather! It looks like we may receive 6-8 inches this weekend! I won't rejoice until I see it, but I am very encouraged. The high yesterday was 29. The low was 15. It was 28 and hazy at observation. I spent yesterday following Bobkitten's numerous tracks all over the mountain. I've still yet to see the little fella, but it's reassuring to know we take many of the same routes for our afternoon rambles. It further reinforces to me the conviction that we would make great friends. For what is the most apt definition of a friend? Simply put, I believe that it is someone whom I'd like to accompany me on a walk. There's no better or more intimate way to experience the world than a walk through cleansing woods with a friend. 
Sunset.
Sunrise.
Tell me what you will of the benefactions of city civilization, of the sweet security of streets. I know that our bodies were made to thrive only in pure air, and the scenes in which pure air is found. Muir
Top photo: View from my porch this morning. Above: My favorite and most elusive neighbor.
Morning, It's finally beginning to look like winter up here. There was about half an inch of light snow, but the rime ice is nicely coating the trees and temperatures have dropped. The high was 25. The low was 13. It was 14 and clear at observation. It looks like we'll have another clear, cold day today. Highs are expected to be in the upper 20's. I'm hoping the forecast proves correct, as more snow looks to be on the way and temperatures aren't supposed to get above freezing until the 14th. C'MON WINTER!!!! 
Only 3 more weeks of winter scenes like this!
 To give thanks in solitude is enough. Thanksgiving has wings and goes where it must go. Your prayer knows much more about it than you do. Victor Hugo  Top photo: Sunrise at Apollo Overlook yesterday morning. Above: Sun peeking through red pines on the way to Cliff Tops. Morning, We had a beautiful day on the mountain yesterday. The high was 42. The low was 25. It was 25 and cloudy at observation. As I write this, the mountain is finally receiving SNOW again. It is coming down pretty heavily and looks like we'll have an inch or two by the end of the day. Daffodils two days ago, now snow. My time up here could be defined as a stream of unexpected daily gifts. I'll be hiking around all afternoon getting as many pictures of the snow as I can. Today is the kind of day that makes me think of Thoreau's winters at Walden Pond. "I love society so much that I swallowed it all at a gulp - ie. all that came in my way. It is not that we love to be alone, but that we love to soar, and when we do soar, the company grows thinner & thinner till there is none at all. It is either the Tribune on the plain, a sermon on the mount, or a very private ecstasy still higher up. We are not the less to aim at the summits, though the multitude does not ascend them."  Sunset at Cliff Tops.   Bad moon risin'.  Those who have been enthralled by the witchery of flying will know what I mean - and I do not speak of the men who, among other sports, enjoy taking a turn in a plane. I speak of those who fly professionally and have sacrificed much to their craft. Mermoz said once, "It's worth it, it's worth the final smash-up." No question about it; but the reason is hard to formulate. A novice taking orders could appreciate this ascension towards the essence of things, since his profession too is one of renunciation: he renounces the world; he renounces riches; he renounces the love of woman. And by renunciation he discovers his hidden god. Antoine de Saint-Exupery  Top photo: The spectral mist in the Smokies is like no other. Perhaps it's the Cherokee spirits, but the Maine Woods & Virginia Highlands are not nearly as haunting. Above: My first daffodils of 2012. Morning, It was a cloudy, yet mild day up top. The high was 33. The low was 24. It was 32 and clear at observation. It looks like it will be a beautiful & clear day on LeConte. I had a great hike down to Apollo Overlook for sunrise. The lights were still strong from Gatlinburg, but as soon as I turn my back on the lodge, I am in a different world. I walk by the light of the nearly full moon and feel like another of the wild creatures. My eyes adapt quickly and I try to keep my footfalls silent. This is how I hope to one day meet my friend & neighbor, Bobkitten.  Maybe one day I'll understand why Forbes never lists me as one of the richest men in America. 
The soul that sees beauty may sometimes walk alone. Goethe
Morning, It was a mild, rainy day on top yesterday. I only saw 2 hikers out - the least hikers I've seen on a Saturday so far. There wasn't even anybody in the shelter! On a Saturday night! Crazy. The high was 42. The low was 39. It was 40 and still drizzling at observation. The mountain received .75" of rain yesterday. I have become quite the shutterbug, yet did not take a single photo yesterday. It was a prototypical, grey February day. I wish we still had woodstoves up here, if only for the psychological effect. It was a great day for letter writing, sketching and carving. The only thing I noticed outside breaking the grey monotony was a brief visit from the lodge's Raven friend, Edgar. He's been shy around me, but came by while I was drinking coffee on the kitchen porch. Either he's warming up to me, or he liked my shiny metal cup. ps: I'll be taking a brief hiatus tomorrow. The blog will return on Tuesday morning. 
Nothing can break up the clouds in a man's soul more effectively than llama photos. True fact. Top photo: Llamas taking in the view. Above: Alan feeding a lucky llama pancakes! Perhaps that is the secret to their exceptionally adorable eyelashes.
but to love her is to need her everywhere. 02/04/2012
 I like to walk about among the beautiful things that adorn the world; but private wealth I should decline, or any sort of personal possessions, because they would take away my liberty. George Santayana Morning, It was another mild day on top. The high was 45. The low was 32. It was 38 and rainy at observation. The mountain received .28" of rain. Be prepared for some wet trails! It's another day for the old Walasi-Yi spirits up top. There are few times I get wary of being alone up here. For some reason, it is always on a day like today. I believe it's an old buried remnant of primeval fear & vulnerability. I relish this primitive vigilance, as it means some part of me is responding to my environment in a way it wouldn't be in the 'real world'. Another blessing up top.  Top photo: Sunset near Cliff Tops. Above: Looking towards High Point after sunset & moonrise. 
when death comes like an iceberg between the shoulder blades, I want to step through the door full of curiosity, wondering; what is it going to be like, that cottage of darkness? And therefore I look upon everything as a brotherhood and a sisterhood, and I look upon time as no more than an idea, and I consider eternity as another possibility, and I think of each life as a flower, as common as a field daisy, and as singular, and each name a comfortable music in the mouth tending as all music does, toward silence, and each body a lion of courage, and something precious to the earth. Mary Oliver
Morning, It was another mild day on Mt. LeConte. The high was 36. The low was 27. It was 31 and clear at observation. Phil saw his shadow, so we have another brutal 6 weeks of winter. I don't know if I can make it. I almost had to put on a shirt to go running yesterday. Brrr! I can't believe there's only 4 more weeks of 'winter' caretaking left! I've been too focused on what is coming next (at section hikes, where I'll be inspector of wildflowers and/or snowstorms next, the freedom of the open road, the incomparably congenial warmth of seeing old friends etc.) that the passage of time has slipped by me like a thief in the night. I'd be a poor night sentry, as my head is perpetually in the clouds. A wise man once said, Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans. 
Top photo: Sun peeking through red pines. Above: Sunset at Cliff Tops.
Sunset near Cliff Tops.
 The falling dews seemed to strain and purify the air, and I was soothed with an infinite stillness. I got the world, as it were, by the nape of the neck, and held it under in the tide of it's own events, till it was drowned, and then I let it go down stream like a dead dog. Vast hollow chambers of silence stretched away on every side, and my being expanded in proportion, and filled them. Then first could I appreciate sound, and find it musical. Thoreau  Top photo: Home sweet home! Above: Red pines along the Boulevard. Morning, It was a grey day up top. The high was 41. The low was 35. It was 36 and hazy at observation. The mountain received 1.27" of rain yesterday. It was one of those day that I felt (perhaps accurately) like the only person for miles around. ps: Happy Groundhog Day! I bet Phil didn't even realize there was a winter! On another note, I miss laughing at Bill Murray's awesomeness.  
It is an absolute perfection and virtually divine to know how to enjoy our being rightfully. We seek other conditions because we do not understand the use of our own, and go outside of ourselves because we do not know what it is like inside. Yet there is no use our mounting on stilts, for on stilts we must still walk on our own legs. And so on the loftiest throne in the world we are still sitting only on our own rump. Montaigne
Morning, It was another beautiful day on LeConte. The high was 37. The low was 21. It was 33 and clear at observation. The ice on Alum is still rather treacherous, so be sure to use caution. Please remember to use the Park Service's reservation system. It is a violation of Park policy to tent camp in the 'backcountry' on Mt. LeConte. You need a backcountry permit to stay in the shelter. That is the only place to stay on Mt. LeConte while the lodge is CLOSED. If I'm being redundant, it's because people are being ignorant, stubborn, lazy, obstinate or some wonderful combination of the previously mentioned uniquely human qualities. 
|  JP Krol
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