 HELLO EVERYONE! Five inches of new dry powder snow came down on the Mt LeConte Lodge last night, making the total eleven inches. Enough to close the road to Newfound Gap! The road to Cherokee Orchard remains open. Also enough to make all of the shoveling that I did two days ago a waste of my time! But I needed the exercise—so it’s all good. I made sone chili and baked some corn bread in my spare time—so I’ll show you a picture of that. Stay warm! HAPPY TRAILS!! WILDCAT/Bert 
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 Good Morning! The roads are open to access the Mt LeConte trailheads! The skies are clear. It looks like today will be another great day on Mt LeConte. I was able to shovel a lot of snow yesterday. I reported six inches of snow, but it actually may have been more than that because we still have six inches of snow remaining on the ground. Now that the roads are open I expect to see more day hikers today. HAPPY TRAILS!! WILDCAT/Bert   A SNOWY GOOD MORNING TO Y’ALL! Last night Mother Nature delivered six inches of white stuff—as promised! So Highway 441 to Newfound Gap is closed—as expected! The temperature at the lodge is a chilly 19 degrees, but the sun is just now trying to break through the clouds. It looks like the winter caretaker will spend most of his day shoveling snow off steps and porches, hopefully before the snow melts and then refreezes. But aside from the potential work involved, this snow is truly spectacular! Everything is white—white on white! I’ll try to enjoy it as I spend the day shoveling! HAPPY TRAILS!! WILDCAT/Bert   Good Morning From Mt LeConte Lodge
It’s snowing again and the roads are closed again! The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Advisory and is predicting 3 to 6 inches of snow today for our area. The current temperature is 23 degrees. The Lodge received 1.1 inches of rain before the precipitation turned to snow. It’s time to begin recommending that y’all carry traction devices again. I know that everyone enjoyed the warmer weather while it lasted, but it’s still winter time in the mountains. I just came back inside after changing the date on the sign and heard that a local Bluegrass radio station was dedicating a segment of their Sunday morning Southern Bluegrass Gospel Music program to WILDCAT up on Mt LeConte. I greatly appreciate all of your prayers and support. It makes me feel special! HAPPY TRAILS!! WILDCAT/Bert  GOOD MORNING, FRIENDS! This morning I’m enjoying temperatures in the 40’s with no rain, snow, or ice! But like most other good things, it’s not going to last forever—50 MPH winds and rain are forecast for this evening. However the roads are currently open so enjoy this while you can. I took advantage of the favorable weather yesterday and sandbagged the OUTSIDE of the dining hall doors—a task that would be almost impossible to perform with water flowing ankle deep down the infamous LECONTE CASCADES! My goal, of course, is to prevent potential flooding of the dining hall during periods of extreme rain and/or snow melt. It was a time consuming job to move the sand bags from storage and down the steps in front of the dining room doors. However I believe that this work was more proactive and worthwhile than attempting to mop up many gallons of water from the dining hall floor during and after a flood! Later in the day I hiked up to Cliff Tops and was rewarded with an awesome sunset. While there I met a group of people from the shelter who come to LeConte every year in January. All in all it proved to be a very good day! HAPPY TRAILS!! WILDCAT/Bert   GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE!
The roads are still open! And after 1.20 inches of precipitation during the last 24 hours, the rains have finally abated. The LeConte Cascades is a mere trickle this morning! The treacherous ice has disappeared from the Grand Stairway! But don’t become overly confident because we are advised that more rain is on it’s way. The temperature yesterday reached 49 degrees, which is quite warm for January on Mt LeConte. I stayed warm and dry in the kitchen yesterday, and consequently am starting to develop a case of “cabin fever “. I plan to get out and about today and perform what our signs refer to as “surveillance.” HAPPY TRAILS!! WILDCAT/Bert  HOWDY FROM LECONTE LODGE! Finally, the news that y’all have been wanting to hear—the roads to the Mt LeConte trailheads are now open! The bad news is that this is accompanied by rain and melting snow. The temperature at the lodge at 6:30 AM was 47 degrees—the warmest temperature recorded for the current month! LeConte received 0.65 inches of precipitation during the past 24 hours. With this combination of weather conditions the snow is now gone, but many patches of ice still remain, causing some parts of the trails to be quite treacherous! So the “uniform of the day “ should include rain gear—I recommend including an umbrella! Plus traction devices for the icy spots. Try to stay warm and dry and stay well hydrated! I think that I’ll just stay in the kitchen today! HAPPY TRAILS!! WILDCAT/Bert   GOOD MORNING!
I was surprised this morning to be greeted by a warm wind—42 degrees here at the lodge! It melted half of the snow while we slept—only about four inches remaining. But that which remains is REALLY slick—time to put the traction devices back on again! LeConte only received 0.10 inches of rain last night, but more is forecast. The roads are still closed this morning. I doubt that I’ll have many visitors today! Hopefully some of the roads will be reopened today. Be safe and try to stay dry. HAPPY TRAILS!! WILDCAT/Bert  Hello, Everyone! The temperature is finally up to 32 degrees at Mt LeConte. It should be a Terrific Tuesday! However, all of the roads to the trailheads for Mt LeConte remain closed. Up to two inches of rain is forecast. This rain on the snow and ice that we already have could result in flooding at lower elevations. I had only one “visitor “ yesterday. He carried up two packages of bacon for me. We sat and visited in the bright sunshine on the porch of the office. Suddenly he asked if I would take a video of him. He wanted a video of himself making a “snow angel “ in the snow drift in front of the office. Just one of the many tasks that winter caretakers perform while doing surveillance of the lodge property. I had only one “visitor” on the previous day. He carried up a box of fine Cabernet Sauvignon wine for me and a gallon of white gas for the lantern in the kitchen. All of the aforementioned supplies will be greatly appreciated! Just for the record—my friends both received two “bonus miles” coming up and going down because the upper half of Cherokee Orchard Road (past Twin Creeks facility) is still closed. Thanks, Guys! HAPPY TRAILS!! WILDCAT/Bert   Good Morning! The roads in the Park are still all closed as of the first thing this morning. There is a chance that the Cherokee Orchard road may open later today. The temperature at the lodge is a balmy 28 degrees—that’s 24 degrees warmer than yesterday! There are 8 inches of snow remaining on the ground. I find it very interesting how temperatures are “relative.” Yesterday the temperature outside was 4 degrees. The temperatures in my bedroom and the kitchen were 41 and 44 degrees—that felt “hot “ when I came inside! Most of you would not consider your rooms to be “hot “ at those temperatures! It has seemed quiet up here on top of the mountain while the roads have been closed. I’m certain that those days of peace and quiet will soon be coming to an end. It’s all “relative “! HAPPY TRAILS!! WILDCAT/Bert  |
LeConte LodgeWelcome to the official blog of LeConte Lodge. We hope you find the information provided here both helpful and enjoyable. Thank you for visiting the site, and we hope to see you on the mountain! Archives
December 2024
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