Good Morning!
My thermometer recorded 34 degrees when I woke up this morning. The wind had died down sometime during the night. The sky was partly cloudy. It looks like a beautiful day compared to yesterday! However the road to Newfound Gap was still closed at 7:00 AM, but will probably reopen today. The skies suddenly cleared at 6:00 PM, so I decided that it was time to check out the sunset from Cliff Tops. The picture above shows what I saw. Not the most impressive sunset that I ever saw, but the clouds had cleared so that I did see a sunset. The wind however was impressive! It was probably in excess of 60 mph! One of my friends who had worked at Mt LeConte in the 1970’s came up to visit me yesterday and surprised me with food for dinner! He prepared Steelhead Trout with all of the trimmings! (Please see picture below.). I hope that you have a great day! From High on LeConte, WILDCAT/Bert
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Good Morning, Friends!
It’s another foggy, cloudy morning on Mt LeConte. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I was just informed that the Park Service will most likely issue a high wind warning for 60 mph winds today after 10 AM. This means that Highway 441 to Newfound Gap will be closed. Yesterday a friend of mine carried Snow Crab soup up the mountain to me. It was a complete surprise to me and made an excellent dinner! This morning I decided to use up leftovers—biscuits, that is. Bacon, egg and cheese biscuits for breakfast! Yesterday there were a large number of day hikers on the mountain. Many were walking around with their hands in their pockets—indicating to me that they were cold. Yes, spring is just around the corner, but it would be wise to pack gloves and/or mittens when you climb the mountain! Also, that little light on your cellphone may not be adequate if you are caught on the trails after dark. It’s always wise to pack a headlamp and/flashlight AND spare batteries when you take a hike! (And don’t forget your rain gear and water!) HAPPY TRAILS!! WILDCAT/Bert Good Morning, Everyone!
When I left my cabin this morning I was greeted by fog and clouds. The morning temperature was 42 degrees. The lodge received 1.2 inches of rain fall in the previous 24 hours, which transformed the trails into creeks. I literally waded all the way to Myrtle Point thru ankle deep water yesterday afternoon! The roads to Mt LeConte trailheads are open this morning. I’m doing my usual Sunday morning “church service “ listening to classic Southern Bluegrass Gospel music for “inspiration “ and drinking fresh hot black coffee for “communion” This morning I practiced baking biscuits again. I received instructions for this several weeks ago from the “Biscuit Queen “. I can’t reveal all of our secrets in this blog, but I can tell you that everything depends entirely on doing what looks right and feels good. Needless to say, I still need more practice—practice makes perfect! I think that a good indoor project for today would be refilling the kerosene lamps. I hope that you have a Super Sunday! WILDCAT Good Morning !
My “neighborhood “ here at the LeConte Lodge is cloudy and foggy again. The morning temperature was 44 degrees and we had 0.20 inches of precipitation during the night again. The roads are open and the trails are mostly free of snow and ice. We have a light rain falling now and more rain predicted for this afternoon. Hopefully the weather man is correct and tomorrow will be clear. I walked up to Cliff Tops yesterday afternoon to enjoy the sunset and all that I saw was clouds. Perhaps I’ll be able to have some more exciting pictures to share with you tomorrow. I hope that you have a great weekend! From High On LeConte, WILDCAT/Bert Good Morning!
It looks like it will be a great day on Mt LeConte! No fog this morning and the sun is shining occasionally thru the clouds. The morning temperature was 37 degrees—closer to what I would consider “normal “ for February than the 50 degrees that we had yesterday. The trails should be clear after the warm temperatures that we have experienced and the 0.20 inches of precipitation that we received last night. One of the winter caretakers from 1974 is coming up today to visit and do some preparations for the airlift. I’m always glad to see him and receive another lesson on the history of the Mt LeConte Lodge. Don’t allow this nice weather lull you into complacency—the weather on the mountain changes very quickly! Please plan accordingly and continue to be prepared for wintry weather if you are hiking to the top. HAPPY TRAILS!! WILDCAT/Bert Good Morning, Folks!
Wow! Yesterday was really windy on top of the mountain! I went up to Cliff Tops to take this sunset picture for you and nearly got blown away—the weather people said that the wind was 55 mph, but it felt more like 75 mph to me! The temperature at the lodge at 7:00 am this morning was 50 degrees—which seemed very warm for February. And naturally we have clouds and fog—but not much wind. Many of the day hikers were wearing shorts and tee-shirts and big smiles on their faces! But don’t get too confident because Mother Nature is still in charge. You would be wise to at least carry a rain coat as there is a good chance of rain today. Enjoy the outdoors when you can—spring is coming. HAPPY TRAILS!! WILDCAT Good Morning!
It looks like we’re in for a windy day on the mountain today! There is a wind advisory of 55 mph for later today, The morning temperature at 7:00 AM was 47 degrees, which is unusually high for February. But at least we don’t have the clouds and heavy fog that we experienced yesterday. The roads are open and the trails are mostly clear of snow and ice, so the mountain is much more “hiker friendly “ than it has been for several days. Noteworthy “gourmet “ foods for yesterday included a peach cobbler. Fortunately I seem to have an ample supply of canned fruits and vegetables up here so I don’t have to worry about going hungry! I hope that you have a Wonderful Wednesday! WILDCAT Good Morning, Everyone!
First of all I would like to wish all of you a happy, foggy Mardi Gras from the top of Mt LeConte! I am anticipating a parade of day hikers to celebrate the joyous occasion! The temperature at 7;00 AM was 36 degrees, with an overnight low of 27 degrees—exactly the same as yesterday, but last night we had 0.40 inches of precipitation to help melt the remaining snow. I am planning to enjoy jambalaya with chicken and sausage today and tomorrow celebrate Ash Wednesday with crawfish pie. I wish that you were here to enjoy it with me! Otherwise it’s a fairly normal terrific Tuesday morning with classic Bluegrass music on the radio, except today I have chicory coffee to enjoy! I hope that y’all have a great day! From High on LeConte! WILDCAT Good Morning, Folks!
First of all—yes, the roads are open! The temperature at the lodge was 36 degrees and the snow is gradually melting away. I went out to Myrtle Point yesterday and was glad to be wearing my micro spikes—the hikers that I met who didn’t have them were envious. So I am going to recommend that you still carry them to help you to navigate the slick spots remaining at the higher elevations. There were a lot of hikers out yesterday and I anticipate more today since it’s a holiday for many folks. I hope that y’all have a great Presidents Day! HAPPY TRAILS!! WILDCAT/Bert Good Morning, Everyone!
It looks like today will be another beautiful day on Mt LeConte! And the roads to the trailheads are now open. We started the day at 29 degrees and partly cloudy skies. I hiked the Rainbow Falls Trail yesterday. The lower half is clear of ice and snow. Some of the rocks at the falls are covered with ice. If you plan to come on up to the Lodge I would strongly recommend carrying traction devices—you will probably want to use them near the top! I’m doing my usual Sunday morning “service “—listening to classic Southern Bluegrass Gospel Music. I hope that you are able to enjoy an awesome Sunday! 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
June 2024
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