 Good Morning!
The temperature at the lodge is noticeably cooler this morning than it was yesterday—21 degrees compared to 39 degrees yesterday. And 39 was yesterday’s high! The mountain only received a few sprinkles of rain yesterday morning. Consequently very little snow melted yesterday. But the skies are clear this morning so perhaps the sun will melt some more snow today. This morning might be a good time to do some kerosene lamp “maintenance” until the sun warms the outside temperature a little. This is one of the “off the grid” tasks that some of you “front country” folks may not know about—filling the lamps with kerosene, washing the glass chimneys, and trimming the wicks. And then of course there is washing the dishes by hand. If you are thinking “that‘a not too hard”, please remember that when you’re “off the grid” first you fetch the water from the spring (which is about 1/10th of a mile down the hill from the kitchen), then you heat the water on the stove, and then you wash the dishes! This is how a winter caretaker can entertain oneself when you don’t have electronic devices that you must watch! Oh well, I do have time! I hope that y’all have a great day! HAPPY TRAILS!! WILDCAT/Bert
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 HOWDY! It’s warm on Mt LeConte this morning—39 degrees at 6:00 AM. Yesterday’s high was 52 degrees. Winds up to 45 miles per hour and a 40 percent chance of precipitation are predicted for later this afternoon. If it does rain today the remaining snow and ice will turn to slush. February will soon be history and the lodge will be preparing for its reopening soon. If you happen to be out and about this afternoon, be prepared for the possibility of rain. Don’t forget to bring your umbrella! HAPPY TRAILS!! WILDCAT/Bert   Good Morning! Another sunny day on the mountain—34 degrees at 6:00 AM. There is still a little snow and ice remaining on the trails, so use caution! It is still winter on the mountain, so don’t let your guard down and become too complacent—we have seen snow the later part of March in previous years. The weather can change very quickly in the mountains, so continue to be prepared for anything and everything! Please be safe! HAPPY TRAILS!! WILDCAT/Bert   GOOD MORNING! The skies above Mt LeConte are clear and blue again this morning. It appears that today will be another sunny day. The sun and warmer temperatures have been melting about one inch of snow each day—and then it refreezes at night creating slippery trail conditions. Bring your traction devices with you! You will be glad that you did! I spotted “my UFO” again last night at 7:00 PM, hovering in the sky above and to the northwest of Clingman’s Dome. I refer to it as “mine” because apparently no one else has seen it. I have been unable to identify it, and the Park Service apparently knows nothing about it, so I refer to it as “unidentified”. This is the third time that I have seen this phenomenon—always on a weekend evening at approximately 7:00 PM. It’s always in the same approximate location and never appears to move. I know what you’re thinking: when a person has lived alone “off the grid” for three months, it doesn’t take much to entertain them! Oh, yes! I almost forgot to tell you that the roads are open! HAPPY TRAILS!! WILDCAT/Bert  Hello From Mt LeConte Lodge!
The roads were opened at about noon yesterday. . Saturday started with clear blue skies and bright sunshine until noon when the skies clouded up and blocked the sun. The day hikers who made it up all agreed with the advice that I’ve been offering about using traction devices. The biggest problem of the day was that everyone got a late start up the Alum Bluff Trail after Highway 441 reopened at noon. The first backpacker arrived at the shelter at about 3:00 PM—so far so good! Other day hikers and backpackers started up the trail as late as 5:00 PM! Now that’s a little late! Three of them arrived at the backcountry shelter at about 9:00 PM. The two backpackers were from Florida and were not physically prepared for climbing mountains. They had split up when one was exhausted and couldn’t carry his pack any farther (not a good idea!) The day hiking Marine carried the exhausted man’s 40 pound pack two miles up the mountain to the shelter. Obviously there were a lot of mistakes made on the mountain, but fortunately everyone survived the ordeal! Plan ahead and be safe! HAPPY TRAILS!! WILDCAT/Bert  GOOD MORNING!
Another cold, clear morning on the mountain. But not quite as cold—it’s 18 degrees here at the lodge—that’s 10 degrees warmer than yesterday! The roads in the Smokies remain closed this morning. It will be interesting to see how many visitors I will have today. As I expected I had the mountain to myself yesterday. But today is Saturday so it will be interesting to see what happens. If y’all do decide to venture out today please be prepared—remember to wear layers so that you can have better control over your body temperature. Remove layers to reduce perspiration; add layers to prevent chilling. Carry adequate amounts of water and don’t let it freeze! Be safe! HAPPY TRAILS!! WILDCAT/Bert  Greetings From Mt LeConte Lodge! It’s going to be a fabulous Friday up here on Mt LeConte! The skies are clear and blue and the sun is shining brightly. After several days of clouds and snow this is a welcome relief. The temperature yesterday stayed at about minus two degrees for most of the day. It dropped to six below zero during the night, but increased to eight degrees by six o’clock this morning. There is about seven inches of snow at the lodge! All of the roads in the Park are closed this morning. I saw only one day hiker yesterday, and don’t expect many more than that today. Now that the snow has finally stopped falling, I’ll probably spend most of the day clearing it off picnic tables and benches, steps and porches. But I may wait for the temperature to get a little warmer first! I hope that y’all stay safe and warm today. HAPPY TRAILS!! WILDCAT Bert   COLD AND SNOWY! The current temperature at the lodge is 2 degrees below zero and there are about 6 inches of snow on the ground! The roads in the Park are closed today. I don’t expect more than one or two day hikers today, but I still made certain that the date on the sign on the dining hall was changed. Now I’ll go up and sweep the snow out of the privies and check the TP, just in case I do have some visitors today. The snow on the trees and cabins is beautiful, but today will be a great day to stay inside where it’s warm. If you do choose to venture out today, remember that mittens are warmer than gloves and gaiters will help to keep your shoes and socks dry. Please be safe and stay warm! HAPPY TRAILS!! WILDCAT/Bert   HELLO FROM LECONTE LODGE! Well, the roads are closed again! They were open briefly yesterday, but snow started falling again during the night, causing the Park Service to close them again today. The mountain received two inches of snow last night and it’s still coming down. The current temperature is 21 degrees, but it plummeted to 5 degrees sometime during the night! There were seven brave backpackers at the backcountry shelter last night. They were all equipped with traction devices and agreed with me that they are essential for the upper portion of the Alum Bluff trail! Please stay safe and warm today. HAPPY TRAILS!! WILDCAT/Bert   GOOD MORNING FROM MT. LECONTE!
And one might have thought yesterday was wet! The summit tallied another 2.3 inches of rain on top of what fell the day before. That’s surely going to have creeks running high today. Trails will have become rivers as well. Light rain continues to come down under mostly cloudy skies. The road is still open, but I won’t be expecting many brave souls to test these sloppy conditions today. It’s also going to be a little cooler today and tonight. HAPPY TRAILS! |
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
April 2025
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