  I realize I keep posting a photograph of the same tree over and over. This tree keeps changing, and everyday it captures my attention. Yesterday was a visually stunning day and the blue sky made this tree extraordinary. It did not get very warm, 36 degrees to be exact, but the sky cleared and the sun came out. We now have about 6" of snow on the ground. We were not able to fly yesterday because the clouds were hanging out over Sevierville. Today is a different story. It is a beautiful day up top and down below. We plan on flying in a couple of hours. Get out and enjoy some of this amazing weather. Hope to see you up top.
 The lonely llama troughs. Instead of sunshine and warm weather, the mountain received 1 1/2" of new snow. We are back up to 8 1/2" of snow on the ground. Weather conditions are making a llama trip seem further and further away. We are still waiting on a resupply. We have our fingers crossed that it will happen today. If the weather forecast is correct, temperatures should start getting warmer and the clouds should move out.
Updated trail closures: Rainbow and Bullhead are open. Cherokee Orchard road is open and the trailheads are open. Trillium Gap trail head (Grotto Falls) is still closed and will remain closed until May. There was a reported rock slide, on 441 past Newfound Gap going toward Cherokee, yesterday. The last update I received was the park service was going to close the road last night to finish any clean up and the road would be open this morning. Please check with the park service for any updated information. It has turned out to be another rainy day. We will not be resupplying to today. It is far to rainy and nasty to be outside taking pictures, so I thought I would share with you a picture of the youngest guest we have had this year.  Froydis, Olivia, and Lauren Collins This is Olivia's second trip up Mt. LeConte. She visited us when she was just a baby. She is now 23 months old. She really enjoyed the Tang. They bundled her up and back down this morning.
If all goes according to plan, we should have a small helicopter bring more supplies up today. The llamas have not been able to come up due to the snow. We have to have a helicopter resupply us. It is not looking so good right now. There is a low cloud hanging on to the mountain. I will keep you posted if we do fly today.
As for the weather, the low last night was 29 with a high yesterday of 36 degrees. We currently have 7" of snow on the ground. It is slowly, but surely, melting away. I will add some pictures later of the resupply if it happens. If you are hiking up today, please be careful. There is still ice in places. Happy hiking. This is the latest information on trails leading to LeConte Lodge.
Rainbow and Bullhead trail are closed. They were open for the weekend and will close on Monday for continuing road work. Grotto Falls trail head ( Trillium Gap trail ) is closed until sometime in May. Boulevard trail still has quite a bit of snow and downed trees on the trail. It is highly recommended to not take this trail. Alum Cave trail is open and the conditions are getting better every day. There are still a few spots of ice along the trail. The current warmer weather and rain should help melt some of the snow and ice.  High winds and rain seem to be the theme for the day. It is currently 36 degrees and raining. We had some extremely high winds last night and early this morning. I would say this should melt off a lot of this snow. Some of the crew took off yesterday and shoveled the spots on Alum Cave trail that were a bit sketchy. If you are coming up today, make sure you have a pair of dry sock with and a some good rain gear. It is wet outside. Be careful and have a good hike up. We will have hot chocolate and coffee waiting for you.  Nathan and John working hard to make the trail passable.  The rain stopped and the sun came out. Yesterday ended up delivering a beautiful sunset. The mountain became a giant skating rink, but it did make all of the trees sparkle. The high yesterday never made it past 31. The low last night was 21. Crampons are a must on the mountain this morning. It is hard to capture in a photo just how amazing the ice can be. Taking a walk outside turns into a magical wonderland. The sun hits the ice just right and everything sparkles. My husband described it as walking among a million disco balls. If you are out taking a hike today, please be very careful. The snow has turned to ice and it very slick. Take it slow and be safe. Happy Hiking!      The crew woke up this morning to a dusting of new snow. The rain changed to sleet and then snow over night. We did see an inch melt away. That puts the snow level to 11". The low last night was 29 with a high yesterday of 39. We have spotted patches of dirt around camp. Who knew dirt could be such a refreshing site. The crew is ready for days of sunshine and hiking. I believe they are growing a little restless. Godzilla found time to entertain himself.  YEEE HAAWWWW!!!! Grey skies are bringing promises of rain and warmer temperatures. That is a recipe for snow melting. It reached 50 degrees yesterday. The crew put their swim suites on and caught some rays. Our vitamin D levels are fully restored. The low last night was 31. With the high temperature and lots of sun, we are now down to 12" of snow. You can see patches of dirt now, spring is here. Alum Cave trail has seen quite a bit of foot traffic. There is still spots of ice and snow on the trail, but it is improving everyday.  Can you see the patch of ground?  Come on rain!!!  Hike up and buy your 2010 LeConte Lodge T-Shirt. Only available on top of Mt. LeConte.
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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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