Good Morning,
It’s looking like this will be our last sunny day from start to finish for a while, with cloud cover expected to roll in throughout the day. Beginning tomorrow and lasting through the weekend there is greater potential for isolated thunderstorms and rain showers. Temps will hold steady for us staying above freezing, with highs still tapping the 50s and lows in the bottom 40s. Once the storms start the winds will pick up as well, so travelers should bring rain shells and extra layers to make sure one stays warm and dry. Spring is still a long way off from swinging into gear up top, but these milder temps and hazy views out over the valley certainly have things looking like the warmer days of summer are fast approaching. The mountain has been covered up in visitors enjoying the sunshine, and any chance they get, the crew spends their afternoons exploring the woods and trails of their mountain home. Have a great day.
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Good Morning,
It’s so nice to wake up to a mountain top that isn’t frozen in some fashion or another. Spring continues to try and take back control of the upper elevations with its warming trend. We managed to break 50° yesterday and our overnight low stayed well enough above freezing. The next couple days will get even warmer with plenty of sunshine still. It appears as though the opportunity for rainfall and thunderstorms will return by Thursday. So if you’re in the area for spring break and have Mt. LeConte pegged for your itinerary, today and tomorrow might be your best chance to see the most while staying dry. With a surge in visitors these past many days surrounding the holiday, we’re of course seeing folks traversing the mountain’s various trails. Everything is safely passable at the moment, which is good to hear for everyone with varying hiking abilities. A couple reminders that Brushy Mountain out of Greenbrier is still inaccessible while the Park wraps up road maintenance leading up to its trailhead. Also, Roaring Fork is expected to reopen for the season (and stay open) this coming weekend. That will once again give hikers access to the slightly shorter portion of Trillium Gap Trail (6.7 miles vs. 8.9 miles out of Cherokee Orchard). Anyone looking for wildflowers (and extended solitude) should consider hiking Bull Head, as April is one of the best times to take this trail up or down the mountain. Just be cautious during rough weather, as one is exposed to the elements for several miles while passing through the extensive burn zones. Have a great day. Good Morning,
Easter was one of the busier days of our young season. The mountain top was bustling with travelers excited to be outside enjoying nature on the fabulous holiday. We are getting into the second week of spring breaks occurring across the region, so expect the high visitation traffic to continue. The weather is looking favorable again today. We managed to tap 49° for a high yesterday, and our overnight low barely dipped below freezing. Today should be slightly warmer, and just maybe the last of the ice will finally fade from the cool and shaded areas around the mountain. Quick note on Roaring Fork as it has been reclosed. The brief opening appears to have been a special circumstance for the holiday weekend. Have a great start to the week. Good Morning,
Happy Easter everyone. Waking up to a gorgeous sunrise again this Sunday, and it’s so nice to not be a popsicle. Temps to start the day are hanging around the freezing mark, but we should receive some decent warmth this afternoon once the sun gains some height. Yesterday certainly was a welcome change in that regard, seeing our high reach 43°. Areas tucked in the shade are actually holding on to some ice still, and the ground hasn’t completely softened they yet. Hopefully by today things will get completely thawed for us again. Should be another delightful day to get outside and play in the woods. Not a bad hike to be found on the slopes of Mt. LeConte, although with these clear skies a ridge walk like The Boulevard are hard to beat. On another note, Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail appears to have been opened for the season a little early, so guests can now access Trillium Gap from the Grotto Falls parking lot. Remember to heed the advice of our wranglers should you catch the llamas on a packing day. Have a great end to the week. Good Afternoon,
Commence thawing! Finally the deep freeze is behind us and we can enjoy these sunny skies with milder temps (for up here anyways). Sunrise saw us start out in the low 20s this morning, and the thermometer has been climbing steadily ever since. We’re approaching the upper 30s currently and curious to see where we end up. Because of the multi day freeze we endured, things are still plenty icy in places. It will take a couple consecutive sunny afternoons and warmer overnight lows to help soften the ground and melt the last of the lingering ice. Fortunately, the temps for the next few days all point toward a gradual warming trend. The holiday weekend is here and Sevier County is buzzing. Expect a lot of eager hikers on the trail and around the lodge. Please remember to have extra patience for the potential roadway backups, busy trails and vistas, and while waiting to enter our gift shop as our dedicated staff works enthusiastically to greet and tend to every customer. Thank you. Have a great rest of the day. Good Afternoon,
Mt. LeConte is experiencing an April Ice Fest, and the frigid temperatures have been unrelenting over the last two days. Thursday only saw us reach an afternoon high temp of 16°, while our overnight low dipped down further than the last, finally bottoming out at 4°. With the our slight morning breeze that would have put us at feeling windchills around -10°. The clouds that struck the mountain before the sunrise hours helped to add another layer of frost over every surface from ground to tree top. We’ve managed to see the return of the sun today, allowing us to remember what the lower 20s feel like. Talk about a heatwave. But there is still a great deal of ice on the trails, and with extreme cold temps expected again this evening, one can count on the trails remaining treacherous in places tomorrow as well. Have the traction devices ready and load up with plenty of water and warm layers to ensure a safe journey to and from the summit. Perhaps we’ll even get above freezing tomorrow. All this talk of spring down below from our most recent pilgrims, yet here we are basking in a winter wonderland. Life on LeConte... Have a great weekend. UPDATE: US 441 (Newfound Gap Rd) is now open. Watch for ice and snow on the roadway.
————————————————————————————-- Good Morning, Supposedly April is a spring month. You wouldn’t know it after waking up to our scene high above 6,000 feet. Even after temps dropped well below freezing during the evening, it still took quite a while for the precipitation to convert from rain to flurries. By the time the storm was close to wrapping up is when the ground began to harden and the icy powder decided to stick. There is visible frost on trees and the rooftops and grassy areas managed to hold on to a dusting of snow, but the majority of what we saw fall yesterday came in the way of rain. We spent most of Wednesday in the 40s, and it wasn’t until sunset that the air started to cool. This morning we woke to a low of 12° with occasional breezes providing windchills in the single digits. According to the forecast, we probably won’t get back above freezing until Saturday afternoon at the earliest. US 441 (Newfound Gap Rd) remains temporarily closed due to the wintry conditions. Guests can still access the trails out of Cherokee Orchard this morning. Traction devices are a must, and so are the warm layers. This goes double for day hikers who hope to visit the mountain these next couple days. Our COVID-19 protocols remain in place regardless of what the weather decides to do, and it is each individual’s responsibility to come appropriately dressed to recreate in these conditions. Reminder that all visitor services are “to-go,” so if you haven’t secured a reservation for one of our cabins, you need to layer up. Be safe and have a great day. |
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
May 2024
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