 Good Morning,
Well the flurries never flew yesterday, but the frost did form during the night once the thermometer dropped below the freezing mark. In fact, we are dishing out breakfast as it’s 14° currently with light winds. The mountain collected just over a half inch of rain and mist yesterday as we never saw anything but the inside of a cloud. It appears as though the sun is trying to break through this morning and hopefully it does by this afternoon. If we’re lucky, temps will reach the mid 30s today but will once again dip below freezing again before a consistent warmup returns for Wednesday. Watch out for slick places underfoot while starting up the trail this morning until the ground thaws. Have a great day.
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 Good Morning,
We hope everyone had a safe, prosperous, and enjoyable Easter weekend. For us, it sure was a busy one, and to be expected when the weather was so nice. It seems today will be swinging the pendulum the other way. We’ve getting a steady dose of rain already through the night, and it’s going to last deep into the day. The mountain could receive a couple inches of liquid precip by the time it’s all done, and perhaps even see it transform over to snow showers. That’s right, winter isn’t done with Mt. LeConte yet, and we knew it wasn’t. Temps are going to gradually drop throughout the day, starting us out in the 40s and eventually bottoming out in the low 20s. It’s going to be windy at times today too, with gusts of 40mph possible, so that will knock windchill factors down into the single digits. Guests with reservations best come prepared with plenty of layers to stay dry and warm in these conditions until getting settled into a cozy cabin. Thankfully this sour weather is a one-hit wonder, as Tuesday should welcome the return of clearer skies. For a trail conditions update, it sounds like Trillium Gap is the only path to the mountain currently without obstructions. Every other trail has trees down, ranging from a few to many. Although each path is passable, some trails just might require a little more effort to get through some obstacles. And we’re hoping that the NPS trail crews are able to address the eroding section above the bluffs this week before it gets any worse. Safe travels out there and have a great day. Good Morning,
Here we are, already kicking off the second half of April. It’s a wet and cool start to this Saturday, certainly making it difficult for one to roll out of bed. Intermittent rain showers have danced over and around the mountain through the night. The mist and cloud cover should persist well into the morning hours before clearing some this afternoon. Temps are chilly leading up to day break in the mid 30s. We hope to reach the lower 50s later today, especially if we see some sun. Conditions will also remain breezy, so have some extra layers handy. The script for Easter Sunday looks like it’ll be today in reverse, beginning pleasant but welcoming the potential for more rainfall late in the day. So time your comings and goings from the mountain accordingly if you want to hike in the best possible conditions. Have a great day.  Good Afternoon,
It’s a sunny and beautiful Good Friday and the outdoor enthusiasts are flocking to the mountain. Despite a cool evening prior that saw us dip down to 28°, it’s not taking long to warmup. The lodge is currently in the 40s and it feels great in the sunshine. Today will be the best conditions of the entire holiday weekend, so it makes sense that the masses are enjoying the Smokies now. By tonight, we’ll be rolling into a nasty pattern of intermittent rain showers and cloudy skies that will persist through Monday. Some forecasts are even mentioning slight snow flurry chances on Saturday. What that might mean for potential road closures is unknown at this point, but good idea to start planning for an alternate path up the mountain this weekend if you have an overnight reservation. There could be a break in the sour weather Easter Sunday morning, but it will be short lived before the next round of rain moves through. All the more reason to take advantage of today’s offerings! Have a great rest of the day.  Good Morning, Warmer temps, occasional rain showers, and an increasing number of flowers creeping up the mountain? Must finally be springtime in the Smokies, at least in our snowless neck of the woods. Speaking of rain, there are a few lingering storm cells in the area that could keep conditions wet the rest of this morning but are expected to clear out for the afternoon. The Wind Advisory is also set to expire this morning, with sustained winds and gusts also easing off as the day progresses. As the backside of the front pushes through, temps are going to drop with each passing hour. We’ll start warm up top today in the 50s but the mercury will gradually dip down into the 30s by tonight. Sunny skies and warmer temps return in time for Friday’s lead-in to the holiday weekend. Trails will still be plenty wet and squishy for the time being, and travelers should continue to use caution exploring the woods in these higher winds. Some trees are more susceptible to getting uprooted when the shallow surface soils are soft. Have a great day.   Good Morning, It’s a grey and dreary start to this Wednesday, and the winds are howling over the mountain. We’ll be riding out a Wind Advisory now until 8:00 AM tomorrow with gusts of 50mph possible at times. There are slight chances for rain this morning before letting up this afternoon. Expect mostly cloudy conditions to persist. There are stronger chances for heavy rain and thunderstorms Thursday morning. Temps will continue to be on the warm side though, as we might hit 60° later today. Lows won’t feel too bad at all in the 40s. We’re currently monitoring a small washout about halfway up the Alum Cave Trail. The trail has been narrowed along the steep section above the bluffs but before reaching Gracie’s Pulpit. It’s still passable, but recent rains and downed trees have seemed to redirect the water flow causing a currently small section to erode away. The NPS is aware and we are hopeful their hardworking crews will patch things up soon so that nothing major becomes of it. Good to have an alternate plan ready in the meantime for reaching the summit should the trail maintenance require any sort of brief closure. We will of course keep you posted. Have a great day.   Good Morning,
We’re shaping up to get every bit of those April showers this week. Strong winds last night preceded a steady dose of showers that are expected to run clear into this afternoon. What little snow one would have seen on the ground before bedtime is just about all gone now. Places where snow drifts were deepest or where numerous footsteps compacted the powder into ice will be the last holdouts, so don’t rule out the slick spots on trail just yet. You can definitely bank on muddy and mucky conditions everywhere else. The thermometer should hold steady in the upper 40s and 50s today, but it probably won’t feel super warm given the cloud cover, breezes, and intermittent rains. So having some warm layers to go with those protective waterproof shells will go a long way in keeping one comfortable on trail today. Have a great day.  Good Morning, What a nice change to wake up to warmth (for us at least) and sunshine. A fair amount of snow melted yesterday and during the night, but a few inches still remain. We should see temps jump into the mid 50s today which will surely bid farewell to the rest of the fluffy powder now turned to slush. Skies are mostly clear for sunrise, but this afternoon will present a slight chance of passing rain showers and thunderstorms. That could make already muddy and squishy trails that much worse when it comes to finding good traction. So tread carefully, take advantage of waterproof boots, and have a change of socks handy. Still plenty of travelers flocking to the Smokies for their spring breaks this week, so count on plenty of traffic congestion in the park, especially on the prettier days. Have a great start to the week.   Good afternoon, US 441 (Newfound Gap Rd) has been reopened, so guests with reservations beginning Monday will have the option of using Alum Cave Trail once again. Of course Cherokee Orchard Rd and Roaring Fork have remained open throughout, so trails like Rainbow Falls and Trillium Gap have been well traveled of late. We’ve seen the thermometer climb more than 20° since daybreak and it isn’t done yet, as we could get close to 50° today. Thankfully, the lodge shouldn’t dip below freezing for a while, so this snow will continue to melt and quickly without the concern of any refreeze. That means for the next couple days though that trails will be wet and sloppy, so step carefully on any lingering snow. If history has shown us anything, it’s that winter blasts up here are far from being over, but hopefully this round we just received will be the last one until the fall. One can hope… Have a great rest of the day.   Currently 15° with 8” of powdery snow and higher drifts. The Winter Weather Advisory lasts until 2:00 AM Sunday. There is potential for 2-4” more snow throughout the day. It is unlikely that temps will escape the teens today. Cherokee Orchard Rd remains open for guests with reservations to use Rainbow Falls Trail. There is no timetable for when US 441 (Newfound Gap Rd) will reopen.
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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
January 2023
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