Good Morning, It was another unusually warm day in the Smokies Wednesday as we tapped a high of 63°, but the winds helped to keep things cool and comfortable up top. Air is calmer today but the clouds have remained thick, keeping the sun obscured and temps mild. This will be the last toasty day for a while until we get into next week. Beginning this evening rain and storms will be rolling into town, bringing much cooler temps back down in the 30s at times. Now through Easter, everyone visiting the mountain needs to come prepared for wet and chilly conditions on trail and at the lodge. After the holiday, sunnier skies and more normal temps for the time of year are expected. Roaring Fork Road, the one-way section that runs from Cherokee Orchard around to the east side of Gatlinburg, is scheduled to reopen for the season tomorrow. Visitors will find that the permissible paved parking spaces will be quite limited compared to what has been allowable in the past. Anyone looking to utilize the Trillium Gap Trail from that point will need to get there early to snag a suitable parking space. GSMNP has also announced that rehabilitation of the Greenbrier Road now allows for access to the ranger station there, but not any further. So the oft forgotten Brushy Mountain Trail that ascends Mt. LeConte from Porters Creek is not yet accessible to the public from its base.
Have a great day.
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Good Morning, The winds are whipping up top today. Gusts of 40mph are expected and we’re feeling every bit of it. After starting out in a thick fog, the skies are slowly trying to open for us. We should experience a mix of sun and clouds today before the rain chances roll in tonight. We tapped 65° yesterday afternoon, and although all this air movement and cloud cover may keep it from feeling so, we might reach that mark again today and tomorrow before a cool down leading into the holiday weekend. With such superb skies and unseasonably warm temps, yesterday presented an opportunity that just had to be taken. Scouting the Boulevard Trail of course! Especially when it’s above 70° at Newfound Gap. Trail conditions are in fairly decent shape, all things considered with coming out of the winter and all these windy days of late. The 2.7 mile portion of the Appalachian Trail is in good hands between the ATC and volunteers, so no obstructions there currently. The 5.4 mile section of the actual Boulevard has but a handful of downed trees, all easily navigable by stepping over or limbo-ing under. As it’s an upper elevation trail, the bulk of its spring time displays are a few weeks out yet, but spring beauties and trout lilies have begun to show within the first mile of Newfound Gap. Friendly reminder to anyone claiming this is the easiest trail to the lodge because of the starting elevation…because it isn’t. Imagine taking Alum Cave, hike halfway up, then turn around and go clear back to the trailhead, then reverse and make the entire ascent to the lodge after that. In terms of distance and elevation changes, that is comparable to the experience of the Boulevard. We’ve seen time and time again how that long haul around Myrtle Point absolutely drains the unprepared. So if you’re someone entertaining this as an alternative to Alum Cave because of the new GSMNP parking protocols, please do some serious planning before attempting. Thank you.
Have a great day. Good Morning, After a day of mostly overcast skies and intermittent light rain showers, the mountains are due for a mix of sun and clouds today with unseasonably warm temps across all elevations. We’re talking mid-60s possibly up as high as we are. June through August? Sure. Early April? Unexpected, but we’ll take it! Wednesday could be just as warm before the wet weather returns to finish out the rest of the week. So we all best enjoy it while we can! As we near the holiday weekend, just a heads up to anyone needing to make last minute adjustments to their reservations. Our office will be closed Good Friday in observance of the holiday, so be sure and reach out to our awesome reservations team before close of business Thursday. Since the inaugural rollout of the GSMNP’s new parking policies, we’ve seen a shift in the amount of people taking trails other than Alum Cave to reach the lodge. With more folks taking the historically less popular paths these first few weeks of the season, it’s certainly worth providing more detailed trail reports than is typical. Let’s get things rolling with Bull Head, which happens to be one of the best spring wildflower trails in the park! After a wet winter and strong winds of late, this trail has numerous downed trees from top to bottom. The good news is they are all navigable for folks even with average hiking abilities. For anyone ambitiously attempting the Mt. LeConte Mile High Challenge from town via Old Sugarlands Road to Bull Head, it too has numerous downed trees. Of course that added distance is not recommended for overnight guests. Trees are mostly bare still, providing great views particularly in the burn zones on either side of The Pulpit. Only a handful of trees are budding close to Cherokee Orchard. Spring Beauties have started blooming higher up, but most wildflowers are at the mid to low elevations currently. White and Yellow Trillium, Squirrel Corn, Dutchman’s Breeches, Trout Lilies, Dwarf Iris, and Lousewort just to name a few. Bull Head is one of those trails that has something to offer at all elevations all April long.
Have a great day. Good Morning,
The summit is beneath overcast skies with light winds whirling through the trees. The colors in this morning’s sunrise were quite vivid in their oranges and purples, but we are anticipating more in the way of gray as the day goes on. Clouds will eventually produce some rain chances after lunchtime. Temps will be somewhat mild otherwise, creeping up close to 50° this afternoon. The weather looks much more enjoyable for everyone on Tuesday. The sun will return in abundance and it sounds like a brief heatwave is on the way as well. We could see temps in the upper 60s all the way up here come midweek. Won’t that feel dandy?! Intermittent splashes of rain and rising temps sure will make all the spring wildflowers happy. Have a great day. Good Morning,
Shortly after sunrise, the NPS reopened US 441 (Newfound Gap Rd), so visitors will have access to the heart of the park on what should be a busy and beautiful day in the Smokies. Yesterday saw the rain and clouds clear out by mid morning, but the winds persisted as promised. They are significantly calmer this morning, but present enough that they add a decent chill to our wake-up-temps in the low 20s. Once we climb into the 40s this afternoon, the forecast indicates we should be staying above freezing both day and night for the next week or two. Amen to that! Today will see abundant sunshine spread across the mountains. That’s the good news. The possibly-not-as-ideal news…the coming week shows plenty of atmospheric action in the way of clouds and rain, especially over the Easter weekend. So those of you looking to make a holiday pilgrimage to the mountain should make plans and prep your gear accordingly for safe and enjoyable hikes. April showers and all that… Hats off to all the emergency services handling numerous pesky brush fires and power outages around Sevier County yesterday. The winds sure kept them on their toes Saturday, but they snuffed them out and cleaned things up quickly and admirably. From our vantage point high above East Tennessee, we could see that the valley was in a thick haze all day yesterday. Now we’re waking up to clearer air both above and below. Of course now the pollen might have a thing or two to say about air quality this month. Reminder that if you come upon any downed trees on trail after this weekend’s whipping winds, please let us or the NPS know so their trail crews can clear the way. Have a great day. Good Morning,
Right now it’s shake, rattle, and roll on the mountain. If these cabins had wings they might just take flight, and that’s no joke even on this day! The winds spent all day Friday slowly building up to their forecast speeds and have hounded the lodge and surrounding peaks all night. In recent hours, heavy rain and lightning have been battering the region. These strong storms are expected to subside by mid morning, but will certainly leave trails wet and muddy in places. Even though we could enjoy some sunshine later today, the winds aren’t set to ease off until tomorrow morning. Gusts of 80mph are still possible. That could be enough to convince the Park to leave US 441 (Newfound Gap Rd) temporarily closed for driving safety concerns until early Sunday, when sunny skies and calmer conditions return. Currently Cherokee Orchard Rd on the mountain’s north side remains open, granting visitors access to trails like Rainbow Falls. So long as lightning-producing storms are present, Bull Head is inadvisable because of its exposed ridge tops and its affinity for falling trees in the burn zones. The one-way Roaring Fork Rd doesn’t open for the season until April 7, so anyone attempting Trillium Gap Trail in its entirety would be looking at a nearly 9 mile long ascent. Sunday definitely looks like the intelligent choice for day hikers, spring breakers, and weekend warriors adamant about visiting the mountain. Today just isn’t the day for folks biting off more than they can chew while only wearing shorts, flip flops, and crop tops. In these nasty conditions, it’s paying guests with overnight reservations who have the peace of mind knowing that a warm and cozy cabin awaits them with reprieve from the wind and rain. |
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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