The rain has settled in again, so I thought I would share another photo from Chris's excursion to West Point. For those of you who asked, West Point is the fourth peak on Mt. LeConte. There is a short bushwack from Alum Cave trail that will take you about an hour, give or take a few minutes, depending on what time of year it is. The four peaks that make up Mt. LeConte are Myrtle Point, High Top, Cliff Top, and West Point. There is a a trail leading to the first three.
As I stated earlier, the rain is here. We are currently socked in. The high yesterday was 54º with a low of 44º. Today is not looking so good either. I believe the forecast is calling for rain all day. Hopefully it will move out Apparently I was doing the wrong "sun dance". After correcting my mistake, this is what I saw. The white fluffy clouds hanging in that beautiful blue sky is exactly what my soul needed. Chris took a jaunt out to West Point and captured this picture of Cliff Tops. The crew were throwing on their shorts and tank tops to get maximum exposure of vitamin D. Lord knows I need to, my doctors wonders why I have an extremely low level of vitamin D. One thing we have learned up here, take it when you can get it. I can now apologize for my whining. That happens when my seasonal affective disorder kicks in. The high yesterday reached 54º with a low of 42º. The llamas should have a beautiful day for traveling today. The sun came out this morning and put on a beautiful show. All is right on Mt. LeConte
Well, apparently, I need to learn a new "sun dance". I think I have forgotten what it looks like. The crew is starting to get that washed out vampire look. I am having dreams of sun, surf, and drinks in coconuts, only to awake to rain and fog. I may have to turn this blog into a book review. With all of the rain, the crew is tearing through books like there is no tomorrow. Oh well, I know the amazing weather is just around the corner. I will feel bad for complaining when we have a week straight of brilliant sunsets. At least it is getting warmer. The high yesterday was 45º with a low of40º. The forecast showed sun today, we are all saying our prayers. I know, I know, you don't feel too bad for us. We are on top of the most amazing mountain on the east coast. Hopefully, today, I will get out of camp and enjoy it.
Don't worry Momma Tucker, a.k.a. Courtney's mother, she is only playing. This picture was taken while the crew was taking their search and rescue training. I was asked about rescues on the mountain. We do participate in a lot of rescues, whether it is hiking down the trail and looking for lost hikers or helping someone if they have fallen and have a hurt ankle. I have seen everything from cuts on hands to kidney stones. This is not the place you want to be when trying to pass a kidney stone. We all have first aid training and now have SAR training. When Chris and I are hiking on the trail and we see a kid hiking by themselves, we often ask them to slow down and make sure they stay close to their family. We have seen to many instances when the kid gets out in front and takes a wrong turn and then we end up searching for them. We are always successful in finding them. It may take us an hour or two, but we do locate them. Just make sure that your child can always hear you or see you. Make sure they know to stop at any trail junction and wait on an adult. These are a few safety rules that will save your family a lot of worry.
As for weather, we are STILL socked in. The low yesterday was 33º with a high of 44º. We received .26" rain last night. After a weekend of rain, rain, and more rain, the crew was treated to a spectacular display. Last night's sunset was one of the best ones of the season. It was one of the few times the whole crew was on the mountain. We had a bonding moment of oooos and ahhhhs. We are getting ready for a training day with the park service. A retired ranger is hiking up to train us in the ways of search and rescue. It will help us with our many rescues on the mountain. This should be an interesting class.
The weather was much better yesterday. The rain moved out and left us with a cool mountain top. The high was 44º with a low of 32º. We are still not quite spring temperatures. Hoping we get some of the warmer weather later this week. Did I sleep through summer and fall? Old man winter does not seem to want to let go of the mountain. There are patches of snow all over camp. It was a cold wet day yesterday. The high was 40º with a low of 32º. The mountain got another 2.3" of rain. We seem to be stuck in a pattern. The clouds are hanging low again today. We are still receiving precipitation. It feels like it is time to plug in my "happy light". The only problem is power. We have gone so long without sun, our batteries are running low. I think today will be the day for the "Sunshine Dance". Don't ask. There will be no videos.
The songs of a rustic lodge acted as my alarm clock this morning. The lodge was alive with windows banging, floors creaking, and the walls moaning. It is days like this I wish we had a wind gauge. Just walking to the bathroom is a physical workout. Chris witnessed a junco trying to fly into the wind and instead of going straight, it was flying sideways. Needless to say, that made Chris chuckle.
I was a bit worried that we may wake up to snow. It never reached above 38º yesterday and last night's low was 32º. The mountain received 1.67" of rain yesterday and it is still coming down. I am sure the rivers are swelling in the valley. It is going to be a great day for reading. I thought I would post a couple of pictures of the items we are selling up top. We have some awesome new items for those of you who have been coming up year after year. Guaranteed you will find something that you have not seen in the years passed. If you are hiking today, please make sure you are well prepared to get wet. With the wind blowing like it is, there is no way to stay dry. Just make sure you have plenty of warm clothing to change into at the top. Be safe and see you on the mountain. We will have plenty of hot cocoa and coffee waiting on you. Yesterday turned out to be a nice day. The mountain was covered in day hikers. The llamas made their trip up only to discover our resident deer was not too worried about them. They were a little concerned she was going to go after their pancakes. Her presence was noted and, as you can see by their ears, they were on guard. The good news is she left their food alone and stuck to her native plants. The weather is looking a bit sinister. The wind is currently howling through camp and acting as the morning wake up call. The rain has not started, but judging by the looming clouds, it is on its way. Chris did manage to get a good shot of sunrise this morning. Yesterday's temperatures were 53º and a low of 32º.
One more thing to pass along. Don't forget that we do have an online store on our website. You can go to https://www.lecontelodge.com/store/ purchase some cool items that are NOT available on the mountain. The same goes for the "I Hiked It" shirts, they are NOT available on the website. This is your chance to purchase a cool tie die shirt or some other LeConte branded items. It has been a beautiful morning so far. I can't tell if this lovely cloud is about to take over our mountain or stay out to the east to make for a dramatic display. It was nice to wake up this morning and see the valley below. It has been a bit on the cool side the past few days. The high yesterday was 49º with a low of 40º. The day hikers were few and far between. I have a feeling that will change for this weekend. All in all, it has made for a quiet mountain top.
Once again the wind is whipping the clouds around the mountain top. We can see the sunny valley below. It seems to be taunting us. It was bit cooler this morning. The low was 39º with a high of 57º yesterday. The mountain seems to be getting busier. It is hard to believe that summer is right around the corner. I am still waiting on spring.
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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
April 2024
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