Good afternoon to all of you from the top of Tennessee. Thanks for stopping by High on LeConte. I'm Nathan, and I'll try to keep you up to date on happenings at LeConte Lodge while Chris and Allyson are down enjoying off days.
First off, the weather conditions thus far on this opaque Saturday can best be described as gray, though the forecast is favorable. Late Saturday morning offered a brief glimpse down into the valley--looked like the folks in Pigeon Forge were plenty busy. However, we've been living in a cloud most of the day on Mt. LeConte. Friday's high pushed to 63 degrees, the warmest day this June. The low dipped to 41 degrees. Now for the fake news. The much hyped showdown between LeConte llama Kramer and one-time Triple Crown horseracing favorite I'll Have Another has disintegrated. Kramer, a prized newcomer in the LeConte stable working under the direction of trainer and llama wrangler Mitch, threatened to shock the world with his blazing speed at the Belmont Stakes. There would be no easy waltz to Belmont glory for I'll Have Another, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes champion, with Kramer racing on llama rocket fuel (leftover LeConte pancakes and biscuits). However, Belmont Stakes officials refused to move the race from New York to Mt. LeConte and balked at more than quadrupling the 1.5-mile race to reroute up the Trillium Gap Trail, Kramer's home turf. As a result, we've decided to scratch Kramer from the race in protest. If you'd like to see the llama racing phenom, you'll have to come up to LeConte Lodge and see us on Monday, Wednesday or Friday--the days we're resupplied by llama. Keep in mind, that Kramer will be taking every other trip off to rest and stay healthy. In all honesty, we did hear that I'll Have Another did pull out of the Belmont Stakes and a shot at the legendary Triple Crown. We wish him a speedy recovery and enjoyable retirement. I guess he gets to trade working for idyllic life on the farm as a stud, which is not the worst job in the world. Where can I sign up for that? Also back to reality, in the above photo, Alan is walking Kramer around to settle his nerves. This photo was made on Kramer's first training trip to the lodge. Another wrangler, Katie, was going to lead Kramer down separately as part of his training. When the other seasoned llamas were getting packed up and ready to head down together -- and Kramer wasn't -- he got a little nervous, and Alan was helping take his mind off that. To update, Kramer is taking to his new job just fine. In fact, he followed Mitch to lead the llama train up to the lodge on Friday. Finally, I'd like to thank Al Bedinger, former LeConte Lodge crew member, for passing along some photos of the beloved and departed Blackie--the LeConte wonder horse profiled in the May 27 update. Al sent me these photos last time I was off the mountain, and I hope they display correctly. Have a fine day. Happy trails. "How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?" - Satchel Paige As my birthday comes around again, I grow to love this quote more and more. I consider myself lucky to have such an amazing job surrounded by such fun loving individuals. Since I was talking about the crew yesterday, I will continue to sing their praises. They help keep me young. I feel as though I am constantly learning new things, hearing new music, opening myself to different view points and never taking each day for granted. We must live each day as if their is no tomorrow. I do realize it is a little easier for me to say this being surrounded by such beauty. The absense of everyday life makes time slow down. I will take these words and daydream about them as I hike off the mountain for my days off. I am off to spend my birthday with the cutest 6, 8, and 10 year old I know, my nieces and nephew. I am sure they will add to my staying young at heart. I will leave you to the entertaining stories of Mr. Kirkham. See you in a week with visions of "The Wedding".
For the first time this season the gang was all here. We finally got our annual crew photo made. It is great to go back and look at the many faces that have worked on the mountain. It really is like one big family. Since Chris and I don't have children, the crew members become like our kids, even if they are 15 years older then us. We love seeing the younger crew members visit later with their families. It is always a delight to keep up with the crews from the past and hear what is happening in their lives and how LeConte will forever play a role in who they are today.
The weather has been lovely but cool. The lows over the weekend were in the mid 30s. Last nights low was 41 with a high of 57. So far, June feels colder then April did. Chris and I are getting ready for some more days off. We are excited to visit some family in New York state and enjoy some warmer temperatures. These days off will also include watching John and Bonnie tie the knot. When they come back from days off, they will be husband and wife. We are so happy for them. A daydream is a meal at which images are eaten. Some of us are gourmets, some gourmands, and a good many take their images precooked out of a can and swallow them down whole, absent-mindedly and with little relish. ~W.H. Auden
This quote made me smile. I like to think of myself as a gourmet daydreamer. Just the other day, the crew was discussing takes hikes by oneself. We were talking about thru hiking the AT and what an amazing feat it is. Our crew has 3 completed full thru hikes and 2 attempted thru hikes. One of the experiences I relish the most are the miles and miles of hiking and daydreaming. The freedom to stop anywhere along the trail and take a nap or just watch the clouds float by. One of the many pleasures of this job is having an afternoon off to hike around the mountain and enjoy the clouds on the sky. I hope that those of you who visit the mountain take the time to enjoy what the mountain has to offer. It is the little things in life that make this world a better place. "Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky. " - Rabindranath Tagore Chris captured sunrise this morning. It was a nice reprieve from the rainy days that seem to be the norm. In fact, we were treated to a fantastic sunrise and are now sitting in a cloud and listening to raindrops. This is all within a 45 minute time span. What a great example of how fast our weather changes up here. The low last night was 43 with a high of 55.
If you are hiking up the mountain, remember to come prepared. We had lows in the mid 30s over the weekend. It is best to carry layers so you can add clothing as needed. Hike safe and see you up top. Some of you were interested in the history of Mt. LeConte. I will save some of the history lessons for Nathan, afterall, he is a pretty darn good story teller. As for the history of Mt. LeConte, Paul Adams played a huge roll in its making. This is an excerpt from Wikipedia: Although the mountain was measured in the 1850s, very little activity took place on the mountain until the 1920s, when Paul Adams moved to Knoxville, Tennessee. An enthusiastic hiker and explorer, Adams spent much of his free time creating adventures in the mountains. In 1924 he joined the Great Smoky Mountain Conservation Association, a group dedicated to making the region into a national park. As part of this push, later that year he led an expedition up the mountain with dignitaries from Washington, in order to show the group what rugged beauty those mountains held. The group spent the night in a large tent which would later become a cabin, and eventually the LeConte Lodge, a popular resort near the top of the peak. The trip was a great success and about a decade later Mount Le Conte, and the surrounding region, was protected as part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. There are some great pictures of the first camp that existed on top of Mt. LeConte. Click on the photo above and it should take you to the website. I hope you enjoy a step back in time. I always love seeing photos of what the camp and cabins looked like through out the years. June 1st and the low was 34! It felt a bit strange putting on my down jacket this morning. Yesterday was cold and rainy with a high of 51. The sun is out this morning, hopefully that will warm us up a little.
School is out and the kids are on the mountain. We are fortunate to have Mark Pitt, our interpretive ranger, on the mountain for the weekends. He gives daily talks on different topics relating to Mt. LeConte and the Smokies. He is here Thursday through Sunday, during the summer and fall months. Thunderstorms are currently moving through camp. The rain held off yesterday leaving the guests with a gorgous day to be on the mountain. It has been raining off and on all night and this morning. The precipitation should help to run our ram pump. The video above is our ram pump in motion. We have three forms of water pumps that pump water from the bottom of camp to the top of camp. The LeConte spring fills up a holding tank. The water is then pumped through our solar pump, ram pump, or our gas operated pump. The solar pump is the first option. It works great as long as we have enough solar power. If there is a great deal of water flow and the solar is not operating, the ram pump is then used. It takes 9 gallons of water going through the pump to run the pump and send a gallon of water to the holding tanks at the top of camp. If there is no sun or large volume of water, we have to resort to the gas powered pump. I am happy to say, we have pretty much alleviated the gas pump. The first two systems are extremely efficient. Once we pump the water to the tanks at the top of camp, the water is treated for public consumption and then gravity fed back to camp.
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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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