As you can see from the photo above, we are a bit socked in at the moment. A guest asked me what I saw? I said "Nothing. That is the point of the photo." We received another .17" of rain last night. The high yesterday was 69º with a low of 54º. I can honestly say that I think this has been the wettest season I have seen in my 11 years on the mountain. The crew was thinking about buying stock in "happy lights". The only problem is I haven't see the sun enough to be able to charge the batteries to use mine. It is a bit of a conundrum.
After walking around camp this morning, I noticed the coneflowers are blooming. I may have been wrong when I predicted them being a couple of weeks late. I am now thinking we will see them at full color by the end of the month. Time to for me to go clean the stove. One of my jobs on the mountain is to take the stove apart, twice a week, and make the stove nice and sparkling. I will admit, I love seeing a clean stove and a clean fridge. Those jobs are good ones to do on days like this. We ended up with a nice day for most of the day. The high reached 69º with a low of 57º. The rain moved in later in the day and hit us hard. We received another 1.37" of rain in few hours time. The blue skies are playing peek-a-boo with us at the moment. I know they are out there and I can tell it is going to shape up to be another sunny day up top.
After a long spell of rain, we saw the sun. If you live in the valley below, you probably heard our shouts of joy as the bright orb made its appearance. It turned out to be such a nice day on the mountain. I am hoping the forecast for rain for the next week turns out to be a repeat of yesterday because the 50% chance turned into nothing. We actually saw a sunset and, for the first time this season, I was able to watch the Dollywood fireworks show. The temperature rose to 65º during the day and the low was 54º. We were awakened by a beautiful sunrise this morning. Things are looking better up top.
Another wet day to add to the books. I added up the rainfall from July 1st through the 7th. We have received 7.83". No wonder I feel a little water logged. On a brighter note, as you can see in the picture, the vegetation is a lush green. You can definitely tell we live in a temperate rainforest. The crew is starting to go a little crazy. You can hear the moans when we tell them the weather forecast for the day. You know it is bad when we hear a forecast for partly cloudy and we get excited because we might get to see the sun for a couple of minutes. Ahhh, life on the mountain. "Some days are diamonds. Some days are stone." -John Denver.
Some one asked about Rainbow falls trail. We are telling people it is not a good idea to hike that trail with all of the water coming off the mountain. We have had some people report about impassable streams. We are advising people to travel Bullhead trail if they are wanting to hike in that area. The temperatures on the mountain are still chilly. The high yesterday was 60 with a low of 53. Please remember, it is best to wear clothing that is quick drying. Bring an extra change of clothes and socks for when you reach the top. You will be wet. Take your time, the rocks are extremely slick. Remember, it is not a race and be safe. Yep, you guessed it. It is STILL raining on the mountain. We heard stories of rainbows and sunshine in the valley below, we never saw it. We received another 1.08" of rain yesterday. It is currently coming down. Last nights guests seem content with sitting around the lamp light while sipping their hot chocolate and eating pancakes. No one wants to get out in this mess. Camp was pretty quiet yesterday. Not a lot of people decided to get out for a day hike. It was a bit eerie for a July 4th weekend. We were expecting to be super busy. The only noise we heard were the spring peepers. Our little frog friends seem to be out a month later then usual. The rhodo is still hanging on up top. It makes me wonder if the wildflowers in camp are going to be a month late?
It's Raining, It's Pouring, and My Old Man Is Snoring! ( actually, he is currently making biscuits)7/6/2013
Well, folks, Chris and I are bit water logged, but we paddled up the mountain and made it here around noon. I say we are water logged, but no where near as much as the cabins. I totaled the rain fall from the 3rd through yesterday. We have seen over 5.5" of rain and it is still coming down hard. I heard stories of Rainbow Falls trail being impassable. I am sure that is still the case. If you decide to brave the weather, do not use Rainbow Falls trail. I can not stress how important it is to have some good rain gear in weather like this. It is cooler up top, so when you arrive at the lodge and you are soaked, you are going to get a chill quickly. Rain gear and a dry change of clothing is a must in weather like this. If you decide to hike up today, please be safe and I will have some coffee and hot chocolate waiting for you.
Hello to all of you. I hope July is off to a fine start for you. We've got a lot of news to cover today, so I'll hop to it. Taking its cue from June, the first two days of July have been damp. We measured 0.52 inches of rain Monday with a high of 64 and a low of 51. We've seen mostly cloudy skies with a few glimpses of the sun this morning.
The most recent forecast I heard for the next few days follows. We have a 60 percent chance of rain today, followed by a 70 percent chance of rain Wednesday, 80 percent Thursday and 60 percent Friday. Smart money says bring your rain gear anytime you come see us, but especially during the next few days. I've not heard of any problems with any of the trails leading to LeConte. The temperatures are expected to be a little on the chilly side, too. That's a far cry from a year ago when we set LeConte's all-time high of 81.5 on June 30. I remember we used to brag that we had never hit 80 degrees on top of LeConte--until last year. On June 29, 2012, the morning lazed around hot and sticky without a whisper of a breeze. It was an odd marriage of technology and the lack thereof as crew members gathered around our battery-powered thermometer to take photos with their smartphones as the digital readout reached 80.0 for the first time since humans have been perched atop LeConte. Although we live in the land electricity forgot, as crew members utilized their wireless technology someone in Beijing could have learned about the all-time LeConte high being broken before someone who was just starting her hike on Alum Cave Bluff Trail. If memory serves correctly, on June 29, 2012 we ended up topping out at 81.4 before bettering the all-time mark to 81.5 on June 30. Last year on July 1, we also hit 80 degrees, but didn't match the previous two days. At any rate, I hope that record stands for a long time. Changing gears, with July 4 coming up I hope you'll have a chance to come see us or visit another of our fine national parks. In 2007 and 2008 I worked as a horse wrangler at a guest ranch in the Front Range of the Colorado Rockies. It was wonderful, and I met great people from all over the globe. One time I had some guests from the United Kingdom out on a horseback ride. We rode trails through thousands of acres of protected state and federal land and let our horses take a breather at the top of a mountain. The view was astounding and hadn't changed much since the days the stagecoach rumbled near there on its route between Fort Collins, Colo., and Laramie, Wyo. My guests said, "You take this for granted. We don't have this beautiful, protected and public land in Europe." At first, I bristled a little bit at a foreigner telling me what I took for granted in my own country. However, they were really fine people and exactly right. Whatever our difficulties, the United States is a fine place to be. Continuing the gratitude, I noticed on my last trip down the mountain through Pigeon Forge on my way home and Townsend on my return trip to LeConte that most of the hotels and motels were doing fine business--lots of cars in the parking lot. Then I thought that any of them would trade a summer of sweet tea for our occupancy rate at LeConte Lodge. That's possible because of you all. Thank you. Finally, this will likely be the last High on LeConte update until Saturday. That's one of the reasons I tried to give a little extra news in this update. We're not holding out on you. Chris and Allyson are on off days. I just learned I need to hike down to deliver my Papaw's eulogy. General manager Tim Line will be running operations until Chris and Allyson return. We'll be open for all our normal services to overnight guests and dayhikers and will take good care of you. Come on up and see us. Happy Independence Day and happy trails. Allyson is having trouble with phone and internet connections today. She will try again this afternoon. If she doesn't get a post submitted, Nathan will try again tomorrow as she and Chris will be heading down the mountain this evening for a few days off. The high yesterday was 64, low 49 with .25 inches of rain.
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April 2024
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