 We seem to have a weather pattern happening. We awake to clouds and dark skies and then they start to lift. Yesterday turned out to be another sunny day up top. We have clouds in the morning, sun in the afternoon, and rain in the early evening. The dark, early mornings are starting to put my "happy light" use into overtime. I thought I would share a picture of my office. As you can see, my false sunshine is right next to my computer. As I update "High On LeConte", I can get my fix of fake sun light.
Today is starting out the same way the past week has. Cloudy and windy. Let's hope this weather pattern continues and we get to the see the sun again today. The temps are getting cooler. Night lows are still in the mid 50's. The high yesterday was 73.  The fog lifted and left us with a beautiful afternoon. The high was 69 with a low in the low 50's. The clouds are sitting on top of us again this morning. I am hoping we have a repeat of yesterday and the sun decides to pay us a visit later in the day. The mountain side is still a beautiful display of color. The flowers are going strong. I would say just a couple of weeks will bring the berries into full swing.
 It is a dark morning on the mountain. The fog is like a blanket sitting on top of the mountain. It was a busy weekend at the lodge. Seem to be a lot of families getting that last minute vacation in before school starts. There have been a few bears seen outside of camp. So far, they are staying on the outskirts of camp and not coming in. That is a good thing. Please remember, if you are day hiking or overnight hiking, do not leave your gear unattended.
 LeConte Falls made another appearance after 3.1" of rain dropped on us in two hours. The bottom dropped out of the sky and poured like have never seen it. I put on my rain boots and went and played in the puddles for a few minutes. I felt like I was 5 years old for a brief moment. Chris added up the rain fall for July and said it came to a little over 15" for the month. After the clouds moved out we were left to a magnificent rainbow.   "If there is one thing clear about the centuries dominated by the factory and the wheel, it is that although the machine can make everything from a spoon to a landing-craft, a natural joy in earthly living is something it never has and never will be able to manufacture."- Henry Beston  I love waking up to the orange glow of sunrise. It is a great start to a day. The mornings are chilly with dew and a cool breeze. The lows have been around 50 degrees. Yesterday was cloudy day with the high in the mid 60's.
There was a question yesterday that was asking about how many trails lead to Mt. LeConte. The answer is 5 or 6 depending on who you ask. There is a description of the 5 main trails on "Facts" page of this blog. The 6th trail is Brushy Mountain which connects to the Trillium Trail and finishes at LeConte. That is the least hike trail to the lodge. It is 9.5 miles and a steep hike. We usually only suggest that trail for hikers that have done all of the others and want a challenge. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Time for some coffee. Another full day of sunshine. It was great. The clouds rolled in after sunset and brought a good rain storm. Sleeping to the sound of rain on your roof is so relaxing. The day hikers are starting to thin out again. I know a few schools in the area have started back. The mountain air is starting to get cooler at night. It is time to pull out the fleece for the evenings. If you are staying over night in the near future, make sure you bring some clothes for cooler weather.   Welcome back old friend. The sun came out and made everything right again. It was a comfortable 74 degrees up top yesterday with a full day of sun. How we needed that! The mountain side is a carpet of yellow and the butterflies and humming birds are out making the most of it. It is a great time to be on the mountain.
One of the perks of this job is being so close to nature. It is always a treat to see the new life on the mountain. We await every year for a few more fawns to run and play through camp. Yesterday was one of those days. The guests were treated to a display of play time for the two fawns. They ran around and jumped all over the place. It was so much fun to watch.   On a different note, I have some cool news. Once again, our friendly Ranger Dave Worth has set another record. He decided to hike all of the trails leading to LeConte in one day. Well, he did just that. He hiked them in 10 hrs 3 min and 41 seconds. Way to go Dave. That is truly amazing.   A lone cone flower. I am ready for a full day of sunshine. It seems to be the trend that we wake up to a blue sky and then the clouds roll in around noon. I know I should not be complaining when so many areas are hurting for rain. I just need one day of vitamin D to get back on track. Maybe August will bring the sun with it. I know all of the moisture will make for a great berry season. The crew has been dreaming of all the treats I can make with blackberries. Notice I said "I"! It won't be long now. The park has issued bear warnings. I have noticed a lot of photos on facebook. My fellow Gatlinburg neighbors have been seeing a lot of larger bears around town. That is not good. I am sure we will have a few bears coming through wanting to share the berries.
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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
March 2025
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