This picture pretty much sums up yesterday. Clouds, wind, rain, and more rain. It is to bad that the LeConte Olympics did not hold their kayaking event yesterday. They would have made it down to Gatlinburg in record time. The mountain soaked up another .62" of rain over the 24 hour period. The high yesterday was 60 with a low of 52. The clouds seem to be breaking this morning. Here is hoping for a beautiful day up top. 

Nathan left last night for some much needed r&r. He is heading out west to visit some friends, and horses, at a ranch in Colorado and then up to Yellowstone. He is excited to see his friends, but I think he is even more excited to see his old pals, his horses. Don't worry, he took along his infamous cowboy hats. He carried them down the mountain in a box and plastic bag. Now, that is a true cowboy. Nathan, we hope you have some amazing rides out west. Don't forget to bring back some pictures.  

The skies deposited .67" of rain on us yesterday. Chris was so excited when the clouds broke and set the stage for a beautiful sunset. He grabbed my camera and took off to chase the sun. I think he did a marvelous job bringing the beauty home. Yesterday was pretty chilly. The high was 69 with a low of 51. It was a busy day on the top. A lot of day hikers were out and about. 

Chris and I have officially talked Lindi into joining us on our adventure in Africa. She is super excited and we are already planning our training hikes. I will keep you up to speed as other crew members make their plans official for the winter. It is always fun to hear what life changing trips are in the works. 

I am sure you are all sad to say goodbye to Nathan's amusing posts. He certainly kept me entertained while on my days down in Gatlinburg. I have said it many times before, Nathan has a gift with the words. I, however, am more a of a visual person. Now that the cats are back, the mice are getting back to their daily routines, and so must I.
 
I will start by saying that Chris and I had a great hike up the mountain. I was in awe when I saw the damage that had happened on Alum Cave trail from the rains on Sunday.  Areas of the trail had been washed out. There was a huge rock pile where the water had moved a large amount of rocks and then laid them to rest on this big pile near the trail. I remembered reading someone's comment about hiking down during that storm. I guess the area I am talking about was up to there knees in water. After seeing the size of the rocks that were being moved in that current, I would have been a little hesitant in walking through that water. I am so grateful that no one was hurt during that downpour. 

Speaking of rain, we did not get very much yesterday. A total of .02". The high was 70 with a low of 54. There seemed to be a lot of kids on the mountain last night. I think families are getting in that last vacation before school starts back. 

Wednesday surely looked like a dark day on the mountain.  After a startling shot across the bow from the athletes from Nowhere in Particular, Team LeConte sluggishly fell behind two gold medals to open Wednesday's final day of the LeConte Games.  The heroes from the top of Tennessee would have to suffer the shame of losing the LeConte Games on their home mountain.

Down two medals nearing the end of the Games, Team LeConte would have to sweep both events and keep the acclaimed stars from Nowhere in Particular off the medal stand to even have a shot at tying.  Vegas wouldn't even issue odds on a feat so hurculean.  A pall settled across LeConte followed by a shroud of disappointment and shame.  But a funny thing happened on the way to the Closing Ceremony.

Nathan entered the egg-box weightlifting competition.  He thrust the yolks skyward in defiance of the defeat surely coming Team LeConte's way.  His opponent didn't fare so well and ended up a little scrambled.  But Nathan's win was not without controversy.  A postcompetition drug test administered to the victor revealed a curiously strong substance in his bloodstream.  LeConte Games officials withheld his gold medal until the chief drug tester could be consulted.  A thorough analysis revealed the powerful concoction was no illegal substance but Tang, served with breakfast every day at LeConte Lodge.  "If Tang's good enough to get an astronaut to the moon, then it's good enough for me," Nathan said.

With Nathan's gold-medal validated, Team LeConte had only one more chance to score in the equestrian jumping events.  But the news gets darker because the next to last event was the llama trough hurdles, and Team LeConte had no one entered in the race.  Meanwhile, all the hurdler from Nowhere in Particular had to do was finish the race, claim her gold and vanquish Team LeConte's hopes of tying the Games in the final event.  A win by the hurdler from Nowhere in Particular would put her squad up two medals with only one event remaining and doom Team LeConte to an impossible mission.

All Team LeConte could do was focus on putting on a brave face and making a good showing in the equestrian jumping event.  Trainer Chrissy and rider Mitch were brushing down Pete, the LeConte llama, before the event when they discovered Pete was missing his prerace pancake.  Upon hearing Pete's predicament, John, who was done with his competition, sprinted toward the kitchen to retrieve the pancake.  At that instant, the starting gun sounded for the hurdles and the hurdler from Nowhere in Particular was left behind in John's wake as he cleared each hurdle cleanly on Pete's pancake mission.  The officials consulted and determined John had clearly beaten his rival and the gold should be awarded to Team LeConte, which brings us to a tie going into the final event of the LeConte Games.

The equestrian jumping events have always been a strong suit for the team from Nowhere in Particular, and they harbored no doubt that their fine horse, Blueblood, would wipe the trail with Pete, Team LeConte's lowly llama.  Team Nowhere in Particular would surely sip champagne and celebrate winning the equestrian event and, thus, the entire LeConte Games on their opponent's home mountain.

But the rider from Nowhere in Particular didn't know Pete.  After eating his lucky prerace pancake, Pete worked up the most vile llama spit this ancient mountain has ever seen.  Sensing a victory and immortal glory, Blueblood pranced a little too close to Pete, who launched his llama spit with the skill of a Top Gun pilot right into Blueblood's eyes.  With Mitch in the saddle, Pete skillfully navigated every jump.  After the race Pete attributed his expert form to another elder LeConte llama, Earl.  A fine but crafty llama, Earl is best known for leaping a six-foot-tall fence to freedom every time the llama wrangler goes to fetch him for a day's work on LeConte.

Blueblood never had a chance to match Pete's wondrous performance as the multimillion dollar horse crashed through each hurdle with Pete's caustic llama spit still burning his eyes.  With that, Team LeConte hoisted glasses of Tang and toasted their good fortune, bragging rights for four years and the most unlikely sweet victory in the LeConte Games.

In real Olympic news, I'd like to congratulate Aries Merritt, my friend and another former colleague from the University of Tennessee, on his fastest preliminary time in the 110-meter hurdles Tuesday night.  The world leader, Aries ran a 13.07-second scorcher to qualify for Wednesday's semifinal.  I'll be rooting for him today from the top of Tennessee.

Now for the weather report.  Tuesday's high reached 66 with a low of 53.  We totaled 0.12 inches of rain to continue the theme of a damp July and August.  In something that may be of interest only to me, the temperature at observation (about 6:40 a.m. when I radio in the weather to the park service) has been 57 or 58 for the last seven days.  It does make for nice sleeping weather.

Allyson and Chris have returned to the mountain, so you'll be shed of me for a while on High on LeConte.  Thanks for rooting on Team LeConte the last three days.  More important, thanks for being so friendly when you come up to visit.  We all appreciate it.  Happy trails.

Team LeConte competed valiantly Tuesday against the premier athletes from Nowhere in Particular to set up an epic showdown entering Wednesday's final day of the LeConte Games.  Team LeConte pushed its gold-medal haul to three with clutch victories against the team from Nowhere in Particular.

The LeConte rowing team made the best of a bad situation in striking gold in the three-person event.  Although the water from the spigot didn't provide quite the course that Team LeConte had hoped, the locals leaned on their knowledge of the terrain and some oars designed with cutting-edge technology to score a tough win.  Boat captain Bonnie kept Lindi and John in rhythm to cross the finish line first.

After hiking up LeConte the evening before, Lindi doubled gold on the day.  The Pennsylvanian dominated the trekking pole javelin throw to claim gold for Team LeConte.  Her official winning throw measured "a far piece," and it's likely there will have to be some lights replaced in the Gatlinburg Space Needle when Lindi's javelin is retrieved from down below.

Down three victories to two entering Tuesday's final event in the LeConte Games, Team LeConte called upon Austin and Chrissy to even the score with the team from Nowhere in Particular in the toilet key relay race.  For those unfamiliar with the highly technical race, the object is to sprint around camp as quickly as possible before handing off the bathroom key to your relay partner with precision.  A dropped toilet key can lead to a disqualification (and other misfortunes).  The competitor who reaches the toilets first with toilet key in hand is presented a porcelain medal.  After authoring a fine first leg, Chrissy handed off to Austin with a lead.  Austin turned on the burners and arrived at the toilets far ahead of the competition.

Now for the LeConte Games weather report.  Monday's high reached 63, our coolest day since July 13.  The low was 55 degrees.  We registered 0.33 inches of rain Monday.  So far on Tuesday the weather has been somewhat of a mixed bag--a little rain, a little sun and a lot of clouds.  Aside from immediately after Sunday's 3.64-inch deluge, we've had no reports of difficulty with trail conditions, although the footing is bound to have changed some in places carrying the most drainage.

The finale to the LeConte Games takes place Wednesday as Team LeConte seeks to defend its home turf and win the medal count.  Happy trails.

Once every four years LeConte Lodge scours the countryside, resting not for the fiercest blizzard or the pelting rains, until its mission is complete: find and field the most ferocious competitors dwelling in the Southern Appalachians to uphold its LeConte Games legacy.  After trials, tribulation and lots of washed dishes, today LeConte Lodge unveils its squad of heroes for the 2012 LeConte Games.

The world anxiously awaited the announcement of vaunted Team LeConte, which will duel with the athletes from Nowhere in Particular, a skilled contingent hoping to come home with many medals.  Team LeConte marched in the Parade of Teams as "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" blared through the speakers.  Noted international designer Gildan provided the stylish outfits for Team LeConte.  If you look at the tag of your 2012 LeConte shirt, you may find yourself wearing Gildan, too.  There were no doves to release (this being a national park and all), but we did notice some bats flying around early this morning.  Tickets for the Opening Ceremony of the LeConte Games, attended by a rabid crowd of nine people, were selling for as much as 3 cents.

In the middle of his 911th hike to LeConte, Dave Scanlon provided the highlight of the Opening Ceremony when he lit the LeConte flame.  In the next couple of days, we'll follow the triumphs and frustrations of Team LeConte as it attempts to write an impressive chapter in the history of sport.

Now, back to reality, I did want to congratulate my friend and former colleague from the University of Tennessee, Justin Gatlin, on winning a bronze medal Sunday in the 100-meter dash in the 2012 Olympic Games in London (only slightly more prestigious than the LeConte Games).  The 2004 Olympic gold-medal winner in the 100 meters in Athens, Justin ran the 100 in 9.79 seconds last night in London--the fastest time ever by an American at the Olympics.  World-record holder Usain Bolt of Jamaica won the gold medal with a 9.63 steamer.

Since I headed the media relations effort for the UT men's track and field team in those years, I was Justin's first publicist when he arrived at Tennessee as a talented freshman.  I helped teach him the ins and outs of media interviews.  He was a natural and one of the most friendly athletes with whom I worked.  In the Knoxville News Sentinel, Mike Griffith reported that Justin offered up a "Go Vols" before he left the Olympic press conference following the race to crown the world's fastest human.  Seven billion people in the world, and he's the third fastest.

"I just wanted to get on that podium and be there for my country," Gatlin said.  "All of the people in the stands with flags.  They are there for us, I wanted to be there for them."  He's a delightful person who's persevered through a rough patch of years, and I'm happy for him.  Anyone who has climbed LeConte can appreciate perseverance.

Finally, we experienced a noteworthy day on the weather front, as well, Sunday.  While we enjoyed a nice first half of the day Sunday, we endured a frog-strangling downpour before and during supper.  I knew the rain came hard and fast, but even I was surprised to see we received a whopping 3.64 inches of rain Sunday at LeConte Lodge.  Unofficially, that's the wettest day of 2012 for us.  Our temperature topped out at 70 degrees and slid to a low of 56.  It's already raining this afternoon, so be careful with a slick trail and creek crossings if you're coming up to see us on LeConte.

Happy trails.

_ I wrote earlier in the season that I would try to introduce you to some of the crew members who make LeConte Lodge such a special place to work.  As the crew member with the most years of service to the lodge, Alan Householder led us off.  Sunday's High on LeConte update is devoted to learning more about John Northrup, pride of Tecumseh, Mich.

John began working at LeConte Lodge in 2010 and is on the downhill side of his third season with us.  John's hiking prowess and Smokies' trail knowledge is legendary on LeConte.  I'll provide an address below where you can read more about John's admirable adventures in the Smokies (as long as you promise not to skip reading High on LeConte).  He's hiked every trail and side trail to LeConte in a day with plenty of time to spare.  This spring John also became a member of the vaunted "900 Club," attained only by those who hike every mile of trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park--the only current LeConte crew member in the exclusive club.

John also boasts the crew's only prenatal hike to LeConte.  His mom, Pat, was 5 1/2 months pregnant to host John on his first trip up LeConte.  His first trip on his own two legs came in 1994 up the Boulevard Trail.

John earned his degree in history and minor in music at the University of Michigan.  A talented musician, John finished school in 4 1/2 years in spite of the many hours he spent drilling as a member of the Michigan Marching Band.  Or as John explains his band commitment, "about 24 hours a week to be precise, which was outside of classes, studying and eating pizza."

John played Bass Drum in the Drumline, serving as Rank Leader for his junior and senior years.  From a host of memorable moments, one sleepless, 36-hour whirlwind trip in service to the Michigan Marching Band particularly stands out for John.  On New Year's Day 2007, John marched with a 30-lb. drum in the nearly six-mile Tournament of Roses Parade (which he recalls as more rigorous than any of his exhausting hikes).  After that tough haul, he played for the Rose Bowl game and then immediately flew back to Grand Rapids, Mich., to receive Air Force One and the late President Gerald Ford (a Michigan man) as part of his funeral.

After meeting Bonnie on the 2010 LeConte Lodge crew, the two were married this June.  Aside from meeting his wife on LeConte, John lists his favorite parts of working at the lodge as meeting new people, the camaraderie with the crew/volunteers/repeat guests, the food and the opportunity to watch so many unique and inspiring sunsets.

Crew members use their off days to different purposes, but John's off days always seem to include hiking in the Smokies.  Before getting married to Bonnie, the majority of his time on days off was spent completing the quest of hiking every trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park while enjoying a favorite hobby in nature photography.  John has included photos from most of his hikes and around Mt. LeConte during the last three years on his website and hiking journal at "smokiesstoriesandglories.weebly.com".  We're working John too hard to keep his writing up to date, but his hiking photos are current and include some beauties.

Transitioning to the weather report, Saturday's weather didn't prove as damp as the forecast.  We only received 0.02 inches of rain with a high of 65 and low of 57.  Sunday's and Monday's forecast calls for a healthy chance of storms.  Although we haven't seen any wet weather as of Sunday at 2 p.m., make sure you're prepared for it if you're hiking up to see us.

Happy trails.

No Billy Idol didn't stop by to sing his song from the title (though that would make for interesting after-supper entertainment), but we've been fortunate to welcome some interesting folks to LeConte Lodge the last few days.  Allyson is off the mountain for a few days, so I'll try to keep you up to date on the LeConte news until her return next week.

First of all, we'd like to congratulate Kelly and Bill Pyle on their Saturday morning wedding at Myrtle Point.  The Pyles certainly win Saturday's award for the best-dressed LeConte guests (breakfast is usually not that formal).  The forecast wasn't too promising, but the couple ventured out to Myrtle Point and returned to breakfast plenty happy.  Myrtle Point, the eastern-most of LeConte's four peaks, was shrouded in fog as the ceremony began.  However, Kelly reports that about two-thirds of the way through the service that the cloud lifted, the mountains appeared, the moon became visible in the dawn sky and the birds began singing. 

"There's no more perfect place on the planet to get married," Kelly said.

"LeConte is the best place on Earth," Bill said.

Sounds like the ceremony went just fine.

We were also pleased to welcome guests from a wide range of ages.  Our youngest guest Friday night clocked in at 10 months old.  I don't think he carried his own pack, though I think that's fair if you aren't eligible to vote until the 2032 U.S. Presidential election. 

Our oldest guest Thursday night counted 84 candles on his last birthday cake.  As the patriarch of the Jennings party, he's been dutifully leading his family up LeConte since Moses was a boy.  His granddaughter, Katie Patterson, served on the LeConte Lodge crew in 2009 and 2010.  We were especially happy to welcome Katie back to LeConte Lodge and the mountain she loves dearly. 

Keeping the theme of interesting guests, we also hosted two of Katie's relatives who have starred as zombies in AMC's hit television show, "The Walking Dead."  I'm a big fan of the show, but must admit I'm glad they didn't show up to the lodge in costume.  We have emergency plans for many contingencies at LeConte Lodge, but repelling a zombie invasion of the top of Tennessee is not in the employee handbook (note to self: something to work on over the winter).

Friday's high reached 69 degrees with a pleasant low of 57, perfect sleeping weather.  We registered 0.18 inches of rain.  The forecast calls for a good chance of more precipitation over the course of Saturday and Sunday.  However, as of Saturday at 2 p.m., we've yet to see a drop.

Come on up and see us.  Happy trails.

 “To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter … to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird’s nest or a wildflower in spring—these are some of the rewards of the simple life.”- John Burroughs



This is my parting shot for a few days. Chris and are heading down to the land of swimming holes and home grown tomatoes. That is what we plan on doing in Gatlinburg on our days off. I can't wait to jump in the Greenbrier and eat a fresh tomato sandwich. I should add that I will be chasing that with a big ole' glass of iced tea, with a lot of ice. Now you know my indulgences when I go on days off. 

I had mentioned in an earlier post about the crew planning their days off for the winter. Chris and I are planning a trip of a life time. We will be climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa, in January. We have some business to start taking care of on our days off. Visas, immunizations, and some gear to pick up. It makes for an exciting winter to look forward to. 

The days up top are starting to dry out. We have not had as much rain lately. It has been so hard to believe that we have received the amount of precipitation we did over the last month while the rest of the country is in a devastating drought. I feel as though I am in my own little microcosm when I am on the mountain. We arise every morning and go about our day no matter what is happening in the world. Life on Mt. Leconte is truly a simplistic life. 

One of the reasons I love this mountain is being able to enjoy the precious moments. I was heading to the bathroom this morning and saw a ruckus by the office. I looked up to see a fawn barreling around the building. He was testing out his legs. His mother was just sitting there watching him as if she was annoyed. I sat in awe as she let me witness the awesome display of a fawn learning his limits. She later gave him a "spit bath". This is not the type of "spit bath" my mom used to give me when we were camping. Mine involved a galvanized tub and a bucket of water. The crew was commenting on the fact that the deer seemed to vanish while the bear was in camp. It is amazing how nature gives these animals a sixth sense. As soon as the bear moved on, the deer were out and about.