No rainy mornings here. Just beautiful clear skies. The high yesterday was 47 with sunshine later in the day. The low last night was 29. If we had had a chance of rain, we would have been watching out for snow. Some asked me when it would snow, the answer is, "anytime now". All it takes is precipitation in the forecast and the temperatures to drop as low as they have been and we will see the white stuff. With this being said, come prepared for anything at the top. Make sure you have plenty of clothes to stay warm. I hope everyone enjoys this day.
The weather forecast laughed in our face once again. We were taunted with views of the sunny hillsides in the low lands while a thick cloud swathed us all day. It was a cold and windy day around camp. The high was 49 with a low of 41. We recieved a little over .9" of rain during the night. The lodge is currently experiencing thick cloud coverage and rain this morning.
Whew.....what a whirlwind of a day. Saturday was a picture perfect day for all the hikers who made it up. The mountain top was hoppin'. I could see some of the peaks in the lower elevations and the color was popping. Bonnie and John hiked back up on Friday and said they thought the leaves were peak around the bluffs on Alum Cave trail. The sky was amazing last night. I hung out for a little while in hopes we had the right conditions to see the northern lights. No luck, but the stars were twinkling bright. The low last night was 41 with the high yesterday of 57. A cloud is hovering over this morning. Hopefully it will be a repeat of yesterday and the cloud will blow out of here by mid morning. I hope everyone is having a great fall.
I am sorry to keep posting pictures from my hike up the mountain on Tuesday, it has been completely swamped on the top and I have not had a chance to get out and about. Plus, the pictures from the lower elevations are much prettier then the top right now. The vegetation is in the stage where everything is waiting to be covered in snow. I have no doubt that is coming sooner then later. As for those who are requesting snow for their trip up the mountain, I will get on that as soon as the fall rush dies down. I thought I would address some of the questions I have seen on the posts. As for the term "leaf peeper", that is a term a lot of locals use for the folks who visit the park to admire the wonderful show that we get to witness every fall. I have been asked why I do not put up more guest sightings, the people who you see on that page usually approach me. I am sad to say that I get busy with my daily routine of running the lodge and it slips my mind. If someone stops by and asks for their picture to be taken, I will gladly accomodate them. As for the elevation that is on our sign, I am sorry if that offends people. I guess we kept the tradition from the Jack Huff days. The elevation of the peak was usued on the t-shirts and it was synonymous with the mountain. We have always been open about the fact that the elevation is the actual high point of the mountain. We use it in the tradition of the mountain, the same way the oil lamps and hudson bay blankets are a part of the mountain experience. I hope this helps explain some of the questions you all have had.
Now on to the weather, the high yesterday was 51 with a low of 38. We had a small break in the clouds yesterday. Currently, we are socked in. If the weather follows the forecast, we all know the end of that story, it should clear out of here to make for a beautiful day for a hike. Another stellar day on the mountain. The sun was out and made for a beautiful day up top. The high was 57 with a low of 39. A lot of leaf peepers made their way to the lodge. They were rewarded for it. We are expecting a busy weekend. Lots of folks have made reservations to join us for lunch. I can't think of a better way to spend my day off then to hike up and enjoy a hot lunch and check out the amazing scenery. See you on the mountain.
Well, it is definitely winter on the mountain. The leaves on the mountain ash trees have fallen, the snake root has gone to seed, and I seem to be living in my down jacket. The low last night was 25 degrees! I am not ready for that. The high was 40. Today is starting out to be a beauty. The clouds have gone and left us with a view of the valley. These are the nights when it is clear and freezing that we have seen the aurora borealis. It is usually very faint, but the northern lights non the less. I will keep my eyes peeled to the night sky in hopes of a glimps of the amazing show. I hope everyone is enjoying the fall display in the lower elevations. It seems to be a good one this year.
What a great day for a commute to work. Chris and I took our time hiking up Alum Cave soaking in the color as we ascended. The colors in the lower elevations are at their prime. The leaves turned the trail into what looked like a yellow brick road. We made it to the top to find Sevier county covered in clouds. We had an amazing inversion going on. The high yesterday was 56 with a low of 36. I was surprised to hear that no one had won our snow pool yet. The temperatures on the mountain seemed to be warmer then they were in Gatlinburg. Just goes to show how tricky the weather is on the top.
Hello to everyone. This will be my last update until November, as Allyson has returned from off days and will take over. Today I'm continuing with the meet the crew introductions. Chrissy Mann takes the honors today. Chrissy is wrapping up her second consecutive season on the LeConte Lodge crew.
On a personal note, Chrissy serves as the assistant cook when Chris and Allyson are off the mountain and I'm managing. In a most impressive fashion, Chrissy jumped right in and learned all the intricacies of cooking the lodge lunch and dinner for both the crew and guests. When I'm managing, I never worry about lunch and dinner being done to LeConte standards when Chrissy's on the job. Even more importantly, I've worked with few people in my life who are as gifted at guest relations. Chrissy sets the standard. Now I'll turn the update over to Chrissy for her introduction. ------------------- I was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. Family is a top priority to me. I am honored to say I am a daughter, sister and auntie. It was my loving family that began my love for LeConte. In 2009, I made my first climb to Mt. LeConte. When I landed at Myrtle Point it was a beautiful fall day--all the magnificent colors for as far as the eye could see. That day Mt. LeConte entered my heart forever. Going home after that visit, I knew LeConte Lodge is where I wanted to be. So I applied to work at the lodge and am now finishing my second season. While here I have worked on crew, as an assistant cook and look forward to being one of the llama wranglers next year. Back in 2009, I never would have imagined that the first hike up to Mt. LeConte would have led to an amazing journey with many adventures to come. -------------------- Tuesday has been a lovely day on LeConte, much different from yesterday. The clouds broke about 10:30 p.m. Monday revealing a fine night sky. Sunrise was special as an inversion caused the clouds in the valley to appear as a rolling ocean from our vantage above. The clear skies above LeConte continue as of Tuesday afternoon. Monday's high was 41 with a low of 31. Tuesday morning's low was a bit warmer than that, probably about 36 degrees. We registered 0.22 inches of rain Monday. Thanks to all of you who have come up to visit and say hello. I've enjoyed meeting you. Special thanks to the crowd of 40 or so who assembled for Monday night's LeConte Lodge ghost story swap. Our guests really put on an enjoyable show. The International Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tenn., better watch out, as there were some tales expertly told last night on LeConte. Happy trails. I hope everyone's week is off to a good start. Our weather hasn't yet been as cold as forecasted but isn't very pleasant nonetheless. A cold, raw drizzle has set in over LeConte Monday with temperatures in the high 30s. Sunday's high was 44. The low sank to 30 but that occurred about 8:30 p.m. Sunday. It actually warmed up to the low 40s overnight before beginning a slow slide late Monday morning. All told, we received 0.05 inches of rain on Sunday.
No doubt you all are sick of political advertisements by now. While we're not subjected to the television ads up on LeConte, we did recently suffer through a debate by the candidates for the only elected position on LeConte this winter--Prime Minister of Pandering. The Prime Minister of Pandering doesn't actually help with any work at LeConte Lodge, just represents our interests in the Pandering Parliament. To be honest, the crew is not wild over either choice. On one hand we have Tara Bulliar, who served for many years as President of Prevarication (or so she says). The other candidate is I.M. Bezzle, who served several years in a minimum security facility operated by the government. Noted journalist Al N. Jest served as the long-suffering moderator of the accursed debate as both candidates piled it on thick--making pie-in-the-sky promises to the LeConte crew. The foolishness quickly piled up deeper than the January snow on LeConte. Tara Bulliar started off with an appeal to our stomachs. She said that if elected there would be beef and gravy in every pot. Al N. Jest noted that just such a delightful circumstance already prevailed on LeConte. Not to be outdone, I.M. Bezzle promised biscuits so light you could strap them on your feet at the trailhead and float up the mountain. Going nowhere fast, moderator Al N. Jest tried to redirect, but not before Tara Bulliar promised that the LeConte spring would issue forth sweet tea if we voted for her. I.M. Bezzle countered that if elected he would make every day "leftover day" for the crew. When Al N. Jest probed that you have to make fresh meals to have a leftover day, I.M. Bezzle was stumped. The discourse didn't get any better when Tara Bulliar promised to install an escalator up LeConte for her constituents. I.M. Bezzle ramped up the pandering when he promised to establish a free tuition technical school to train squirrels how to clean toilets so LeConte crew members wouldn't have to. The next question concerned the economy. I.M. Bezzle, never one to be trusted with the petty cash, proposed selling LeConte (not just the lodge but also the mountain) to pay down debt. When informed that lodge business has been excellent and it's not possible to sell the actual mountain, I.M. Bezzle, being the sophisticate that he is, countered, "Well, let's just sell it anyway and buy ice cream." Tara Bulliar's economic plan didn't prove much more practical. While quick to point out, "I have friends who are llamas," her plan called for the LeConte llamas to be replaced by much stronger dinosaurs. She didn't offer any specifics for sourcing the more economical LeConte pack dinosaurs. Happy trails. I hope you all are enjoying a fine Sunday. In keeping with the season, we're going to host a ghost story swap Monday night on LeConte for our guests. We welcome all tales of haints, hobgoblins and woollyboogers. However, we will refuse entry to any wampas cats, as they're just too fearsome. David Crockett is the only mortal man who could even hope to fight a wampas cat to a draw (and he was smart enough not to tempt it).
We're inviting all our guests who are interested to the dining hall Monday from 8-9 p.m. to swap tales. The price of admission is sharing a good ghost story, though we won't be too strict about that if you just want to listen. We'll try to light the kerosene lamps just right and have some coffee and hot chocolate available for you. If we're lucky we might get some howling winds and swirling clouds Monday night. I'm looking forward to hearing some good scary stories, so bring your best. The wealth of ghost stories springing from the Appalachian Mountains weaves a rich history. My favorite ghost story, and perhaps America's best, regards the strange events surrounding the Bell Witch of Adams, Tenn. I hope our guests will provide some good stories I haven't yet heard. If you're coming to see us and not interested in the story swap, the office will still be open for games and visiting. In other news, the crew enjoyed Lindi's birthday supper on Saturday. She's been talking about her white birthday cake for months, and Chrissy made it every bit as good as advertised. Aside from accumulating 0.44 inches of rain, the weather remains much the same as Saturday--chilly and socked in the clouds. Saturday's high reached 51 with a low of 42. I'm surprised about that it didn't get colder last night on LeConte based on reports from the valley. I expect the temperature to fall during the next couple of days. I heard something funny while I was working in the office Saturday afternoon. Interpretive ranger Mark Pitt was hosting his afternoon talk about bears, boars and bats (among other things). He had an interested group, including a second grader who wants to open up a veterinary shop to cater to injured park animals. Mark was talking about some animal species which used to live in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park at some point in the past but not anymore. Further, these animals are not extinct and still exist somewhere--just not in the Smokies. Bison are good examples. Mark asked his listeners for examples of just such species. The second grader raised his hand confidently and exclaimed, "Bigfoot." Bigfoot stories will be welcome Monday night at the ghost story swap. If you're coming up to see us Monday pack for the weather and stow away some good tales. Happy trails. |
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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