Good Morning,
Hope you’re ready for a bone-chilling Halloween, because that’s what we’ll be enduring this last day of October on the mountain. Any hiker doubling as a trick-or-treater above 6,000’ today will want to load up on warm layers underneath whatever costume is masking their identity. Yesterday welcomed a steady mist through the afternoon and evening. That wet layer will have trails slick and create new hazards given all the loose leaves obscuring rocky and rooty obstacles. Skies are mostly cloudy at varying elevations this morning, which still have the potential to produce snowflakes for as long as they linger today. Temps around freezing this morning will be our high while the thermometer will be steadily dropping with each passing hour. Although the mercury will likely read in the teens by tonight, very windy conditions will have it feeling incredibly brisk. Gusts of 35mph tonight and tomorrow will produce sub-zero windchill values. These conditions are no joke, and should be taken seriously by all visitors to the summit. Again, hikers assume all inherent risk when doing an activity in the backcountry, and are solely responsible for their preparation when it comes to gear, clothing, researching trail and weather conditions, and knowing available services at the top in advance. Overnight guests with reservations have paid for the opportunity to snuggle up in a warm cabin on days like these. The numerous day hikers the mountain sees are 100% responsible for coming equipped to stay warm and dry for the entirety of their outdoor excursion. As we get into the time of year where deep snows and hypothermia are a commonality, there is greater honor to be had by knowing when to turn around versus trudging on unprepared and putting yourself or others at risk. If you are someone who received a 2024 reservation earlier this month but are yet to remit payment for your upcoming stay, all are encouraged to do so before November 1st to avoid not being able to get through on the phone tomorrow. Eager folks will be hammering the phone lines in the coming days to get in on any recent 2024 cancellations, to which unpaid reservations after November 1st will be returned to the general offering. Don’t caught waiting to the last minute to pay and not be able to get through via phone. Reminder that office hours are weekdays 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM, and there is no online self-payment option. Providing a credit card number over the phone or mailing a check to our reservations office by November 1st are permissible. Thank you. Have a great day.
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Good Morning,
The clouds have moved in overnight and will continue to thicken throughout the day. It’s still quite toasty this morning, especially down below, but breezy conditions will stave off any warmth to be had up top. Storm bands are moving across the state heading this way. We could witness the first bit of rainfall we’ve had in over a week shortly after lunchtime today. Once the front pushes through, temps are going to drop like a rock. We’ll be feeling sub-freezing temps by tonight and frigid single digit windchills by tomorrow. Adequate warm layers will be a must for everybody coming to the mountain. Have those traction devices handy as well. Whether the precip lasts long enough to shift from rain to snow remains a mystery at this point. Check back in 24 hours! Shoutouts to two wonderful and highly ambitious trail warriors who conquered some notable achievements on Mt. LeConte yesterday. First, our own Kade Dixon became the sixth lodge crewmember to successfully complete Le Tour de LeConte Challenge (or TLC). This 24-hour-or-less endurance endeavor, as originally intended, challenges one to scale all six Mt. LeConte trails in their entirety, in succession, making three full summits and three full descents. The math works out to about 45 miles of distance, and depending on the order of trails taken, averaging close to 11,000’ of total elevation change both directions. Kade, who has a knack for trail running on afternoons off or helping lug more shirts up the mountain for eager customers, completed the feat yesterday in just under 18 hours. He also did it in reverse, meaning he started and finished at the lodge instead of the base, becoming the second crewmember to do so. Way to go, Kade! Secondly, longtime lodge friend Larry Russell has been serving as an inspiration to many a hiker this year. He set out with the goal of climbing the mountain a number of summits in a calendar year equal to his upcoming birthday. Well, Larry is about to turn 80 in a couple weeks around lodge close, but he’s so quick and nimble on his feet that he made quick work of that number weeks ago. So what did he do? He just kept hiking, and yesterday achieved his 100th summit of 2023, and did so in just a hair under ten months time. Not many folks on this earth have done that besides a few extra motivated retirees and some of our full time llama wranglers through the years. If any of us can do half of what Larry is doing at that same age, we’re all going to be doing pretty good. Way to go, Larry! Have a great day. Good Afternoon,
In a very short span these next 48 hours, our mountain is set to endure a taste of multiple season’s climates. Sunny and warm like summer today, rainy and mild like spring tomorrow, then icy and frigid like winter by Tuesday. The further along its revolution the Earth proceeds, combined with lessening daylight hours, the likelihood of these picturesque days to play outside in comfort becomes quite rare until next spring. Advice is to enjoy this if you can, which it appears many visitors to the Smokies are indeed doing once again today. Trails and roadways will be quite congested as folks get their last fill of freshly fallen or transforming leaves. Soon they’ll all be withered and windswept away, leaving us nothing these next months but cold and bare limbs. The thermometer will try its best to tag 60° degree this afternoon, but windy conditions will make that jacket a necessity, gusting as much as 35mph now through the holiday. Tomorrow is when temps start to slide downward as rain chances roll in around lunchtime. Folks with reservations Monday night would be wise to hit the trail early to avoid the sour weather as much as possible. Tomorrow evening is when we’ll say hello again to the freezing mark, while one can expect the liquid precip to eventually change over to snow. Any accumulation amounts remain unknown at this time, but we’ll go ahead and say bring those gloves, hats, waterproof boots, and traction devices anyways. Temps on Tuesday night will plummet into the teens, as windchills could have feeling it close to 0°. Have those plan Bs and Cs ready in case inclement weather causes temporary road closures. Have a great rest of the day. Good Morning,
The traffic is already bustling this morning with eager-beavers hitting the highways and trails early. It’s going to a beautiful final weekend of October in the Smokies. The autumn leaf change is now in full stride throughout the lower elevations, as there isn’t much left clinging to tree limbs these days above 3,500 feet. Around the peaks it’s back to just the dense year-round greens of the conifers, and combined with these unusual but appreciated warm temps of late, one might think it looks like summer again. We’re set enjoy a couple more days of these pleasant conditions, a decent dose of sunny skies and temps ranging from upper 40s to near 60°. Enjoy it while it lasts, because Old Man Winter is already looking to make another bold entrance to close out the month. Beginning Monday night, the rains return and the thermometer is going to drop. We’re no strangers to daunting weather rolling in on Halloween, and it appears this will be just the latest edition added to a long history of harrowing storms. Be evaluating that hiking gear if you haven’t already for wet and chilly visits this coming week. Have a great day. Good Morning,
The upper elevations are eying skies mixed with sun and clouds again today. Temps on the warm side for late October will have it feeling pleasant throughout the day and across all elevations. The lodge could witness 60° highs now and into the weekend. Dry and breezy conditions are expected to persist until at least Monday afternoon once rain chances return. So will this last weekend of the month be another bustling beehive of activity in the Smokies? Most likely, so plan your routes and start tes accordingly. Friendly reminder about meal service times, which has been mentioned on this blog previously and is available in the helpful FAQs section of our official website. Although we are able to shift our guest supper meal service up, currently happening at 5:30 PM, to allow guests adequate time to eat, partake of wine service, and safely make the trek up to Cliff Tops for sunset, we are not able to do so for breakfast service. Due to numerous limitations and our need to turnaround camp for incoming overnight guests and prep for the day hiker rush, breakfast continues to be served hot and promptly at 8:00 AM. We realize this can conflict with the sunrise this time of year, but we are simply not able to shift our breakfast service time. Thank you for understanding. Have a great day. Good Morning,
Some clouds cover the skies this morning, but another superbly sunny day is expected for America’s most visited national park. It’s going to be even warmer across the mountains and valleys as well, with the lodge creeping close to 60° this afternoon. Winds out of the south are contributing to the unseasonably warm temps, but the gusts will keep things in check gusting as much as 30mph by tonight. The weekend ahead still looks promising for delightful weather to play in the woods. These warm and dry days of late seem to have accelerated the leaf change, but in a way that limbs are shedding or browning faster. There’s less and less to see along Alum Cave now with each passing day, and it’s likely the entire canopy throughout its elevation range will become bare by this weekend. So if you hope to get to witness some of autumn’s splendor while trekking one of the Smokies most popular footpaths, these next few days are likely your last best chance. Trails like Rainbow Falls, Bull Head, and Trillium Gap will still have something to offer through the end of the month though. Have a great day. Good Morning, Rinse and repeat. Except minus the whole rinse part, because it’s going to be another sunny and dry day in the Smokies. The early risers are getting a superb sunrise on trail and at the summit today. It’ll be warm across all elevations while the sun is out, as we could see the mid 50s at the lodge this afternoon. No threat of frosts or precip for several more days yet. Winds will have a part to play today, gusting as much as 30mph at times, so keep the layers ready. Thank you to everyone who came by our stand at the annual Gatlinburg Halloween Spooktacular last night. Always great to see the kiddos in costume and to hear stories of past trips to the mountain from locals. Shoutout to the Gatlinburg Recreation Department for putting a great community event once again.
Have a great day. Good Morning,
Another day with sun-kissed skies beckons hikers and leaf peepers to the mountains this Tuesday. The summit slowly shook off yesterday morning’s frost, but once it did, conditions felt rather toasty from crest to valley. That warming trend will continue today and throughout the week. Expect temps to easily reach the 50s this afternoon and be decently warmer along the approach trails. Winds will be light today but gradually pickup this evening, gusting around 25mph. Some parts of the trail are still a bit squishy after this past weekend’s precip, but with each passing day of dry conditions they will continue to harden up. The elevation range of 2,000-4,000’ is really putting on a colorful show right now. The upper and lower reaches of Mt. LeConte are mostly golden or brown with the remaining leaves starting to thin out and let in more daylight. But smack dab in the middle at places like Inspiration Point to the Bluffs one finds the greatest variety, with red and orange maples really dazzling. In a week’s time much of Alum Cave will become bare, but our other trails accessible from Cherokee Orchard and Roaring Fork will still have much to offer in the lowest elevations. Vehicular traffic continue to be quite congested everywhere in the Smokies, so plan accordingly and pack the patience! Have a great day. Good Morning,
A bright half-moonlit night is willingly yielding control of the skies to a vivid sunrise. As we enter late October, the days become cooler and shorter with expediency, with only eleven hours of daylight available to us here in East Tennessee. By mid afternoon, day hikers need to be considering making that trek back down the mountain while there’s still adequate natural light. It’s easy to take all morning making the climb, then get bogged down trying to admire all the sights up top, only to get caught out late unprepared for the darkness or plummeting temps. This will become even more prevalent after the time change in early November. Despite this morning’s frost, temps are slated to stay above freezing this coming week. We might even tag the 50s some afternoons. And there are no precip chances for our neck of the woods until Halloween according to the extended forecasts. That will make for very suitable autumn hiking weather to close out the month. Remember to get those payments in this week for 2024 reservations. Phones will be quite active on November 1st with folks hoping to snag a cancellation. Have a great day. Good Morning,
What a beautiful day we have lined up for the mountain. Already skies are clear for folks waking up to the smells of pancakes and biscuits. It’s going to be quite breezy again today, which will add some bite to the air despite the abundant sunshine. Temps will range from the mid 30s to mid 40s today. Looking ahead, all of next week appears to be calling for nothing but sunny skies and mild temps. We might not see any precipitation or freezing temps the rest of October. A quick glance at the calendar says we only have one month left in the season. So if you’re a fair-weather hiker hoping to get in a visit to the summit before we lock things up, this sure is shaping up to be a fine week to do so. Have a great day. |
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
June 2024
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