The crew at LeConte Lodge would like to say thank you to all of the Veterans out there who have served this great country. We appreciate the sacrifices you made for the United States of America.
The sun is coming up over the horizon and it is the start to another picture perfect day. The high yesterday was 57º with a low of 33º. I have some trail information for you. 1.) Alum Cave is in great shape. The ice is melting and most hikers have come up that trail. 2.) Rainbow Falls trail is in good shape as well. Folks are making it up with no problems. 3.) Bullhead trail is still extremely icy in sections. Would only attempt if you have ice traction for your boots. 4.) Boulevard trail is extremely icy on the upper section. The sun does not hit that part of the trail so the ice lingers. I would only use this trail if you are in good hiking condition and have ice traction for your boots. 5.) Trillium Gap trail is still icy in certain sections. Remember the trail head is closed. You can use Trillium if you park at Rainbow and us the connector trail which adds another two miles to your hike. We do not recommend this if you are not an avid hiker. This can be a long hike and tougher under the current conditions. For now, we are suggesting people use the Alum Cave trail. It is in the best condition and there are plenty of people on it if you have any issues. Be safe and don't forget to bring plenty of layers with you. Drink plenty of water and carry snacks for the hike. And always, always, always carry a flashlight. We will see you at the top. Happy trails.
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My circadian biological clock is right on track. When the time changes and we serve dinner after sunset, I need little toothpicks to keep my eyelids open. This is one aspect of the job that I love. I love getting up with the sun and going to bed when the sun goes down. I don't really go to bed at 5:45 p.m., but I do go to bed at 9. As soon as we lock the door to the dining hall, I am in my pajamas and off to dream world. The simplicity of life will be missed when we are off the mountain. I hope that I can take this life lesson with me when I leave. Appreciate the simple things in life that we all take for granite.
"If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things of nature have a message that you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive."- Eleonora Duse The trails are in great shape. Yesterday was another picture perfect day. The high was 53º with a low 0f 28º. The snow is melting and hikers are not having any problems making it up. We are expecting the llamas today. They are still using Trillium trail. The park has allowed us use for resupplying until the end of the season. We heard from J.P. He is super excited to be making his way back to the Smokies in time for some winter weather. He will arrive on the mountain the day before we leave. He was bummed he missed the 22" of snow. Something tells me he will see plenty of the white stuff this winter. Good morning fellow LeConte lovers. Chris and I made our final ascent, as LeConte employees, yesterday. It was a gorgeous day for a hike up. The trail is in great shape. There are only a few spots at the top that are a little slick. Just take your time and you won't need to worry about any type of ice traction. We are expecting another beautiful day at the top, today. The high yesterday was 47º with a low of 28º.
Only seventeen days left of the season. Chris and I took our time on our way up yesterday. We reminisced about all of our hikes up the mountain. Chris said we had to wait for the descent stories on our final descent. I decided that my least favorite hike up the mountain was in 2010. The first hike of the season and I had about 50 lbs on my back. The crew hiked up in about 2 feet of snow. I remember being so worn out by the time I got to the top, I stepped in a snow drift up to my waist and Chris had to rescue me. I didn't have the energy to crawl out. I told Tim the next time it snowed like that, at the beginning of the season, I was not hiking up until it all melted. Luckily, we didn't have to test that threat. My favorite hike up was when I made it up in my personal record time. I made it up in 1:54. I was pleased with myself. Of course, my loving husband had to hike behind me to tell friends we encountered why I didn't stop and talk to them. Chris's personal record is 1:24. I guess I have some training to do to catch up to his. I do plan on attempting it again, when I come back to visit. We are gearing up for a busy day on the top. I am sure there will be a lot of day hikers out and about. It is a great day for a hike. Come see us and get some of our famous hot cocoa. Good afternoon to all of you High on LeConte readers. This is Nathan, writing my last update ever for High on LeConte.
Sorry for not getting a High on LeConte update together yesterday. The staff spent all afternoon doing a carryout rescue up Alum Cave Bluff Trail. Everything went perfectly, and I'm proud of the LeConte Lodge staff and the selfless guests who pitched in to help spell us carrying the litter up to the helipad. Our best wishes for a speedy recovery to the nice gentleman we helped up the mountain. As far as trail conditions go, I remain comfortable recommending Alum Cave Bluff and Rainbow Falls Trails. The accident yesterday happened descending on a slick section of trail, but I wouldn't let that stop you from hiking Alum. I think Bullhead Trail may be doable this weekend, but I haven't talked to anyone else who's taken it since we had the guests who spent nine hours and saw waist-deep drifts on Bullhead about three or four days ago. Same thing for Boulevard Trail, I'm sure it's coming around, but we had guests on it about two or three days ago who said it was really tough. I'd put Trillium Gap Trail in the same mix, primarily because of a lack on traffic on it. The melting is refreezing most nights and causing icy spots on the trails. I'd be carrying ice traction devices with me on any trail for the next day or two. That being said, trail conditions are vastly improved in the last four days. Llama wranglers Chrissy and Alan offered me a kindness, knowing this was my last year on the LeConte crew. They asked me to name the youngest llama of the whole string. This little fellow is only about nine months old and won't begin hiking LeConte for a few years. Alan and Chrissy told me he had spunk and could hang right in there with his older peers. I went out to the llama farm in August to meet the newest LeConte llama myself and decided to name him Crockett. His namesake, David Crockett, is my favorite Tennessean and one of the most storied volunteers. He's one of the nation's greatest folk heroes, one of the first legends of the backcountry who came from common folk and not the powdered-wig set. Unfortunately, much of what we think we know about him is fabricated. The "Ballad of Davy Crockett" is a toe-tapper but wrong about much of his nuanced life. For instance, he wasn't born on a mountaintop or even in Tennessee. David Crockett was born at the confluence of the Limestone Creek and Nolichucky River near present day Greeneville, Tenn. When Crockett was born in 1786, Tennessee wasn't even a state. He hated being called "Davy," so the llama's proper name will be "David Crockett." Crockett, the man, was elected three times as a U.S. representative from Tennessee. The northern congressmen called him "Davy" as an epithet, a way of demeaning his common birth and limited financial resources. Crockett never would have worn buckskins and a coonskin cap to Congress. He wanted to be known as a gentleman, but he was a gentleman with tattered clothes because he couldn't afford more. He never found riches like his Congressional counterparts. He was a heck of a stump speaker and storyteller, and he remained much like his constituents in rural Tennessee. While Crockett meant well, he wasn't a particularly effective legislator. He constantly fought for land rights for poor settlers, only to be voted down by his Congressional counterparts. He also would have hated to be called "King of the Wild Frontier." There were few Americans more suited for life in the wilds than Crockett, but he disliked the idea of a king in America. Late in his life, he carried on a bitter feud with fellow Tennessean Pres. Andrew Jackson. Crockett called him "King Andrew" and accused him of forgetting his raising. That argument with Jackson reached a boiling point when Crockett became the only member of Tennessee's Congressional delegation to vote against the Indian Removal Act, which locally was designed to kick the Cherokee out of the Smokies. To be fair, Crockett had issues with Native Americans before. His grandparents had been killed by Native Americans. Crockett also took part in the Indian Wars in Alabama, where he witnessed acts that haunted him the rest of his 49 years. However, he knew in his heart the Indian Removal Act was wrong and stood up against Pres. Jackson and all the powers in the world to vote against it. That was the last straw for Jackson, who made certain Crockett lost his next Congressional election. When Crockett was defeated by the candidate backed by the Jackson/Martin van Buren machine, he made the fateful decision to restart his political career in Texas. In a very real sense, the chain of events leading to David Crockett being martyred at the Alamo began because he refused to support the Indian Removal Act, which he knew was unjust. Crockett strode across the Tennessee mountains, learning the secrets of a life in the wild. We don't have any historical evidence one way or the other, but knowing that Crockett grew up in Limestone and around Morristown and Jefferson City it's hard to imagine he wasn't familiar with the towering mountain that would come to be named LeConte. On a clear day from the LeConte Lodge porch, one can look out and see all Crockett's boyhood stomping grounds in the Tennessee mountains. Unfortunately, Walt Disney and Fess Parker conjured up an interesting "Davy Crockett," while the truly fascinating "David Crockett" was left in the dust of the Alamo, the ashes of his bones mingling with the blood-soaked San Antonio sand. The newest LeConte llama's name shall be Crockett, in hopes that he too will conquer the mountains in the Smokies and be able to whip his weight in wildcats. It's a hard thing to summarize four years of such a rich experience living and working at LeConte Lodge. If you want to read more about my back story (everything from Antarctica to serving as publicist for Olympic champions to being chased on horseback by bison while wrangling in Yellowstone to teaching space science at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center), that's all available in the High on LeConte archives from Nov. 14, 2013. My stories from Uganda I wrote about here just a while back. I've had a great many more wonderful days on LeConte than bad ones. I want to thank all of our LeConte Lodge guests, unquestionably the best in the Smokies, who sweated and gritted their way into an appreciation of this fine mountain. Your effort keeps LeConte Lodge in business, and your stories and kindness have enriched my tenure on the mountain. I'm grateful to have met so many of you. I want to thank all of the LeConte Lodge office staff down below and my fellow crew members from my four years here (2010, 2012, 2013 and 2014). I want to thank Chrissy, Alan and all the LeConte llamas who've battled the mountain to allow us to take care of our guests. I also want to thank the fine people of the National Park Service I've met in my time striding the top of the Smokies. I am humbled by the fact that I can ask so many of the crew members I've worked with to head out into the darkness, leaning into the snarl of some of the worst winter weather LeConte can muster, putting their lives on the line to give someone they've never met a chance to live another day. As long as my brain works, I'll not forget those crew members who stood by my side, even taller than mighty LeConte, on some of those hardest days up here. I'll leave LeConte with a sore back for a lot of reasons, not least of all from hauling a backpack full of memories crafted during my four seasons at the top of Tennessee. I well remember the rescues, even though that's not really part of our job description but we seek to be good citizens atop the Smokies. I remember two instances of carrying stricken guests up on my back when park and lodge staffing wasn't sufficient for assembling a stretcher team. I only carried the guests parts of about 1.5 miles to the lodge up Trillium and Alum Cave Bluff Trails; I'm no Jack Huff who can carry his mom up the whole trail in a chair strapped to his back. I remember feeling 10-feet tall, bulletproof and invisible when one of those guests recovered enough to hike down on her own. I remember feeling incredibly humbled when the other guest did not. Working at LeConte Lodge reinforced other life lessons. I'm constantly reminded there is a difference between hard and impossible. They're not twins--not even cousins. I've been the beneficiary of one of the most beautiful skies in all of creation--new moon, full moon, sunsets and sunrises. I'll remember cooking pancakes in the tiny LeConte kitchen and listening to Basil Poledouris' "Main Themes from Lonesome Dove" while the sun announced its arrival in a most spectacular fashion, knowing whether I won or lost that day it's been some kind of a ride. I'm planning on working again as a winter guide in Yellowstone beginning in early December. In 2015, I hope to take a four-continent around-the-world trip for which I've been saving eight years. I hope to take a hike, ride a horse and volunteer on the four continents I have left to visit--Europe, Asia, Australia and South America. If you'd like to contact me, I can receive letters at the LeConte Lodge office until the end of November, and I'll leave my e-mail address available if you call the office. Thanks for all your kind words. "You rarely have time for everything you want in this life, so you need to make choices. And hopefully your choices can come from a deep sense of who you are." -- Fred Rogers Happy trails to you until we meet again. Good afternoon from the top of the Smokies. We've enjoyed an unexpected date with the sun since mid-morning, which continues to melt away the snow. Crew member Pat pointed out some patches of cumulus clouds floating west to east, casting their shadows across the hills below like a slow-moving train. If you got really quiet and listened to the wind blow up from that train of clouds sauntering up the Tennessee Valley you could almost hear Hank Williams serenading us on the crest of LeConte.
The 24-hour high and low resided within the tight range of 42 to 39. We received 0.42 inches of rain overnight. The forecast calls for a chance of rain and snow showers this evening through Friday morning. It doesn't sound like this is supposed to be any sort of big event like our last bout with the 22 inches of snow. The temperature is supposed to drop some, probably refreezing some of the water on the trails funneling off the top of the mountain. The forecast calls for partly sunny conditions by late Friday afternoon. We hope this system will be a quick mover with little or no snow accumulation. For the second consecutive night, all of the guests we were expecting arrived at LeConte Lodge. After speaking with folks who've taken the Rainbow Falls and Alum Cave Bluff Trails yesterday and today, I'm comfortable recommending either for your hike up to LeConte. Keep in mind there is a lot of water and slush piling up in puddles all along the trail. However, the snow itself doesn't seem to be presenting hikers any problems on Rainbow Falls and Alum Cave Bluff Trails. Although we've been recommending against taking it, we had a nice couple hike Bullhead to the lodge last night. They said they wished they had followed our advice because they spent nine hours on the trail and waded through waist-deep snow drifts on the crest of that trail. Therefore, we're still asking people to stay off Bullhead, Boulevard and Trillium Gap Trails to access LeConte Lodge. With all of the official business out of the way, I'm going to write about one of the most famous animals in LeConte Lodge history. Cumberland Jack was an extraordinary German Shepherd, weighing in at 90 pounds with a keen intellect. Cumberland Jack belonged to Paul Adams, the first person to build a shelter on Mt. LeConte in 1925. During his time building the forerunner to LeConte Lodge, Cumberland Jack was Adams' partner, protector and friend. All of the following information comes from Paul Adams' 1966 book Mt. LeConte. Adams bought Cumberland Jack, who had been trained as a police dog before his previous owner was killed in a gun fight, in Knoxville for the princely sum of $250 in 1925. Most famously, Adams taught Cumberland Jack to hike the mountain between LeConte and Gatlinburg to retrieve supplies for the camp. Adams fashioned heavy leather saddlebags, originally designed for cavalry officers, and added a breaststrap and bellyband to keep Cumberland Jack's rig secure. He would put his store list in the saddlebags and off down the mountain Cumberland Jack ran to Ogle's Store in Gatlinburg. Only Adams, his helpers and a couple of store employees could touch him when he wore the saddlebags. "The dog felt his responsibility," Adams said. "No one else could so much as pet his head. But when he wasn't wearing the bags, he was friendly with most people." After getting loaded with 20-30 pounds of supplies, Cumberland Jack would race back up to LeConte. It wasn't easy work, but Cumberland Jack was no ordinary critter. He broke his leg once, and a Knoxville vet set it, splinted it and Cumberland Jack took two weeks off before getting back to work. Once Cumberland Jack got in a fight with a mink, which gave him a split ear and scarred nose for the rest of his life. "Cumberland Jack respected the mink, but he didn't fear it," Adams wrote. "The only animal he feared was a big, grey wolf." Adams last saw the fierce antagonist in January 1929. That may have been the last grey wolf in the Smokies. Cumberland Jack saved Adams' life at least once. After helping noted Smokies' photographer Jim Thompson take photos of a frozen over Rainbow Falls on Dec. 29, 1925, Adams slipped on some ice and broke his flashlight. In frigid conditions and unable to see the trail in the black of night, Adams debated whether to shuffle continually and hope to avoid freezing to death before daylight or scrounge around and try to build a fire with wet wood and only a couple of matches. Instead, he entrusted Cumberland Jack with his life, fashioned a leash out of his belt and followed his partner up one of the highest mountains in the Appalachian chain. Adams fell several times, but Cumberland Jack waited for him, took none of his regular shortcuts and slowed his pace to accommodate Adams. The dog understood the gravity of the situation and brought a hurting, freezing Adams to the camp on top of LeConte about 90 minutes later, where the thermometer read -25 degrees. Cumberland Jack lived large for 14 years, 5 months. He is buried in Crab Orchard, Tenn., on the Cumberland Plateau. Happy trails. Hello to all of you. The sun has been in the witness protection program thus far today, but the temperatures have been comfortable on top of Mt. LeConte. We're seeing considerable melting with only 8-10 inches of snow on the ground at the lodge. We saw a high-low of 55 and 39.
It sounds like we could be in for a wet couple of days. The temperatures are also expected to get colder. I hope the increased precipitation and falling temperatures don't decide to go courting. I'm not anxious to see any new snow. Based on the conversations I've had with hikers, the snowpack on the trails is being reduced to slush rapidly. I've seen lots of hikers with soaking wet, frigid feet. I've also talked to several folks who climbed Alum Cave Bluff Trail today. I think it's still a tough slog, but much better than a couple of days ago. I'd still recommend my family take Rainbow Falls Trail through at least Thursday. However, more people are coming up Alum every day. I also got a couple of reports on Trillium Gap and Bullhead Trails. The Park Service trail crew cleared Trillium Gap of downed trees this morning. However, no one else has been on that trail at all. Plus, the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail road is closed through the spring, so you'd have to add another couple of miles to your hike to take the connector trail to Trillium Gap Trail. Also, former crew member John Northrup hiked up Bullhead Trail today and said it was still tough from the crest up. John's quite an accomplished hiker, so I trust his opinion on that. I'd steer clear of Bullhead, Trillium Gap and the Boulevard Trail for a few more days. Finally, the big news of the day was our helicopter airlift. As I mentioned with Trillium Gap Trail being nearly untouched, it could be a while before we see the llamas at the lodge. We resupplied via four helicopter trips this morning--securing more of everything from fresh eggs, clean linens, toilet paper, groceries, extra shirts and snowshoes for J.P., the winter caretaker. We had a pineapple roll out of the grocery bag, which looked awfully odd hemmed in by all that snow. We had just about our full complement of guests last night and expect the same tonight. As always, use good judgment and be careful when coming to see us. Happy trails. Good afternoon to you. Things are beginning to feel more normal here at LeConte Lodge, though we still have about a foot of snow on the ground. The white blanket is certainly deeper in places around the lodge, but another warm, full day of sunshine is accelerating our melting. We ended up with a high-low of 54-27 Monday. However, that 27-degree low actually came on Sunday morning. We enjoyed an inversion, in which a pocket of warmer air enveloped LeConte's summit last night and never got close to freezing. The temperature was about eight degrees warmer at the lodge than it was in Knoxville at 4 a.m. I couldn't believe how warm the conditions were yesterday. I'd have been comfortable shoveling snow with boots, gaiters, shorts and a t-shirt (though I wouldn't suggest you try to hike in that). Today has been much the same, with plenty of sun and a 2:30 p.m. temperature of 52. There is a good chance of precipitation and a temperature drop forecast by Thursday. As far as trail news goes, conditions continue to improve. I noticed people heeding our advice, beginning their hike earlier and reaching the lodge with plenty of daylight left today. I would still recommend hiking the Rainbow Falls Trail for the next day or two because it has seen the most traffic and is well-packed, except for the growing puddles of slush. I spoke with a couple of day hikers who ascended using Alum Cave Bluff Trail Tuesday. They described their hike via Alum as "challenging, but doable." There are still some knee-deep areas of barely broken snow, but those areas were described yesterday as thigh deep. One hiker using Alum said the slush and water bothered him more than the snow depth. I'm certain slush and cold, miserable feet will be an issue during the next couple of days until it all refreezes, which invites other problems. Make sure you bring extra good, comfortable wool socks with you, along with gaiters, ice traction devices and plenty of warm gear plus lots of water (you can get dehydrated quicker than you realize tramping through snow and slush). The llama train probably won't be attempting Trillium Gap Trail anytime soon. We're looking at the possibility of a helicopter drop to resupply clean sheets and the like later this week. That means we were tasked with stamping out and breaking a trail to our little helicopter pad this afternoon. A quartet (Nathan, Ruthie, Lesley and Brad) shoveled off all the snow from the helicopter pad. There's nothing quite so fulfilling as shoveling a few thousand pounds of snow using a snow shovel with a hole in it. However, it's not like we could drop by our local home improvement store and pick up another one either. Up here, you find a way to make do. We had an interesting conversation as we were clearing our helipad. It being Election Day and all, we talked about which U.S. president we would most like to have join us at LeConte Lodge as our crew guest. I know we're not voting for president this year. We'd welcome any of the living U.S. presidents, so long as they agreed to hike the mountain and didn't drop in our fancy, groomed helipad in Marine One. You should have to earn LeConte. You can drive to Clingman's Dome if you want to cheat. Brad and Matt picked Bill Clinton because they figured he'd be fun company. Pat and I chose Theodore Roosevelt. I know if TR came up to see us he wouldn't be afraid of work; he'd be making beds, drying dishes and slinging snow with us. Any person who can cowboy in North Dakota in the winter can take care of himself. Lesley chose Thomas Jefferson and John Quincy Adams, but only if they could be up together and argue. Ruthie chose John Adams because he was "obnoxious, disliked but got the most done." Jeanie would invite Dwight Eisenhower because he was president when she was born. Rachel would invite Abraham Lincoln because she has some pointed questions to ask him after watching the movie "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Slayer." At any rate, we'll return to a more normal once daily High on LeConte schedule because of the improving conditions. If conditions change, we'll try to keep you updated. Happy trails. Update - 10:13 p.m.: I wanted to give you all considering a LeConte hike Tuesday the most current trail conditions. I've spoken tonight with people who've climbed both Rainbow Falls and Alum Cave Bluff Trails on Monday afternoon/evening. While the Park Service has roads to both trailheads open tonight (as far as I know), the preferred trail Tuesday would still be Rainbow Falls based on the reports I've gathered tonight. We bumped our guest count up to 28 from two last night. All of the guests hiked the Rainbow Falls Trail. The time period for hiking Rainbow Falls Trail I heard from hikers today ranged from four hours from a gentleman who completed a half triathlon last week to eight hours for a family of four (including children and a grandmother). The trail can be considered fairly well packed, but slush will become more of a factor in creating cold, wet feet Tuesday. General manager Tim Line (who through hiked the Appalachian Trail in his youth) descended Alum Cave Bluff Trail Monday about midday. His descent was harder than he expected, particularly in the middle third of the trail, and took him double the time of his normal hike. Additionally, crew members Lesley, Rachel and Matt (all fine hikers) climbed Alum Cave Bluff Trail Monday to return to work. They also reported their ascent took double their normal time. In particular, they say that the snow is deep, unpacked and powdery in the flat section between Gracie's Pulpit and the lower set of wooden stairs. There are also some deep drifts below Alum Cave Bluff, some reported to be mid-thigh high. Based on those first-hand accounts, LeConte Lodge recommends utilizing Rainbow Falls Trail Tuesday (and probably Wednesday). Alum Cave Bluff Trail is passable for strong hikers, but Rainbow Falls makes more sense at this time. Please continue to stay off Bullhead, Boulevard and Trillium Gap Trails for now. At the lodge, we experienced much higher temperatures than I expected and saw some melting today. That will contribute to more slush and refreeze into ice up nearing the summit. Again, please bring ice traction devices regardless of which trail you use. The temperatures, snow depth and wind are improving, but the slush and ice create different issues underfoot. This will serve as the early High on LeConte update for Tuesday, Nov. 4. Depending on work schedule, I'll try to post some photos during the afternoon. Be careful and happy trails. ---------- Good morning to all of you High on LeConte readers. We're enjoying another stunning (and warmer) morning at LeConte Lodge. Our temperature readings need some explaining. Our official high and low for Sunday was 27 and 9. However, we enjoyed a warming trend overnight, and the 27-degree reading was taken at 6:30 a.m. Monday. The 9-degree reading came from Sunday morning, right after we reported. Sunday was sunny and beautiful all day. The sunset and this morning's sunrise was subdued, but lovely. We still have 20 inches of snow on the ground. I expect we will begin to see more melting today, as the forecast for Monday and Tuesday calls for warming temperatures and plenty of sun. However, the chance for precipitation ramps up again Wednesday night. We'll be watching that closely to see if the precipitation and temperature match to create more snow. The Park Service told us this morning that Cherokee Orchard Road is currently open, allowing access to Rainbow Falls Trail. We still advise against using Bullhead, as the snow was so thick and unbroken the other night we had to leave our rescue litter out there because it was slowing down our rescue effort. As of 7 a.m., U.S. Highway 441 was still closed, according to park officials. They are working on making that safe for travel (I understand there are still icy spots) and will open it when they can. Whatever the situation with the road, keep in mind that it gets dark quite early now that we've switched to Standard Time. Don't begin hiking any trail too late. No one has broken the Boulevard Trail from Newfound Gap. Under no circumstance should any hiker attempt to use the Boulevard Trail to access the lodge until we see some more melting. We did have two of our 53 expected guests arrive last night about 8:20 p.m. They hiked the Rainbow Falls Trail and it took them seven hours to reach the lodge. They arrived on their own power and were in good spirits. They did say it was a tough hike with plenty of rhododendron to crawl under and occasional snow drifts slowing down their effort. However, on the whole, our guests said our previous departing parties had done a pretty good job of breaking trail and packing down the snow. While the trail will become more packed today and we'll see some melting, keep in mind that the refrozen ice can be more dangerous than snow. I wouldn't dare hike LeConte this week without some sort of ice traction device. Finally, to close on a lighter note, I'll announce the results of the LeConte Lodge crew jack-o-lantern competition. On Halloween night guests voted for five entrants carved by crew members. The winner was to receive the chance to sleep in through breakfast work on a day of their choosing. Lesley entered the most prophetic jack-o-lantern, as she carved a snowflake and wrote "Winter is coming" above it. She was spot on to the tune of 22 inches of snow. Pat and Jeanie carved a Tinkerbell jack-o-lantern, radiating points of flashing light. Ruthie carved a friendly ghost with a branching tree. Brad and Nicholette offered up a bear complete with pumpkin ears. I carved a historic scene from LeConte's history: Jack Huff carrying his mom up LeConte on his back in a straight-back chair in 1929. We had a fine assortment of different ideas in the entrants, and everyone had a fun time carving. In the end, with the entire crew serving as vote counters, the guests voted for my carving of heroic Jack Huff, one of the patron saints of LeConte Lodge, going above and beyond for his beloved mother in her desire to reach the summit of LeConte. Things have been interesting up here, so I haven't been able to able to sleep through breakfast yet. If you come see us, please use wisdom and prepare. Things will be getting better on the trails, but it's still difficult out there. Happy trails. UPDATE -- 2:32 p.m.: I understand that Cherokee Orchard Road was opened, but later than anticipated. I know that delay may have changed the hiking plans of some people. I know the Park Service road crews have had their hands full with a big mess down there and are doing the best they can.
We don't have any more weather or trail-related news to supersede what I reported this morning to give you an early glimpse. It's still beautifully sunny up at the lodge, and the temperature has risen from 9 to 22 degrees. I don't expect we'll leap too far above that today, but it's nice not to have snow driven into your face. Also, we don't mean in any way to disparage any of the hikers who've found themselves in trouble. Almost always, they are friendly, appreciative people (as was the case last night). In fact, last night's group made a wise decision to bring good gear. I believe it saved at least one of their lives. We post the accounts to let you know that difficulty can happen even to skilled hikers on LeConte. Most of the year LeConte is a fairly forgiving mountain, tolerating bravado without extracting too much payment. However, winter is a different story. It reminds me of trying to pick a horse to move cattle for the first time when I wrangled in Hawaii. I had my eye on one, a strong grey horse. My boss told me, "A horse has to know it's working for you. Some horses you can cowboy. But that horse, he will cowboy back." LeConte in the winter will "cowboy back." Difficulty this time of year can kill you (and us). It's a big weight for me to ask my crew to put their lives on the line and hike out into the darkness for four hours in 12-degree temperatures in 22 inches of snow on an unbroken trail with hidden edges and no rangers available until morning for a rescue. We'd all like to make it home and celebrate Thanksgiving with our families, too. On a lighter note, we're trying to upload some LeConte Lodge video clips to ABC's World News Tonight for use on their national broadcast this evening. The technology is iffy, and we're keeping our fingers crossed. Snow photos from yesterday were picked up across the country, turning Brad and Jeanie into mountain celebrities. Happy trails. UPDATE -- 9:15 a.m.: Good morning to all of you. It's a beautiful morning on Mt. LeConte, but deadly cold and windy. This is Nathan again, and I'll try to give you an update on LeConte Lodge operations. After consultation with the Park Service and its road crews, it appears LeConte Lodge will reopen today with Rainbow Falls as the ONLY available trail to the lodge. Park officials hope to have Cherokee Orchard Road open by 9 a.m., providing access to Rainbow and Bullhead Trails. After four hours on the trail, we returned last night at 2:30 a.m. from a night rescue to prevent a fatality on Bullhead Trail. Do not use any other trail than Rainbow Falls Trail. Keep in mind that if you're going to attempt the hike up it will be one of the most difficult days of the season. We have howling winds with a current temperature of 9 degrees, pushing our wind chill well below 0. Saturday's high was 17 degrees. We ended up with a storm snow total of 22 inches. The forecast is improving, but expect cold conditions and difficult trails for a while. The road crew expects to open U.S. Highway 441 this afternoon, but it will be too late to use to access Alum Cave Bluff or Boulevard Trails and reach the lodge safely. Under no circumstance today should anyone use any other trail to LeConte Lodge other than Rainbow Falls Trail. Note that since we switched to Standard Time last night, it will be getting darker even earlier than you're used to. Sunset tonight will be at 5:39 p.m. If you are an excellent hiker, have good winter gear (including ice traction devices) and accept the risk of what can easily happen on the trail in these conditions (including death), then begin hiking up Rainbow Falls Trail as soon as possible. Park service officials also want to warn people about the danger of fallen hazards from the forest canopy, especially as the wind is blowing up in the higher elevations. We've had two consecutive nights that we've headed off a potentially fatal situation in these brutal conditions. Both of these folks are alive and being cared for at the lodge, but my heroic crew is worn out. If you have any questions at all about your ability, please come back to see us another day. I'll try to provide another update later as the work schedule allows. Happy trails. Update -- 3:06 p.m. : Good afternoon to you all. Officially, we have 22 inches of snow on the ground here at LeConte Lodge. There are lots of drifts around the grounds more than waist high. It's currently 17 degrees with some wind and slacking slow at the lodge. Congratulations to the meteorologists; they didn't miss this one. I've attached a few photos for you all to peruse. There's no other news to report regarding our status for Sunday. We'll try to reassess Sunday morning after we get updates from the Park Service. All the folks at the lodge are in good shape--happy, well-fed and warm. Please don't try to hike up today. We'll have plenty of snow hanging around for a while. We are closed, except for taking care of last night's guests who felt is wise to stay over. The Park Service has its hands full with lots of work. If you do choose to get out in the backcountry, be prepared for a self rescue. Last night we had two people destined for the backcountry shelter show up after 9 p.m., one of them in blue jeans and tennis shoes in (at that time) five inches of snow. If we were not here, he almost certainly would have died last night. This weather (snow depth, wind and temperature) is not to be taken lightly. Happy trails (just don't try it today). Update -- 10:19 a.m. : General manager Tim Line just received word that all roads accessing trails leading to LeConte should be closed most of the day. Thus, in a rarity, LeConte Lodge is closed to new guests hiking up today. Some of last night's guests chose to hike down together this morning. Others chose to stay at LeConte Lodge and depart Sunday. We will reevaluate our opening status Sunday morning when we get the latest road condition and weather reports. We have quite a bit going on. If we get caught up with work, I'll try to post a photo of the continuing snowfall. ---------- Good morning to you all. I wanted to provide a quick update on weather conditions at LeConte Lodge. We received a significant winter storm beginning last night. Friday's high was 38 with a low of 14. We currently have 17 inches of snow on the ground with more snow steadily falling. Additionally, the wind has been quite stout, creating deep drifts around the lodge grounds. Conditions for hiking will be quite difficult and strenuous. The forecast calls for more snow throughout the day. The high is expected to be in the 20s with windy conditions Saturday. As far as access to the trails leading to LeConte Lodge goes, we know that U.S. Highway 441 was closed last night and remains closed. Current feeling from Park Service officials is that 441 may be closed all Saturday. Park road crews are stretched quite thin now as there is also snow at the bottom of the mountain, which has taken down lots of trees because they still were holding on to their leaves. At this point, we are unsure about whether the road to the Rainbow Falls/Bullhead parking lot will be cleared today. As you may imagine, we have plenty of chores to do around here, too. Snow makes everything harder. If we get more information throughout the day, we'll try to pass it along via High on LeConte. 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
March 2024
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