Morning,
It was a beautiful, clear night. It only got down to 14. The high yesterday was 34. It felt much warmer with the sun reflecting off the snow. It was 16 and clear at observation. It looks like we'll have a stunning weekend. I was able to get a bunch of chores done yesterday. I like to have the place in order before the weekends, when I enjoy being out and about talking to the dayhikers. Special thanks to two folks; Chris for packing me up some goodies and ATC volunteer trail maintainer Michael for all his hard work and an informative book about bears. There will be a lunar eclipse tomorrow morning. It should be pretty exciting. I'm headed down Rainbow Falls this morning to meet some friends. I'll be back around 3pm. Happy hiking! Morning,
It was a beautiful day yesterday. The high crept up to 36 and it was clear all day. The low was 10 last night and it was up to 25 at observation. It sounds like we'll have a stretch of gorgeous days on the way. The snow is about 5 inches up top. It seems like it's been cold enough so that the snow wouldn't have melted, refroze and created too many icy hazards on the trails. I spent yesterday taking care of chores around camp. I finished reading Robert Kull's 'Solitude'. He chooses to live on an island in Patagonia's coastal wilderness alone for a year. He was very focused on exploring his inner self without the distractions of a traditional lifestyle. I am grateful to have read it up here. I also staked out a position to try to see Bobkitten at dusk. I sat patiently for a few hours near where his tracks have been and didn't get lucky. It looks like his tracks were pretty old, so maybe Bobkitten is more active at daylight than at dusk. Happy hiking! Morning!
There was a dramatic return to winter conditions yesterday. I started my hike down Alum with my two pals in 41 degree rain and ended up getting pelted with freezing rain and 17 degree snow up top! The low last night was 7. I awoke to 6 inch snow drifts up top. I had a productive trip into Gatlinburg. The folks at the NOC were very helpful. They have a great selection of winter hiking gear. I couldn't recommend them highly enough. Also, thanks to Alicea and everyone at the Smoky Mountain Brewery. I had a great salad and tried their Appalachian Pale Ale and Tuckaleechee Porter. It's a great atmosphere for my weekly dose of civilization! A special thanks to Artie, who noticed me at the bar and gave me a ride back to the trailhead. I love the people here. My hike back up was eventful! It started with heavy flakes at about 36 degrees and turned into heavy snow as I gained elevation. These 3 photos will illustrate how the scenery changed as I climbed. It was a great day to be out. Safe hiking! Morning,
It was a soggy day yesterday. There was a bit of a warm front - the low was 39, high was 47 and it was 41 at observation. There were 2 inches of rain in the last 24 hours. The temperature is supposed to drop tonight, so be on the lookout for ice again. I'm looking forward to a big day hiking down Alum with my buddies. We're going to check out the NOC outfitter down in Gatlinburg. They'll drop me off on the other side of the mountain and I'll hike up Rainbow or Bullhead. Safe hiking! Morning,
It was another quiet day on the mountain. It was a high of 45 yesterday, but cloudy and blustery. There was a low of 38 last night. This is the first time there have been bursts of lightning in the valley as I was doing observation. It's pretty intense. I was able to do a short hike out to Myrtle yesterday, then a few miles out Alum. The ice is slowly becoming a non issue. Winter keeps peeking in, then disappearing. I've heard there is precipitation expected over the next few days and a cold front coming through Wednesday evening which may turn the mountain treacherous again. I finished cleaning the kitchen after my hike and did some reading. I was lucky enough to have a friend hike up a New York Times, some apples, bananas and spinach for me. Thanks to everyone for all their kindness! Morning,
We had another mild night. It only got down to 36 yesterday. The high was 39 and it was 38 and socked in at Observation. The snow finally melted up top, but there may still be some ice on the trail. I have a feeling I'm not going to see too many folks today. We're supposed to get some nasty rain tomorrow, so be prepared for some weather. I had a productive 'inside' day yesterday. I read for the majority of the day. I perfected my corn bread and hot cocoa. I was able to do my laundry for the first time since I got up here and took a sponge bath. I feel like I could go to a dinner party or something. A quick thanks to the folks from Lexington, KY who were staying up at the shelter last night. They were kind enough to pick me up some fresh blueberries and even looked for a Sunday NYT! I appreciate the effort, guys. I'm consistently blown away by how hospitable everyone down South has been. Have a safe hike, everyone! Morning,
We had another mild night. It only dipped down to 30. It was a bit windy all night. It got up to 41 yesterday and it was 34 and hazy at observation this morning. Looks like we might get some clouds this afternoon. I took a day off hiking yesterday to recover from Friday's 16 miler. I hauled water, cleaned the kitchen and got a lot of reading done. It felt like a productive day. I wanted to talk about black bears today. I met this little guy on Thanksgiving day. He was active around camp all day. We saw signs of him the previous few days - a few guests saw him and we saw some scat in camp. He was unabashedly begging from people. He wasn't new at this. This is something he learned from people - if I walk around long enough and look cute, eventually someone will throw some food at me. Bears are wild animals. They normally look for food at dusk and dawn. This is abnormal. It could be that they had a bad year for their natural food sources (which is true this year), but that is no excuse to intervene. This bear has learned bad habits. If he survives the winter, he'll expect food from people. That leads to a number of problems. He won't be learning how to forage for natural food sources. These food sources are better for him and will lead to him having a healthy and productive life. It's what his kind has survived on for generations - not pizza. Also, it could lead to confrontation with other hikers in the future. If this scenario unfolds, he'd be labeled a problem bear and potentially hurt someone. Feeding him pizza because he looks skinny is putting his life and other hikers' lives at risk. It's natural to feel sympathy for such a beautiful creature, but by feeding him you would create more problems than just 'helping him get through the winter'. I think he's cute too and I don't want him to starve. However, I would much rather let nature take it's course than feed him and create a whole new set of problems for him, the parks' visitors and the good folks at the Park Service. If you don't believe me, please read the Appalachian Bear Rescue's FAQ section. They have a number of newspaper articles discussing the fate that awaits problem bears. Please keep the wild animals wild. Thanks for listening. Morning,
We had a mild night. It got down to 30 degrees. It was up to 42 on the summit yesterday. It was 34 and clear at weather observation. Looks like another nice day. The ice has melted at lower elevations, but there are still quite a few tricky sections high up on Alum. I had a great day yesterday. I hiked down to Park Service HQ and introduced myself to dispatch. It's nice to finally have faces to put to the call number 700. I met Mr. Wightman who was kind enough to field my questions about the WFR course offered at the Great Smoky Mountain Institute at Tremont. It'd be great to get more qualified without having to leave the park! I hiked up Alum and saw a lot of people coming down. It looks like all the widowmakers have crashed, but I'm sure there will be more on their way soon. I made it up here in record time and made some tasty soup for dinner. It felt good to finally do a long day. Morning. It was a low of 26 last night and a high of 46 yesterday afternoon. It was 35 and clear at observation. It sounds like it will be another beautiful day up here.
I walked down to Alum Cave yesterday so that I could watch some of the 'widowmakers' crash down. They are the massive ice formations that have froze overnight, warm up during the day and attempt to ruin an unaware hikers' day/life. Use caution down there! I sat there for half an hour and saw 6 that gained enough momentum that they sounded like jets. I will be hiking long today down Bullhead, Old Sugarland and up Alum. Looking forward to introducing myself to all the folks at the NPS! Good luck to all my friends running the Tecumseh Trail Marathon tomorrow! I am so jealous! Morning, We had a chilly night. It got down to 17 degrees. We had a high of 26 yesterday. It looks like another stunning day up here today. There's still about 2 inches of snow on the ground. The trails are all very icy. Lots of the ice is hiding under benign looking snow - be careful! I went for a few walks yesterday searching for the bobkitten. I did some research and found out they are mostly active at nighttime, so I'll have to adapt. I made some good progress and look forward to meeting the little fella real soon. Have a safe hike! “There's an elegiac quality in watching [American wilderness] go, because it's our own myth, the American frontier, that's deteriorating before our eyes. I feel a deep sorrow that my kids will never get to see what I've seen, and their kids will see nothing; there's a deep sadness whenever I look at nature now.” ― Peter Matthiessen, Wildlife in America
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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
April 2024
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