DECEMBER 21, 2022 Good Morning! Sorry ‘bout missing yesterday’s post on the blog—it’s a long story. Instead of blogging the first thing yesterday morning I went walking. I went down Alum to the bluff and back to obtain up to date trail information and photos for you. When I got back to my “office” I was unable to get the website to cooperate. But I think that we have things working properly now. Thank you for your patience! So—here’s my report: there is still a lot of ice on the upper two miles of trail (see picture above). Some hikers were able to navigate without spikes, but others could not. It’s best to carry them in case you need them. The skies are clear today, but cooler weather with some precipitation is coming. So be prepared! HAPPY TRAILS!! WIILDCAT/Bert 
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MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2022 Good Morning, Everyone! It looks like we have another beautiful morning here on Mt LeConte—cold, but beautiful! At least no rain or fog. The temperature at 7:00 am was 19 degrees with last night’s low of 10 degrees. If you visit the mountain today be sure to bundle up. I’m enjoying fresh hot coffee and bluegrass music. Sausage, egg and cheese biscuits for breakfast. Planning my day’s activities—laundry and/or a shower? Both tasks involve hauling water up the mountain and heating it on stove. Okay, one more cup of coffee! I hope that you have a marvelous Monday! From High On Mt LeConte! WILDCAT/Bert  DECEMBER 18, 2022 Good Morning, Folks! I believe that winter is coming to the mountain! The temperature got down to 11 degrees last night. Mt LeConte’s weather this morning can be best described as cold and clear. I walked out to Myrtle Point and Cliff Tops yesterday and there was some ice on the trails. Most of the hikers that I met were using micro spikes. Since the temperature never got above 25 degrees yesterday I would continue to recommend that you continue to carry traction devices. I plan to service the kerosene lamps today until it warms up a little outside. For your information, just in case you don’t still use kerosene lamps, this involves refilling the kerosene and washing the glass chimneys. Try to stay warm today! HAPPY TRAILS!! WILDCAT/Bert  December 17th, 2022 Good Morning! Morning dawned clear and cold today. The temperature got down to 15 degrees last night. The mountain received no precipitation in the last 24 hours. With this chilly weather today there are some patches of ice on the trails, so please be careful! Traction devices are highly recommended! Colder temperatures are forecast for the next few days so make certain that you carry adequate caps and gloves and/or mittens. Since this is Saturday and the skies are fairly clear we are seeing an increase of traffic on the trails. Please stay safe and warm and enjoy the great outdoors! HAPPY TRAILS!! WILDCAT/Bert  December 16th, 2022 Good Morning, Y’all, It looks like a cold, clear morning today! Last night’s low temperature was 18 degrees. It came to my attention yesterday that we are having “technical difficulties” with the blog. Several days ago I promised you a picture of Mt Leconte home made whole wheat bread. I’m trying to do that again . HAPPY TRAILS!! WILDCAT  Good Morning,
It appears that we’re in for a foggy, windy day today. Last night’s low temperature was 33 degrees and at 7:00 AM the thermometer was reading 39. There is a high wind advisory for later this afternoon. There may be wind gusts of 70 MPH. Because of this the road up to Newfound Gap May be closed after 4:00 PM. If you should decide to visit Cliff Tops this afternoon, be certain to tie your hat on securely! I think that the whole wheat turned out very well! Try to stay warm and dry today! WILDCAT TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13th, 2022 Howdy, Folks, It looks as though we have another beautiful day in store for us on top of LeConte! Last night’s low was 28 degrees with no precipitation. Snow is predicted for the end of the week. This is shaping up to be a home made bread day up here on the mountain—I hope to have some delicious pictures for you tomorrow. I hope that y’all have a Terrific Tuesday! WILDCAT/Bert  Monday, December 12th, 2022 Good Morning! Sunshine at last! Actually it’s only been one day since I saw it but it seemed longer. Temperatures last night got down to freezing. My rain gage recorded .20 of an inch precipitation. Do you ever take good running water and electricity for granted? Pictured above is the Le Conte spring and two of the seven gallon plastic containers that I use to carry water up to the kitchen. “Running water” would mean that I ran up the hill from the spring to the kitchen carrying two containers of water! Thirty or forty years ago I might have done that to impress you with my level of physical fitness but I no longer feel the need to do so. Since I have plenty of time up here speed doesn’t seem quite so critical. I think that the fact that I carry all of the water up hill makes this an important component of the LeConte Lodge winter caretaker physical fitness program. The picture below is of the trail from from the spring to the kitchen. The lodge is also lacking electricity. This means that light comes from kerosene lamps. This requires a certain amount of time and effort to refill the kerosene and clean the chimneys of the lamps. You learn quickly just how important this if you want to have adequate light! Well, enough about utilities at the lodge. This looks like it will be a great day to get out and take a hike. HAPPY TRAILS!! WILDCAT  Sunday, December 11th, 2022 Good Morning, Folks! It would appear that we have another foggy day in store for us up here on top of the mountain. I suppose that I was being overly optimistic to hope that Mother Nature might offer us another day like yesterday! The current temperature at 7:00 AM is 42 degrees. I mosied up to Cliff Tops at about 11:00 AM yesterday morning and was rewarded with an awesome view. The skies were perfectly clear over Tennessee—North Carolina was all socked in with clouds. The north side of Clingman’s Dome was clear with the tower on top visible. I may have had the best view of Chimney Tops that I have seen from Cliff Top. I relaxed in the bright sunshine and just took it all in. I returned to the lodge and met two ladies who were enjoying the sunshine and their snacks. They were locals from Lenoir City and South Knoxville. The lady from Knoxville confessed to being originally from Kansas. She was born in the hospital in Beloit, Kansas. Only thirty-five miles from the farm where I was raised. That’s where I was born! She also knows and hikes with David Smith, who I know, and who was Appalachian Trail Chaplain in 2014. I was the Appalachian Trail Chaplain in 2015. It’s a small world! They said that they were “regulars” and promised to be back again to see me soon. I hope that you have a Super Sunday! HAPPY TRAILS!! WILDCAT/Bert  December 10th, 2022 Good Morning Y’all! After several days of fog and rain the skies this morning are clear enough to show us a splendid full moon! Our temperature on the mountain got down to 31 degrees last night. It looks like we’ll have a beautiful day today! Exercise caution on the trails today—the combination of all most half an inch of rain yesterday and near freezing temperatures last night could result in some slick spots! Enjoy the great outdoors today if you are able to do so! HAPPY TRAILS!! WILDCAT/Bert  |
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
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