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Aug. 11, 2013

8/11/2013

 
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Chuck, the newest member of the LeConte llama string, takes a breather before heading down the mountain.
Good afternoon.  I hope all of you had an enjoyable weekend.  Thanks to those of you who spent your weekend with us.  I've got a lot of news to cover, so I'll jump in.

Saturday's temperatures ranged from 55 to 67 degrees.  Our heavy showers accounted for 0.62 inches of rain yesterday, but the duration of the rain wasn't that long.  Most of Sunday has been cloudy, but we've seen a few light sprinkles and rare glimpses of the sun through 2:30 p.m.

I wanted to introduce you to Chuck Korbel, our youngest packing llama.  Chuck arrived at the farm last winter from Roanoke, Va., but has quickly worked his way to becoming a valuable member of the LeConte string.

Llama wrangler Chrissy, whose parents named the new arrival Chuck, reports that because he's new sometimes he gets a little nervous if he doesn't know what to expect next.  She says that Chuck develops little bags under his eyes until he calms down and realizes he can handle the task at hand, then the bags disappear.

"At the beginning, Alan thought Chuck might be a little high maintenance, but he's turned out great," Chrissy said.  "From the first day he started packing he walked in a straight line on the trail."

Llama wrangler Alan also offers praise for the rookie.  "He's a good worker," Alan said.  "He's more of a spitter than most.  He's just young and thinks everyone's messing with him."

In other news, I received word from the Park Service that Greenbrier Road will be closed to foot, stock and vehicular traffic from Aug. 12-30 to replace several culverts.  That shouldn't affect too many of our hikers because the Brushy Mountain Trail is without question the most lightly used of any of the six main trails to LeConte.  For those of you unfamiliar with Brushy Mountain Trail, it shares the last 3.6 miles of the ascent to LeConte with the Trillium Gap Trail.  Before it joins Trillium Gap Trail, Brushy Mountain Trail winds upward about 4.5 miles from the Greenbrier area of the park.

I hope we get a nice, clear night atop the mountain tonight because I read that the Perseid Meteor Shower will peak sometime before dawn Monday.  I saw the 2010 Perseid display from the top of LeConte and was much impressed.

It was nice to see Phyllis, Mac, Tom and James on top of LeConte this afternoon.  They're volunteering for the Park Service to stabilize the cribbing on front of the LeConte Shelter and build a door for its privy.  The park is fortunate to have so many fine people willing to volunteer.

Speaking of fine volunteers, we were glad to welcome some descendants of the legendary David Crockett to stay with us last night.  You'll be happy to know that all our bears are still in the land of the living.  Col. Crockett ranks as my favorite Tennessean of all, and I'll be celebrating his birthday (Aug, 17, 1786) Saturday on my off days.  As a native Tennessean, I welcome all of you  -- regardless of ZIP code -- to turn off your cell phone, find a rocking chair, share some good stories and hoist a glass of sweet tea to David Crockett, the patron saint of the Tennessee high country.

Allyson and Chris should be back from off days tonight, so I'll turn the updates back over to her.  Thanks for reading.  Happy trails.
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East Tennessee -- David Crockett Country.
Debi
8/11/2013 10:27:05 am

I remember when there was a lady around here who needed help with her lamas. She had a 4-H club. The first and last time my daughter went was when she got spit on. Kind of dampered her spirit in the llama department. lol

Pat N.
8/11/2013 11:31:01 am

Great posts and pics, Nathan. Thanks for always doing a superb job while Chris and Allyson enjoy a few days off the mountain.

Barbara
8/11/2013 12:26:37 pm

Nathan, always enjoy reading your posts. Good writing with a good eye for what's interesting. You are a good sub for Allyson.

doug y
8/12/2013 12:58:36 am

On my first visit to the lodge in 2004 I happened to meet the llamas as they arrived at the lodge. "Sparky" was one in particular that I liked - - he's retired now, and "Chuck" looks a lot like him. The lodge t-shirt for that year depicted the llamas on its front side. I try to schedule a lot of my hikes up to the lodge on the days that the llamas are working because I get quite a lot of enjoyment seeing them and hiking along with them, usually stepping aside so I don't impede thier pace. To me they're very interesting animals despite their proclivity for spitting. I drove a school bus here for a while and along one route there were some llamas in a field. During the afternoon run all my passengers would call out to these llamas as we passed them, and the critters would rush over to the fence near the road and begin spitting profusely !! The fact that they are used for transporting supplies and such up to and down from the lodge is one of the things that I think adds to the lore of the place.

Doug Bain link
8/12/2013 02:11:32 am

The notation about the Davy Crockett kinpeople was of special interest to me, since we are in his line of descent. An uncle had the name Sherwood Crockett Bain and inhabited Knoxville and Elkmont territory [as somewhat of a mountain man and naturalist]. Many thanks for the faithful posts and pics!

Susan B
8/12/2013 02:12:07 am

Good Morning,

Jenna and I were up in July and were able to meet the llama's and Chrissy. If memory serves me right, Chuck is the one that doesn't care for pancakes but loves banana peels. Yes - I said peels. It happened that we ate a couple of bananas hiking up. Jenna loved meeting the llama's and being able to feed them. We were probably there for a couple of hours and then they headed down. Great time as always!

Happy Hiking!

Donnie R
8/13/2013 03:17:35 am

Nice post ! I to find the llamas most interesting.I started my hike up Rainbow this past june, and 4 miles up I ran in to an all out torrent of rain ! Decided to be smart and turn back since I was not equipped for that kind of weather. I will be ready for my oct. trip though ;) See ya then !


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