August 13, 2017

8/13/2017

Good Afternoon,
East Tennessee got walloped with some storms yesterday, and Mt. LeConte certainly got in on the action. In two short afternoon squalls, the mountain had 1.3" of rain dumped on it, and the drainage ditches around and through camp were overflowing their banks. Trails are sure to be saturated for the time being, so consider waterproof hiking shoes for your trips up and down. At one point the sun was out, allowing us to hit a high temperature of 67 degrees on Saturday. Our low came in at 52. We've been in and out of the clouds most of today, with temperatures hovering in the low 60's. Today's rain chances are lower, but there are a few pop-up showers forming in the park already. We'll see if one nips us to keep our daily precipitation streak alive. Of the coming days, tomorrow appears to be the most favorable for playing in the woods without getting wet.
Have a great day.

Plenty of Pink Turtleheads in bloom lining the spring.

3 Comments

Meg Waff

8/13/2017 02:37:09 pm

Love the video! and that sound reminds me of living there! (afternoon nap with door open in the Ritz!)

Pat N

8/13/2017 04:23:02 pm

Buzz buzz chirp chirp... love it!

Andy Piekutowski

8/14/2017 01:58:14 pm

Discovered this blog when reading about J. P. Krol in Smokies Life last fall and now look forward to reading it daily. Two recent topics were of a lot of interest to me--the recent descriptions of the buildings and the June comments about the airplane crash. In August 1959, I and two companions hiked up Alum Cave trail with the intent of camping at the top of Mt. LeConte. As three farm boys used to camping in our Ohio woods, we were woefully ill equipped for the conditions we met when we tried to setup a camp (which I now think may have been illegal). After nearly drowning in the afternoon downpour, we decided to go to the Lodge and see if we could stay there. We got the whole "Old Lodge" to ourselves! No lottery to deal with back then. We stayed again in August 1961, without making prior reservations. Since then I have been fortunate to have stayed quite a few more times (with reservations) during the 1970's and 80's and got to know Mr. Herrick Brown pretty well (my younger brother served on the crew from 1972 -74).

In early October 1972, I and three backpacking friends spent several nights at the Lodge. Following breakfast after the first night, Mr. Brown asked if we four strong and strapping 30- and 40-year olds could lend a hand carrying an airplane engine out of the woods so it could be taken away--the last thing we expected to do on this trip. He explained that a pilot friend of his, named Jack, had been dropping some hay for the horses Mr. Brown kept at the lodge when the plane lost power and Jack had to "set it down," hopefully in the woods and not on the steep slope on the south side of Mt. LeConte. Jack was successful in slowing the plane down by dragging the tail through the tops of the Frasier firs and came to rest in them in an area north of the shelter. We followed Jack to the plane, which was not at all visible in the very dense fir trees until we were within several feet of it. I took several pictures (which I still have) of the plane and it's surroundings while he finished disconnecting the engine. Then, we all grabbed a corner or anything else we could hold on to and carried the engine out to the trail (whew!). A helicopter was supposed to come to lift the rest of the plane from the trees and take it out of the Park. Since then, I have made quite a few more trips to the top and stopped to get hot chocolate or coffee before heading back down. I frequently think about trying for one more ascent and overnight stay before the trail gets too steep or I get too old.

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August 13, 2017

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