August 20th, 2017

Good afternoon everyone,
The sunshine has been on at full blast since yesterday giving way to a beautiful sunset and radiant sunrise. The weather on the mountain has been lovely and cool, yesterday's high being 74 and this mornings low 47; bring a jacket if you're staying overnight with us.

Eclipse is tomorrow!

All of us at the lodge are anticipating tomorrow's eclipse but are a little thrown that today's afternoon cloud cover might put a bit of a damper on things. The forecast still calls for 20% chance of rain but that could mean anything in the Smokies.
We do not provide the eclipse viewing glasses up at the lodge so please make sure you bring some with you. Getting to the trails early is strongly recommended.
Our overnight guests on Sunday are welcome to stay and hang out around camp, Cliff Tops, and Myrtle Point until the eclipse at 2:30pm but please keep in mind our check out time (9:30am). Those staying the night of the 21st are welcome to hike up anytime during the day but we will not be able to start checking guests in until 12:00pm. That also goes for our gift shoppe located in the office.
We are looking forward to everyone coming to view this celestial event and strongly encourage bringing enough water and snacks for the day.
We anticipate having a very busy day on the mountain, and we greatly appreciate everyone's patience in advance as we strive to cater to all of our visitors' needs during this rare solar event. Folks curious about staying at the shelter will need to confer with the NPS Backcountry Office. If the shelter is full, there is no other camping permitted on the mountain.

Happy eclipse preparation!