August 28, 2017

Greetings Readers,
     We remain in a mostly cloudy rut, with temps feeling slightly cooler today.  There were two instances of rain showers yesterday, and they only managed to squeeze out a laughable 0.03" of liquid precipitation.  It looks like things will continue to be on the dry side in the coming days.  It's possible that the mess hovering over Texas could eventually find its way up through Tennessee, but meteorologists won't definitively know that for a while yet. Our high temperature on Sunday came in at 61 degrees, and our low dipped to an autumn-like 48.

Hi! I have a name! Thanks!

     And now on to the news so many of you have been patiently waiting for.  After careful consideration of all the llama names submitted here on this site and our Facebook page, our wranglers unanimously settled on a fitting name for our newest recruit.  Ladies and gentlemen, it is with great pleasure that we introduce...WILEY!  To be honest, we were all blown away by the response we received from our fans, garnering over 1,000 (!!!) submissions for this soon-to-be packer.
     We appreciate the creativity and thoughtfulness that everyone put into helping us find this young llama an identity.  Several suggestions were in fact of llamas already in the rotation, or those who have been load luggers in seasons past.  There were multiple suggestions for the name Wiley, so a big congratulations to all of you who offered up such a great choice that interestingly enough has vast local historical significance. A certain Wiley Oakley, a famous mountaineer in these parts, was born at the base of this very mountain in 1885.  He went on to be a humble and incredible ambassador for the Smokies and an inspiring citizen of Gatlinburg.
     Wiley will begin training next year, so you'll have to wait to see him in action on Trillium Gap Trail.  We'll be sure and let you know once he gets into the swing of things with our wranglers.  Until then, a huge thank you to everyone who participated.
​     Have a great start to the week!