I hope everyone's week is off to a good start. Our weather hasn't yet been as cold as forecasted but isn't very pleasant nonetheless. A cold, raw drizzle has set in over LeConte Monday with temperatures in the high 30s. Sunday's high was 44. The low sank to 30 but that occurred about 8:30 p.m. Sunday. It actually warmed up to the low 40s overnight before beginning a slow slide late Monday morning. All told, we received 0.05 inches of rain on Sunday. No doubt you all are sick of political advertisements by now. While we're not subjected to the television ads up on LeConte, we did recently suffer through a debate by the candidates for the only elected position on LeConte this winter--Prime Minister of Pandering. The Prime Minister of Pandering doesn't actually help with any work at LeConte Lodge, just represents our interests in the Pandering Parliament. To be honest, the crew is not wild over either choice. On one hand we have Tara Bulliar, who served for many years as President of Prevarication (or so she says). The other candidate is I.M. Bezzle, who served several years in a minimum security facility operated by the government. Noted journalist Al N. Jest served as the long-suffering moderator of the accursed debate as both candidates piled it on thick--making pie-in-the-sky promises to the LeConte crew. The foolishness quickly piled up deeper than the January snow on LeConte. Tara Bulliar started off with an appeal to our stomachs. She said that if elected there would be beef and gravy in every pot. Al N. Jest noted that just such a delightful circumstance already prevailed on LeConte. Not to be outdone, I.M. Bezzle promised biscuits so light you could strap them on your feet at the trailhead and float up the mountain. Going nowhere fast, moderator Al N. Jest tried to redirect, but not before Tara Bulliar promised that the LeConte spring would issue forth sweet tea if we voted for her. I.M. Bezzle countered that if elected he would make every day "leftover day" for the crew. When Al N. Jest probed that you have to make fresh meals to have a leftover day, I.M. Bezzle was stumped. The discourse didn't get any better when Tara Bulliar promised to install an escalator up LeConte for her constituents. I.M. Bezzle ramped up the pandering when he promised to establish a free tuition technical school to train squirrels how to clean toilets so LeConte crew members wouldn't have to. The next question concerned the economy. I.M. Bezzle, never one to be trusted with the petty cash, proposed selling LeConte (not just the lodge but also the mountain) to pay down debt. When informed that lodge business has been excellent and it's not possible to sell the actual mountain, I.M. Bezzle, being the sophisticate that he is, countered, "Well, let's just sell it anyway and buy ice cream." Tara Bulliar's economic plan didn't prove much more practical. While quick to point out, "I have friends who are llamas," her plan called for the LeConte llamas to be replaced by much stronger dinosaurs. She didn't offer any specifics for sourcing the more economical LeConte pack dinosaurs. Happy trails. 
doug
10/8/2012 07:55:35 am
"Darkness and silence engulf the lowland campground as I hurriedly break camp in preparation of driving the insignificant distance to the trailhead, althought the pleasant aroma of hickory smoke from dozens of campfires the evening previous beckon me to remain, to linger and let my senses wander aimlessly through a myriad of levels of intensity that stimulate my body. It seemingly takes forever before I pull into the parking lot and without missing a beat don my daypack and take those first few steps until the soles of my boots crunch the pebbles and packed dirt beneath them. That very sound gives much impetus to my strides, and intensifies my enthusiasm to go forward on the path ahead of me. The air is cold and crisp, my exhalations visible as swirling wisps rising silently in front of me, my heart beating rapidly with excitement and much anticipation. and sounds of the forest becoming more audible with each passing moment. I'm going there ! Previous rains have left the surrounding ground moist and damp, with a blanket of newly fallen and colorful leaves covering the trail itself, giving my feet the tingling sensation of trodding on a magic carpet over occasional patches of frost that crunch quietly under the weight of my passing. On the first significant incline I hardly notice the increase in gradient for I'm far too occupied with visions of my destination, too excited with thoughts of my arrival, but certainly fully aware of every moment during my steady movement for, after all, I say always that it's the journey that is the destination. I must be careful not to grasp my trekking poles too tightly in my fervor, not to take overly long steps, to pause whenever I can to relish in the mangificence all around, and to fully appreciate the wonders that I am priveledged to witness during my hike. I'm going there ! Carefully I stride behind plunging waters that envelope my face with a gentle, soft mist, quite cold yet tremendously refreshing and envigorating, adding to the immense energy which I possess this morning. Coming to a junction in the pathway, a pathway obviously seldom travelled of late, I force myself to pause for a few moments, allowing my imagination to take my soul partly down each of the alternative routes awaiting before me, but not forgetting that the one to the right is my chosen one today. The air has become cooler and sunlight is darting precisely through various openings in the upper canpoy of the trees like a gigantic lantern lighting the way, such great living masterpieces to behold, and it's evident that the sky this morning will be a brilliant and deep hue of blue. I take several deep breaths that recharge my metabolism and lighten my soul such that I believe I could simply float the remainder of the distance to my final stopping point. I'm going there ! Now with each ridge I walk around, with each bend in the trail that reveals a stretch of trail ahead, with each vista that presents me with a longer view ahead, I strain with eager hope to spot that which I seek, to identify some familar landmark which signifies my intended end. As I gain altitude and the air grips me pleasantly in its embrace, my lungs filling with each new breath of oxygen laced with the sweet and tangible aromas of the vegetation of the higher reaches, I think that ahead I finally lock onto a rigid line in the distance ! I'm going there ! My pace quickens a wee bit and my breathing almost halts as I seem to hold my breath in the hopes of getting a definite sighting of my destination, then as I round a bend in the trail, there it is ! I'm going there ! I could run those remaining few yards, but I force my legs to slow and my boots to land more softly as if I'm now on hallowed ground. As I approach I mentally pause to give thanks for being allowed to make this journey again, to reflect for a few moments of every yard that has passed beneath my steps, and to ponder just exactly why I have come. I'm there ! I stride confidently into the midst of the grounds, amongst the various structures that identify this place as the one I've thought about so very long until able to make the journey. I'm there ! I make my way to a central location in the compound and I amusingly discover that I almost am hesitant to remove my small pack, almost desiring to continue on, but, no, I'm there ! I'm at Leconte Lodge !! "
Barbara
10/8/2012 08:22:20 am
Wow Doug! That was beautiful. If Leconte ever needed to advertise, a quiet reading of the above with water falling, birds tweeting in the background would do it. What a gentle soul you must be.
Ben
10/8/2012 12:41:31 pm
That certainly stoked my fire Doug! I'm 2 weeks out from hearing those pebbles crunching under my feet. What a vivid portrait you paint. Thanks for the inspiration!
Galen
10/9/2012 04:58:10 am
Doug, As i read your post i found myself relaxing and seeing through my minds eye the trail, the turns and the vistas that i enjoy on my trips to LeConte. I enjoy your comments and hope that someday we will meet on one of those trails to our favorite place. "LeConte"
doug
10/9/2012 01:09:59 am
Barbara, Ben, Debi: thanks for your kind compliments; I simply wanted to share how I felt about not only the lodge, but the journey in getting there; I actually had more in mind to write; Perhaps later; Fog is extremely "thick" here in Cent. KY this morning; can't see a thing beyond a few feet; I recall a hike up once in a dense blanket of fog along Alum; could be another story; G'day all !
greg
10/9/2012 06:04:06 am
This is getting out of hand.
doug
10/9/2012 08:37:47 am
I want to say that I think Nathan is a most capable manager, crew member, and writer, and I certainly am not trying to outdo him or anyone else. I think he does a wondeful job, as do all the crew members of the Lodge. "J'cris pour partager mon amour de la loge, ma passion pour aller a pied, et mon grand respect et ma grande reconnaissance pour la nature !" As for my spelling, yeah, I get in a hurry often and it suffers. Nice to read about Chrissy. Llama wrangler, eh !? That must be a very interesting job. Have a good evening up there all ! Comments are closed.
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