December 11th, 2016

12/11/2016

Morning y'all,

It's a beautiful, clear morning up top. The high yesterday reached 30 degrees. Yesterday's low was 13 degrees, recorded early yesterday morning. It was 28 degrees and clear at 7am observation. The mountain received no new precipitation and there is no snow on the ground. There are patches of slick ice on the trails, but as long as you are careful with your rock hopping, I don't believe that spikes are a necessity. I saw no smoke or fire damage along the Boulevard, the AT or Alum. Get out and enjoy this beautiful Sunday!

Top photo: Where it all started. Above: Sun setting on Alum Cave trail.

6 Comments

Elaine

12/11/2016 12:30:01 pm

Though I try to keep an open mind, Alum is still my favorite trail to hike to the lodge. You just cant beat those views and with the improvements made on the trail, it's a less strenuous climb. Enjoy your quiet world.

tomk in SC

12/11/2016 03:06:56 pm

All the trails are great! The thing that makes the Boulevard pop for me is the side trip (and lunch) at the Jump Off. When the air is clear the view is nothing short of spectacular!

doug y link

12/12/2016 08:44:09 am

Well said, tomk, the Jump Off has long been a favorite of mine, too. Many times I've parked at Newfound Gap and hiked out to that spot just for its spectacular views. Great ! One good hike I have done multiple times is to park at the Alum trailhead, hitch a ride up to Newfound Gap, then hike out to the Boulevard trail and on over to the Lodge area, continuing on down eventually to return to the Alum parking lot. As of right now I cannot remember the mileage for that trek but I know it was in excess of eleven miles, and it could have been closer to seventeen, but I just can't recall the figure right now, but it is a good hike for a day ! Everybody has their own favorite trail; I also like Alum but like to avoid the crowds there most times.

12/12/2016 08:56:10 am

Glad to see yo back up and rnning the show i have missed it we will be up next month on the 14th , thanks again for the pictures!

Joe in WTN

12/12/2016 09:31:35 am

Nice to see daily posts again.

Ron Adams

12/12/2016 10:24:19 am

I prefer the Bullhead. It is so isolated; you rarely encounter another hiker on it. And the spring wildflowers are fantastic. Lots of trail variance too...............as far as the ACB goes, I don't care for all the traffic in that first mile or two; just too many people.

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December 11th, 2016

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