Good Day for Indoor Chores

7/11/2013

As you can see from the photo above, we are a bit socked in at the moment. A guest asked me what I saw? I said "Nothing. That is the point of the photo." We received another .17" of rain last night. The high yesterday was 69º with a low of 54º. I can honestly say that I think this has been the wettest season I have seen in my 11 years on the mountain. The crew was thinking about buying stock in "happy lights". The only problem is I haven't see the sun enough to be able to charge the batteries to use mine. It is a bit of a conundrum.

After walking around camp this morning, I noticed the coneflowers are blooming. I may have been wrong when I predicted them being a couple of weeks late. I am now thinking we will see them at full color by the end of the month.

Time to for me to go clean the stove. One of my jobs on the mountain is to take the stove apart, twice a week, and make the stove nice and sparkling. I will admit, I love seeing a clean stove and a clean fridge. Those jobs are good ones to do on days like this.

I believe we will see some color soon.

dan waits link

7/11/2013 02:52:42 am

If you ever get tired of cleaning the stove or the fridge, I'll be glad to hike up & do it just for the chance to be on the mtn ;-)

susan b

7/11/2013 03:51:51 am

Good Morning,

I am so excited to be able to hike to my favorite mountain! My daughter and I will be hiking Alum on Monday morning - hopefully by 7:30 in the morning or so. All depends on when we can get moving! If anyone is hiking Monday, we'd love to join another group. I enjoyed Trillium last year but in the time we were on the trail, there was just one other group. If something were to happen, I'm just not comfortable being the only ones out there. Yes, I even asked my daughter that if something happens, what would she do? She told me she would stay put and just start yelling. Ok - that just won't work. I'd rather be safe and be on a trail that is more populated.

Happy Hiking! And rain - please stay away!

elktonbrant

7/11/2013 04:44:59 am

Susan,
The only time we have ever been "alone" on Alum was in January several years ago. We hiked to the top in snow flurries, then the snow began to increase in intensity around the bluffs on our descent. It was only after getting back to the trailhead that we realized that Newfound Gap Road had been closed to any new traffic!
The reason I say this is that there will be other day hikers who are just going to the bluffs in the early going, then you will encounter multiple groups of hikers coming down from their overnight stays as you get beyond the bluffs. For safety's sake, you won't be alone for a long period of time on Alum (but that can happen on Trillum beyond Grotto falls or Rainbow Falls/Bullhead).

Have fun on Monday!

jamann

7/12/2013 02:26:39 pm

We hiked down from the lodge this past Wed and my nephew counted 60 people that we passed coming up from the lodge to just the Bluffs. It was a very busy day on the trail!!!

Starkym

7/11/2013 10:01:14 am

My husband and I hiked up the mountain on Monday (7/10). God blessed us with beautiful weather going up and down. It was an awesomely beautiful trip; however, my husband had to practically pull me up the last 2 hours on Allum. The folks at the lodge were great- thank you! We passed a young family on Tuesday morning. They were on their way to the lodge with 3 little ones (ages probably ranged from 2 - 5). Did they make it up safely?

Mary F

7/11/2013 11:19:55 am

Leaving in the morning to hike up Alum. Me, another friend who hiked it with me last year, and two newcomers. We wil all try and fill our pockets with sunshine and bring it on up to you all. Looking forward to hot chocolate and a rocking chair :-)

Sharon A

7/11/2013 02:20:32 pm

I have been reading all week and getting excited about my first hike to the lodge on Sunday. We hiked in the Smokies all last summer with our three kids, ages 1,3, and 5, but have talked of doing the hike up Alum just the two of us. I am surprising him Saturday night with the news that we will be hiking the following morning. Any new news about Rainbow Falls? I would like to hike it back down if the water has diminished any.

Don Kaufman

7/11/2013 04:35:50 pm

Now back home again in Indiana, I want to say "thank you" to staff for a wonderful hike up to the Lodge yesterday (Wed) and back down this (Thu) morning. No rain while hiking, even had sunshine, and the rain atop the mountain came at a perfect time, 9:30 pm just as the 4 of us had put our heads down in the cozy beds for the night!! Getting to see the llamas depart was a special treat for my daughter and two grandkids who had never been to LeConte before. You provided us wonderful hospitality --- and I love reading the daily posts!

Debi

7/11/2013 11:46:43 pm

Are those the yellow flowers that are down by the cabins? I have pictures of my husband and son standing in front of them last year. Those are beautiful!

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Good Day for Indoor Chores

LeConte Lodge

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