i don't who i am this year. my feelings are nothing but fear. my head, my heart open wide.

3/2/2015

The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to oneself. Montaigne

Morning y'all,

It's a grey blustery morning up top. The high yesterday reached 42 degrees. The overnight low was 28 degrees. It was 34 degrees and mostly cloudy at 7am observation. The mountain received .26" of rain yesterday and there's been quite a bit of melt. There is still about 4 inches of snow remaining up top. The trails are pretty packed down and very slushy. I would definitely recommend Microspikes and some sort of waterproof footwear. Enjoy the day!

I had a really nice hike down Alum yesterday. The trails are in very sloppy shape, but it was great nonetheless. The air was refreshingly crisp rather than purely frigid and it was comfortable shorts weather. I could hardly believe it, but I smelled spring on the horizon as the warm rain was falling yesterday afternoon. There is still snow on the ground, but it is trending towards more spring like conditions on the mountain. The seasonal change always seems to catch me off guard... I miss the winter gone by, think of all the good times in deep snow, have a short period of mourning and then, all of a sudden, I am ready to welcome spring, in all it's generosity.

Kathy Simpson link

3/2/2015 02:02:53 am

Just wondering where this picture was taken? Was it near the end of the Boulevard Trail coming into LeConte?

Kent

3/2/2015 02:22:04 am

If you're referring to the second picture, it looks like Cliff Tops, to me. But I could be wrong.

norman

3/2/2015 03:00:06 am

That's what i'm thinking, too. If so, what dose the plaque say? There was not one there many years ago when i was there! JP, could you post a picture of it?/!

3/2/2015 03:06:57 am

Norman,

The plaque says something about not going off trail there due to fragile vegetation...

3/2/2015 03:05:43 am

Kathy, it is cliff tops.... sunset two days ago.

Kathy Simpson

3/2/2015 03:15:04 am

OK. Thank you. I have been to Cliff Tops for the past 20 years but never noticed the plaque. I must be an idiot.

Ryan in Green Bay

3/2/2015 02:30:35 am

When is your last week on the mountain and when do the regulars start returning? I am guessing it must be within a week or two. What a quick late fall and winter.

3/2/2015 03:07:53 am

Ryan,

I will be taking off on March 10th... The crew is due up the following weekend.

David

3/2/2015 05:34:17 am

Gee, time sure files. Seems just like yesterday when you first signed on from the top.

E Best

3/2/2015 06:05:51 am

I've been wondering if you had any visits from "Bob Kitten" this year?

3/3/2015 01:40:33 am

E,

I've seen a few tracks, but nothing more than that.

Ellis Crabtree

3/2/2015 09:05:14 am

JP, when you leave on the tenth does that mean there will be no more photos? I have grown so used to seeing them that it will leave a void in my morning ritual, but as the old saying goes, every good thing has to end sometime, wish you a safe journey in what ever you do, Thank you for all the photos.

3/3/2015 01:41:33 am

Ellis,

When I leave on the 10th, the crew will resume the blog once they are up sometime the following week. There will be no new posts until they hike up and get settled in up here...

Brian

3/2/2015 10:18:26 am

Norman: If you jumped into that hole you dug from Leconte Lodge all the way through to the other side of the Earth, you would NOT stop at Earth's center. You'd fly right on through at over 17,000 miles per hour, unless there's be a concrete wall at the center to stop you. As you approached the other side, gravity would eventually slow you down and you'd maybe just peek your eyes out the other rim of that hole, then you'd start falling back through ! You'd vacillate back and forth between these tow sides until friction would eventually stop you at the center of the Earth ! Yeah, and that vacillation might take a good long while ! Well, your friends at the lodge could wave at you each time you showed back up, but each time you'd be further down from the rim of the hole. I wonder if they have a lodge at the other side in China !? Actually, if you dug the hole straight through, you'd come out in the Indian Ocean well off the southwest coast of Australia, no where near China.

norman

3/2/2015 11:12:22 am

SO YOU SAY!!

Brian

3/3/2015 04:57:55 am

Yes, just look at your physics variables and constants and di the math. Looks ok from my point of view; just speculation, though.

Sandy

3/2/2015 12:42:48 pm

JP, my husband and I are new followers of your blog this season. We have enjoyed your photos and narratives. Where do you go and what do you do in the months to come? Thank you.

3/3/2015 01:43:30 am

Sandy,

I will be setting out on a short hiking trip after the season. I will be working on the Randolph Mountain Club's professional trail crew this summer. I will hopefully be working for the Appalachain Mountain Club's huts in the fall.

Bob B.

3/3/2015 03:11:02 am

What is the first photo on this day's blog?

Brian

3/3/2015 06:15:53 am

The 'swirls' in the wood of a tree.

Robert

3/3/2015 06:17:57 am

Yes, that's it: swirls in wood, but it also resembles a map of an ocean floor.

Staley

3/3/2015 04:14:55 am

I feel the same way about winter leaving this year. I think it's the record of snow we've had in Bowling Green, KY. We may get more this week and I can't wait:) However, I always look forward to spring too. The older I get, the more I try to love each season for what it brings.

Richard

3/4/2015 12:22:36 am

While I am sure the returning crew will do a great job on this blog, many of us will miss your stunning photographs, intriguing song lyrics, and great poetry, JP! I won't be able to get up there until at least mid-May, but in the meantime I am getting my daily dose of that beautiful mountain - can't wait to stand on Cliff Tops once again!

Comments are closed.

i don't who i am this year. my feelings are nothing but fear. my head, my heart open wide.

Ryn
R.

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i don't who i am this year. my feelings are nothing but fear. my head, my heart open wide.

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Ryn
R.