Good afternoon to all of you. This is Nathan, patching in for Allyson for a few days. It's been a wet Monday morning on the mountain and the rain is still falling as of early afternoon. The forecast Tuesday sounds pretty damp, too. On Sunday, we registered a high of 65 and low of 50 degrees with a scant 0.04 inches of rain dropped in an overnight shower. It's a safe bet we've multiplied that total already this afternoon. I talked to some nice folks whose extra dry socks got soaked in their backpack. I hope you can be the beneficiary of their damp lesson. I'm going to do something a little different with the two photos I'm posting today. We're going to test your trail knowledge a bit. The first person to correctly respond in the comments section with the correct trail and location where the photos were made wins LeConte Lodge bragging rights for the day. For tax reporting purposes LeConte Lodge bragging rights can be valued as priceless. The winner and/or correct answer will be revealed in Tuesday's post. One of the photos is a gimme to get you warmed up. The other is a little tougher. Again, try to be as specific as to the trail and location of the photo as you can. Both photos were taken on marked, publicly accessible trails in May. I hiked up from my June off days Sunday afternoon. I spoke with a park ranger patrolling the Alum Cave Bluff Trail parking lot who told me they had run across some rascal taking an inordinate amount of interest in cars that weren't his in the Laurel Falls parking lot (between Sugarlands Visitor Center and Elkmont). Please make sure you don't leave any valuables visible in your vehicle when you come to visit us. We don't have much trouble with guest vehicles being bothered, but I don't want that trend to end with you. It was good to see so many families out celebrating Father's Day with a hike on the trails of Mt. LeConte. Rhododendron and mountain laurel amplified an already beautiful trail. Everyone seemed to be faring fine, no tongues dragging the ground. However, I did notice most of the fathers carrying the family backpacks, so that must not have been part of their present. Thanks for reading. Happy trails. 
Brian N bama
6/17/2013 07:29:24 am
Alum cave at the bluff and then Alum cave trail just up past the bluff.
Patty Stevens
6/17/2013 07:34:54 am
Ditto to the above comment. Both the bluffs and on up the trail to the tree roots..... 6/17/2013 07:36:15 am
I think those are both on the Alum Cave Bluffs trail! I'm pretty sure I have a photo of my husband walking along the trunk of the fallen tree on our hike up to the Lodge a few weeks ago.
vicki towe
6/17/2013 07:46:56 am
Alum cave up near the Lodge is, where all the pine trees are that last little stretch?
Woody
6/17/2013 09:29:48 am
The first is at the upper end of the trail at Alum Cave Bluff. The second photo is on the trail above the Double Slide and below the Mossy Spring.
Brian N bama
6/17/2013 10:17:20 am
If you have been up recently, there are several other rootballs to navigate as well. Noticed those when I came up in May.
Debi
6/17/2013 12:01:22 pm
Ditto of what Brian said. If this is the rooted tree on Alum trail I stood under it while my husband took a picture of me. He actually ran past it. I'm not standing under that thing he said. Both him and my son thought it was going to drop and pile me into the ground. But then I haven't been up since last Aug. 5th. so it may be somewhere else. The other is the bluffs where my son tried almost took a dive off the bottom as he was going down. Went up in the air and landed on his back pack. Had a heck of a bruise on his hip. Everyone clapped as he stood up, scared the dickens out of me. This happened in 2009 and the mountain right there has changed so much.
tomk in SC
6/18/2013 12:59:42 am
Debi,
Joe M
6/17/2013 03:57:30 pm
As Nathan said, the first one is a gimme - Alum Cave Bluff trail at upper end of the bluff. Maybe all root wads look the same, but the second photo reminds me of an uprooted tree on the Boulevard Trail after it first departs from the AT on the way to LeConte..
Ronnie Tn
6/18/2013 02:21:04 am
Joe, I was thinking the same thing on the root ball. I took a picture of one on the Boulevard Trail just a couple weeks ago.
Holtknoblady
6/17/2013 04:56:25 pm
Alum Cave Bluff, of course. The root ball we also passed on our hike a week ago and it was pastmthe Alum Cave bluff on the way down. We ran into a bunch of rain on our hike down and I remember thinking it might be one of the only dry places around. But as Joe M said, maybe all root balls look the same.
Randy
6/18/2013 03:02:56 am
Trillium Gap Trail
Kent
6/18/2013 05:24:31 am
Yeah, I think I remember seeing that uprooted tree during my hike up Alum in April.
Tony Ga
6/18/2013 05:32:09 am
An extra pair of dry socks.
Kent
6/18/2013 06:18:54 am
Yep. I was just poking fun at a slightly awkward phrasing. I've been guilty of worse and writing is my vocation.
Tony Ga
6/18/2013 06:30:40 am
When you pointed it out I had to sit there and think about it for a minute, but it was funny. Comments are closed.
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