June 20, 2013

In August 2012, Bethany scaled Katahdin, the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail, in Maine.

Good afternoon to all of you.  Today I'm bringing back something I started last year--LeConte Lodge crew biographies.  We get lots of questions every day, and often they concern how we ended up working at the lodge.  I hope these introductions will give you a glimpse into a little of the back story.

Bethany Houghton, one of our first-year crew members, gets us started.  But first, I'll provide a weather update from Mt. LeConte.  Last night and this morning gave our guests something to write home about.  Wednesday's high reached 65 with a low of 46, just about perfect for this time of year.  However, aside from some blue patches every now and then, clouds have enveloped us since late morning.  As of 2 p.m., a few light sprinkles have been falling.

Now, I'll turn the introduction over to Bethany.
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Growing up, I've always been exposed to the outdoors and all the different affiliated sports and activities.  As a family we went  on a number of camping and backpacking trips each year, and I can only remember one vacation when we stayed in a hotel.  We always found great campgrounds to stay in when we went to the beach or Six Flags.

With those types of vacations as a starting point, my adventures expanded as a I got older.  The summer after my freshman year at the University of Tennessee I moved to Hawaii with two friends to explore the Big Island.

The next two summers I worked at a Christian outdoor adventure camp in Northern California called JH Ranch.  While there I was able to climb Mt. Shasta a few times, which had been a dream of mine ever since I saw it with my dad at the age of 16 after we attended a father/daughter session the the ranch.

Before returning to California for a second summer my dad and I rode our bicycles from our house in Knoxville, Tenn., to Fort Pickens in Pensacola, Fla.  The next summer we decided to ride bicycles from our house to the White House.  We've seen more of Highway 11 than we ever thought possible.

I was almost finished with school at UT when I decided to move to Maine for nine months.  I was in the Midcoast area for most of that time before going to work at a Girl Scout camp in Baxter State Park.  Before leaving I hiked up Katahdin a few times and was able to witness a number of AT through-hikers finish their trek.  That is a beautiful thing to witness.

I came back to Tennessee to finish my degree and graduated in December.  LeConte Lodge has been a big tradition in my family since I was 9, and when the opportunity arose to work here I was more than thrilled.
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The forecast for the weekend sounds promising so come on up and see us.  Happy trails.

In 2011, Bethany climbed Mt. Shasta in California.