Just a Little Rain

6/7/2013

The sand myrtle are in full in swing around Myrtle Point. Chris took a stroll yesterday afternoon to check it out. We had a rain shower around noon which cleared out later in the afternoon. The high yesterday was 62º with a low of 51º. It is currently raining cats and dogs. The link takes you to some interesting reading on the origin of the phrase. I thought you might enjoy a little lite reading on a day like today. Life on the mountain has been a little wet lately. It has been my experience that the more rain we get in the beginning of the season, the better the blackberry season we have. You will want to check with the National Park for current laws on picking berries. They may differ from park to park.

If you get out for a hike this weekend, make sure you have your rain gear. The tropical storm is making its way up the east coast and is making its presence known on our favorite mountain. Stay dry and happy and hiking.

doug y

6/7/2013 03:14:44 am

Nice photo of the sand myrtle. I have come to have a deeper appreciation of all the flora up there on the mountain, especially from re-reading my guide books on flowers in the Park.

jan

6/7/2013 03:35:37 am

LeConte Lodge (& GSMNP) just got a rave review on the TODAY show w/ Kathy Lee and Hoda.

debnfl

6/7/2013 03:37:34 am

Just watched the Today Show and YES they did a quick but wonderful segment of Leconte Lodge with of course... awesome photos! YEAH Leconte! I wonder if you'll be bombarded with visitors now?

Larry O

6/7/2013 04:41:19 am

Yes the photos were great and you are probably right about visitors. I feel very fortunate to live near this awesome place and able to hike there when I want to, usually about once a week, sometimes twice. I never get tired of this wonderful experience.

Leigh

6/7/2013 04:37:16 am

Beautiful myrtle! Hope I can make it up there while the rhododendrons are in bloom. Just saw the great feature on the Today Show. Short but very sweet and complementary segment on the Lodge. Sure makes me long to return to the beauty of the Smokies.

Cindy

6/7/2013 04:49:48 am

I just saw it on the Today Show too, and the pics were fantastic and warmly inviting! It was a great segment. Having just completed my first hike to the top of Mt. LeConte last month, it was THE most awesome hike I have ever done (and most difficult). Unfortunately, I did not have reservations at the Lodge but was able to enjoy the beauty that is beyond anything I could have imagined. I now refer to the views from atop LeConte as the "Grand Canyon of the Smoky Mountains". Just breathtaking and, like the real Grand Canyon, impossible to capture the majesty and enormousness in a photo so it has to be experienced in person! I plan to return again and again.

Guy

6/7/2013 04:50:45 am

Here is thelink for the Today Show about National Parks

http://www.today.com/video/today/52132142#52132142

Donnie R.

6/7/2013 06:17:05 am

Darn ! Call me selfish, but I don't want my favorite mountain bombarded with visitors ;) Love the solitude of a early morning hike to the top of Ole Smoky ! One more week baby...yipeee.

Tony Ga

6/7/2013 06:27:35 am

Didn't want to say it out loud, but I agree with you.

Larry O

6/7/2013 06:46:50 am

Donnie R. & Tony Ga, as is the case now, I think most visitors will use the Alum Cave trail. Donnie if you want solitude, I recommend Brushy Mtn. /Trillium Gap. I hiked it roundtrip a couple weeks ago, it is a pretty tough day hike but I didn't see anyone on the way up until I got to the Gap and didn't meet or pass anyone on the way down.

Donnie R

6/7/2013 07:16:54 am

Larry..I usually hike Alum, however next wk. I will hike Trillium for the first time. Looking forward to a different trek up my favorite mtn. ;)

tomk in SC

6/7/2013 08:50:32 am

Donnie: Make sure to take the short up and back to Brushy Mountain once you get to the Gap. It is well signed, but the trail to Brushy Mountain goes up opposite the trail that goes up to LeConte. I suspect the blossoms are done, but the trial up is like a tunnel and then you pop out in to open space.

Larry O

6/7/2013 07:24:29 am

Donnie, Once you get past Grotto Falls it is usually not crowded though you may meet a few folks on their way down. Hope you enjoy your hike.

debnfl

6/7/2013 08:33:34 am

May was our very first hike to the lodge. It was very peaceful so I kind of agree about the peace of no crowds. We hiked up Alum and it wasn't crowded at all, but it was a week day and I think some kids were still in school. We hiked back down Bull Head and saw 3 people... and a good ole rattle snake. Boy was it a quiet trail!

Larry O

6/7/2013 09:20:02 am

debnfl, I hiked down Bull Head this past Tuesday, the weeds near the bottom of the trail had been cut but the top half or so had grass and weeds beside the trail about halfway to my knees, I was wearing shorts and my legs itched for two days. I'm thankful I didn't run into your rattlesnake in those weeds.

Debi

6/7/2013 09:41:23 am

Great job at making the cut on the Today show Allyson. I was waiting for my husband to get a wisdom tooth ripped out and they had it on in the office. Thank God, because we don't get that channel at home. Still old school. All we get is CBS and FOX. I don't pay for tv. And as long as I get my news I'm good with it. But was so glad I got to see that segment. My husband was in the chair 3 minutes and they had the tooth out. Feeling pretty good so far.

doug y

6/7/2013 09:57:09 am

I'll have to add my thoughts to those of Tony Ga and Donnie R: I tell people about the lodge and always in a very positive light. I feel that everyone has the right to visit the Park and anywhere within it. However, and you can call me selfish, I, too, wouldn't want to see the mountain overrun with "tourists". One of the reasons Trillium Is my favorite trail, as I've said before, is that there are not quite so many people using it, especially above Grotto Falls. Yes, the short side trail to the Brushy Mtn. view is worth it. The hike all the way up to the lodge will "weed out" most folks. G'day

Leigh

6/7/2013 10:57:09 am

I agree with you, Doug Y. There may be additional "tourists" near the trailhead, but I don't think you have to worry about all of them making it to the top. Bless their hearts!

doug y

6/7/2013 01:12:51 pm

Your comment, Leigh, brought a smile to my face ! "Bless their hearts !" Very poignant statement indeed ! Truthfully, I actually sort of feel sorry for a lot of tourists because they will never know the great experience(s) they're missing by going only to, say, Alum Cave Bluffs, or Grotto Falls, or Rainbow Falls, or any of the many other destinations and waypoints in the Park. If they only continued they hikes beyond those places just imagine what they'd discover, but then, of course, those places would be terribly overcrowded. I suppose that some are simply not meant to go further than they do, and, naturally, not all are fit enough to do so. I have seen countless people n the Park, on most of the trails, hiking along gleefully, but so ill-equipped that it both saddens me and makes me wonder about them, out of concern for their safety to a great extent. So, it is as it is, and I'm glad to have such great people here to converse with about our favorite mountain and lodge ! Good evening !

Kent

6/7/2013 01:49:07 pm

Yeah, given the generally poor physical condition of the average American, I don't think there's any threat of a massive influx of hikers to Mt. LeConte. All you have to do is take the short .5 mile hike to the Clingman's Done observation tower on a summer afternoon to see I'm right. Folks way younger than me (50) are huffing and puffing so bad, and asking everyone they pass who's coming down that perennial question:

"Is it much further?" *pant, pant*

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Just a Little Rain

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