life is like a song.

1/13/2012

"To live alone one must be a beast or a god, says Aristotle. Leaving out the third case: one must be both — a philosopher." Nietzsche

Morning,

As I woke up at 6:53 this morning, the tender glow emanating through my loft window could mean only one thing - snow! SNOW!!!! SNOWWWWWW!!!!!

Sorry, I had to get that out of my system. There is finally snow on Mt. LeConte. My snow dances (set to soul music) have finally worked. As Etta sings, at laaaaasssssssstttt...

There are 4 inches on the ground this morning. The high yesterday was 34. As the front pushed through, the temperature dropped steadily. I went to bed at 6 and it was 27. It was 2 and cloudy at observation this morning. The low was 1. It doesn't matter though, as it is as pretty and majestic as a degree can be. Thank you, winter. Better late than never.

441 is closed as of posting, but it sounds like the Park Service is working diligently as usual to get it cleared. You can follow their twitter feed for road closure information. Here is the link.

A belatedly happy winter to everyone. Looks like I can't wear my Tevas around camp today :)!

Devin R.

1/13/2012 01:11:49 am

wooooo hoooooo! Enjoy!

Ryan in Wisconsin

1/13/2012 01:25:58 am

Winter has returned to Wisconsin as well. Where I am we received 5 inches of new powder. A small town in the north part of the state is approaching 30 inches.

Words can't do justice for that picture. Enjoy the new powder on top

Debi link

1/13/2012 01:31:30 am

Your snow dance worked to well, we got a bunch up here this morn too in Michigan. All schools closed except Ludington. My son was bummed. Wecome back winter!

Donnie R.

1/13/2012 01:34:05 am

Not much on snow in the city, here in Ohio, but having it in the mtns. is a winter wonderland. Enjoy JP ;-)

Vicky Stanifer

1/13/2012 01:38:08 am

Have great time. Can't wait to be up there again in May or June (or maybe both!) Hope all the snow is gone by then :) :) :) Vicky

Sheldon

1/13/2012 01:39:56 am

Congratulations. I'll see you Sunday as early as I can get up there. If I wanted to drop you a middle Georgia care package, how do I go about doing that?

James W

1/13/2012 01:55:58 am

Good day JP, glad for you, we got a little dusting here in Ga. would love to hike up there!! but doing a hike sunday in the cohutta Wildernesss in north Ga Sunday with friends!! see ya soon! I got my res confirmed for two nights again in Oct but will do a day hike soon hopefully before you end your shift!!

Tony Ga

1/13/2012 02:19:32 am

James W: What trails do you hike in the Cohutta Wilderness? I am near there and thought of hiking there.

1/13/2012 05:42:44 am

Tony, I do them all, I'm over there almost every week favs are jacks river falls (im doing sunday) and hickory Creek Trail also! they are the two most popular, with the best views! my email is [email protected] there is no place like it if you have never been!

1/13/2012 10:14:44 am

I'm in the Dawson county area. We mountain bike too (Bull Mountain). Isn't there bike trails in there too? Will check out those trails. Thanks!

Marilyn

1/13/2012 02:02:36 am

Awesome pic! So glad you got what your little heart desired. Nice Etta James quote. We got about 2 in my hometown. wind blowing from west so its going from yard to yard. Not much to shovel. bitter cold. But it is nice to see all that white stuff and sit beneath my LeConte quilt and read about the Lions of the West while sipping my hot choc. That's my agenda for today. At least I've got a touch of the mountain with my quilt and hot choc. Enjoy, enjoy the snow!

Chris D

1/13/2012 02:32:33 am

Is your LeConte quilt made up of the t-shirts? If so what is your first year shirt on your quilt?

Rod

1/13/2012 02:35:06 am

I had to check. I thought this was the January 3rd photo again.

henry mitchell link

1/13/2012 02:53:47 am

...more wind in this one.

Henry Mitchell link

1/13/2012 02:50:36 am

Snow covers alike
The tracks of saints and sinners
On the wounded land.

1/13/2012 05:48:25 am

Love it, Henry.

joshua rimel

1/13/2012 03:00:15 am

My sister and i plan to hike up tommorow, aslong as the road is opened. Is there any thing u need, well let me know and we will c u tommorow.

SERGIO link

1/13/2012 04:15:58 am

keep doing the SnowDance JP ,,lean a wee-bit on the Pigeon Forge side of LeConte so we get some of the whit stuff ,,having grown up in Northern Indiana the piddly@$$ ~almost~ snow we get here in Tennessee is depressing & pretty pointless but every day I look up to LeConte & smile if I see the layer of white.
Keep warm & your socks dry buddy!

Pat N.

1/13/2012 04:31:58 am

Finally! Happy Snow Day, JP. Hope you get even more. A thicker, whiter blanket will really give you the true awesomeness of winter on LeConte. Enjoy!

Ella

1/13/2012 05:00:30 am

441 is closed :( Isn't nice to be up there not having to worry about the road closures, etc...

Marilyn link

1/13/2012 06:22:01 am

Chris D

Yes my quilt is made up of t-shirts I accumulated over the years.

I have 12 very large squares. I started going to LeConte in'76...don't think they had shirts then..my first few trips were backpacks at the shelter and not staying in the lodge. I made the quilt about 6 years ago from some quilts I had and the earliest is 1994. I have a couple shirts earlier than that but did not choose them to put in the quilt and unfortunately I didn't keep a lot of the shirts...wish I had. Did use one crew shirt which my daughter got when she crewed in '96. Since then I've been keeping the rest of my shirts so maybe I'll do another quilt in a few years with what I accumulated in the last 6 years. That way my daughter and son who've both been to LeConte will not have to fight over it.

Jessica

1/13/2012 03:29:02 pm

Hope you'll not mind me butting into your conversation, but my sister and I pieced a quilt (someone else quilted it) for our brother and his wife who has been taking our group to LeConte for 20 years. (Our first year was 1992). My sister designed the quilt which included a shirt from each of the last 20 years, 4 chosen group photos, and a center title panel picturing the dining hall. We were pleased with the way it turned out. We gave it to my bro and sil at a surprise 20th yr party this past fall.

Claudette

1/13/2012 06:31:36 am

Picture is beautiful. So happy that you got SNOW!

RADIO RON

1/13/2012 05:35:05 pm

GREAT PICS. YOU ARE LIVING THE DREAM. IM A RADIO BROADCASTER FOR ESPN. WITH THE PASSING OF MOM IM TRAINING TO THRU HIKE THE APPY TRAIL. DID MACAFEES KNOB OVER THE WEEKEND.... WOW WHAT A VIEW. SPRINGER GA. TO MOUNT KATADIN... THE JOURNEY OF 2,130 MILES WILL BEGIN WITH ONE [email protected] BLESSS

Stephanie Steele

1/13/2012 09:15:39 pm

We were the first to go up the trail yesterday in the fresh powder - never had I hiked in snow - what an experience!!!! It was the winter wonderland I have always dreamed of. One more item knocked from my bucket list. One thing I was not ready for was it was just as hard hiking to the bluff in snow as it was last October making it up Mount LeConte. I could have lived without the missiles of icicles dropping from the bluff. As they would hit the ground the sound they made was terrifying! Great memory and thanks for the Winter wonderland of fresh snow - one of the best days ever!

Doug Y.

1/13/2012 10:05:50 pm

JP, you're setting a higher standard for future winter caretakers with your excellent reporting, comments, quotes, and especially photos; Each day I thoroughly enjoy them as well as all the comments from the readers; all the posts share the common theme of great interest and love for the lodge experience; I'll be there for the last three nights of the 2012 season unless my knee surgery prevents it; I may postpone that until after I come to the lodge because I cannot bear the thought of giving up my reservations; but if there's someone who's never been there and wants my spots, well, I may give them up; Stephanie described those falling icicles accurately: missiles ! Yes, they make quite a noise; And Radio Ron: always nice to hear of someone training for the full A.T. It's been a very long time since I did it, but I will say I consider it a crowning achievement for me. Maybe again some day; Cheers.

Chris Altman

1/14/2012 01:11:20 am

Hey JP you are awsome at giving good reports and taking great pictures. I really appreciate it. I'm on my way up there now to get a peek at all the snow and get some awsome pictures just hope there some snow left. Hike safe.

hannah J

1/14/2012 02:59:52 am

enjoying the pictures snd comments.....daily moments with other lovers of Mt Laconte ...being a quilter, myself, I would love to have somewhere on this blog for pics and descriptions of the many Mt Laconte quilts that have been created over the years... :)

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life is like a song.

LeConte Lodge

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