March 17, 2018

Good Afternoon,
     It has been a busy few days to say the least.  Airlift operations consumed camp for Thursday's entirety and we were able to complete our resupply before dusk.  Yesterday and today have been spent by the crew getting this place ready to open.  Moving, reorganizing, cleaning, stocking, displaying, all done ten fold.  The weather has been quite favorable in recent days thanks to a welcome warming trend.  Our day time highs have been in the 40's and our lows barely tab the freezing mark.  A brief shower this morning dropped 0.1" of rainfall on the mountain.  Our remaining snow depth is about 4" with a great deal of melt soggying up the footpaths.

     Now that we have our supplies, it takes a team effort to get all of our newest merchandise stocked and displayed.  So what better time to unveil the famous LeConte Lodge "I Hiked It" T-Shirt for the 2018 season!  This year's design was conceptualized by General Manager, John Northrup, brought to life by our long time and incredibly talented artist, Lisa Line, and eventually fine tuned by our friends from American Graffitee of Knoxville, TN.
     It offers a new spin while also bringing back a few old school themes from shirts past.  On the left chest, we've taken a break from our traditional Dining Hall logo and incorporated an immaculately drawn kerosene lantern with name and elevation.  The grand design bounces to the back this year, as the map of the mountain makes its return, last used in 2009.  Instead of the map flying solo, it's been partially framed by a previously used font, a spruce tree, and a hiker admiring the view from Cliff Tops.  As you can see from the samples above, the shirt color you prefer may offer up a different color font, map, or tree.  Great variety for all to choose from!

     The rest of the merchandise lineup has several of our visitor's favorites back for another year, but not without a few new faces on scene.  This year's ornament features a hiker relaxing on a porch with a delicious cup of hot chocolate.  There's a new color in the wicking shirts and caps.  Plus, check out that new tie-dye llama sticker!

     When we open our doors on Monday, March 19th, all of these items and more will be available for purchase on the mountain.  So come on up and add to your collection of awesome LeConte Lodge swag!
     Have a great weekend.