May 2, 2023

Good Afternoon,

It’s a sunnier second day of May over the mountains. A winter’s chill still clings to the upper reaches of the park, but there are far fewer clouds in the sky today than this time Monday. That will encourage what little remaining patches of ice pellets to melt away. We expect to surpass the freezing mark this afternoon, but winds will continue to hound us, gusting as much as 50mph today and tonight. Clouds should thicken later today and there are even chances for rain showers mixing with flurries overnight. We’ll anxiously wait to see what we wake up to on the ground Wednesday. A couple more days of cool conditions are ahead, then hopefully we can finally kick winter to the curb.

The NPS recently reopened Greenbrier all the way to Porters Creek. This means ambitious hikers can now utilize the Brushy Mountain Trail that provides access from Greenbrier to Trillium Gap. It’s a tad over nine miles in length from the lodge to that road’s end, so don’t pursue it without understanding what one’s getting into over such a climb and distance. Trail crews have also cleared the nearly 2.5 miles of Trillium Gap Trail that connects Cherokee Orchard to the upper parking lot for Grotto Falls along the one-way Roaring Fork. This, too, makes for a long trek when taken to or from the lodge, but is much safer than walking the road now that it’s clear of hazards.

​Have a great day.