May 22, 2024

Good Afternoon,

It’s beginning to look and feel like summer now high above the Smokies. Bountiful sunshine graced the mountains today with only spotty clouds to briefly break up the brightness. As expected, the trails were quite busy all day with hikers young and old eager to make the ascent with such delightful conditions forecast. That said, there has been an obvious uptick in the temps, humidity, and haze, hence the whole feeling and looking like summer thing. 80s in the lowlands and 60s at the lodge gets to be the norm for much of June and July, so anyone with ambitions of climbing Mt. LeConte really need to start taking the adequate hydration and nutrition plan seriously going forward. And that process, to be done correctly, starts days before you ever hit the trail. Early starts to beat the heat, and numerous rest stops during the hike will go a long way in making your trek more enjoyable.

Speaking of summer in the south, the other substantial part of the equation includes isolated thunderstorms and rain showers most afternoons. With this heat and humidity settling in for the next few months, expect the weather forecasts to mention it almost daily. That’s exactly how tomorrow and the coming holiday weekend are shaping up, which may or may not play spoiler to certain Memorial Day events or family gatherings happening in and around the national park. Partly sunny with a chance for storms everyday. So pack the poncho and umbrella right alongside the sunscreen and snacks. Blustery winds will likely occur with any and every storm. Temps are going to swing between 50s and 60s at our elevation. We’re still a month away from the summer solstice, but there’s more than 14 hours of daylight nowadays with sunrise at 6:20 AM and sunset at 8:40 PM. Ample time for day hikers to comfortably make the hike up, take in the summit’s various vistas and inspirational sights, claim an increasingly popular 100th Season “I Hiked It” shirt from the gift shop, then safely make the stroll back down before the sinking sun even sniffs the horizon.

Have a great night.