Meet Woody

There have been some comments talking about Woody the llama. I thought I would share with you what brought Woody to be the LeConte mascot for the next few days. As you are all aware, it has been very hot down below. Monday was one of those extremely hot days. Heat exhaustion can effect animals just like people. Woody was having a difficult day. The llama wrangler stopped at every water source to let them drink, but you can not always guarantee that they are drinking as much as they need to. Woody gave up about a mile from the lodge. The wrangler did not want to push him so he came up to the lodge to let us know what happened and send the troops. The crew put together llama chow and a lot of water and took off down the trail. After a couple of hours the rest of the crew returned and left Doug to watch over Woody. Later that evening the mountain was hit with a large amount of rain and hail. Doug took his umbrella and held it over Woody so he would not get hurt. In the mean time, we called the vet and asked her opinion about what to do. She gave us several ideas and things to try. The crew and some wonderful guests hiked down to try and get Woody to drink. They massaged his hind legs and tried to get him to stand. Realizing he was not going anywhere, Chris decided to grab his sleeping bag and sleep on the trail with Woody. The next morning Nathan took off down the trail to sit with Woody for a while. Nathan, being the Willie Nelson fan, decided it was time to sing to Woody. After everything we tried, Woody decided to get up when he heard Willie being sung. He walked a little ways and then stopped. Nathan did not want to push him so he let him rest. Chris then hiked down to relieve Nathan. Chris got Woody to eat ferns and grass. This must have been what Woody needed. The next thing Chris knew, Woody was walking up to the lodge. After two days we got Woody up to the lodge and have been spoiling him rotten. He has become the LeConte mascot. The vet sent medicine for him, which he gets every day. The crew and guests have made sure he knows how appreciated and loved he is. I did want to add that we will be sending Woody back to the llama farm as soon as he is fully recovered. He knows how good he has it up here, but I