Hello to all of you. First off, I'll provide a trail and weather update before wrapping up the last of the season's crew introductions with my own. Wednesday turned out to be a milder day than we were expecting. The sun shone brightly all day and the winds diminished for a pleasant day on the mountain.
We were lucky to experience a temperature inversion last night, sending the temperature rising rather than plummeting to the forecasted teens. Our high was 35 degrees, which we reached just before sunrise this morning. In an odd note, at 5 a.m., LeConte Lodge and Atlanta shared the same temperature. The official low for the day was 8 degrees, which occurred just after the morning observation on Wednesday. There's still a couple of inches of snow on the ground at LeConte Lodge. The forecast calls for a nice Thursday as temperatures edge back to a more seasonal norm. The biggest issue will be tough conditions on all the trails leading up to LeConte. Some of the snow melted under Wednesday's sun, and all of that liquid refroze during the night. As you all well know, hiking in snow offers better traction than hiking on ice or packed slush. While the weather forecast is improving, I'd plan on a few more days of tough trail conditions as the ice continues to make hiking difficult in the top mile to the lodge. Our general manager, Tim Line, who has hiked the Appalachian Trail and likely hiked LeConte more than 1,000 times called to say his hike down Wednesday was more slippery than he expected, not words he uses often. He recommends all hikers use traction devices until the conditions improve. That being said, all the hikers we expected arrived at the lodge in time for supper Wednesday. With the official business of weather and trail updates complete, I'll finish with my crew introduction. Brevity is not my strong suit (hard to decide what parts of your life weren't important enough to include), so you can skip the rest if you wish. ---------- I'm Nathan Kirkham, the assistant manager of LeConte Lodge. I'm wrapping up my third season on the mountain after also working in 2010 and 2012. I was raised in Rockwood, Tenn., and enjoyed a wonderful childhood growing up on Watts Bar Lake and rambling the ridges. My mom, Betty Jane, and my dad, the late Dick Kirkham, made sure my younger brothers Sam and Lucas and I spent plenty of time outside camping and enjoying life in Rockwood. I graduated as Rockwood High's valedictorian in 1994. I've visited all 50 states, but Rockwood's my favorite place, though LeConte's on the short list. During my time off LeConte, I like being home and visiting my aforementioned family plus my nephews, Grant (6) and Colton (3). The seeds for everything worthwhile I've ever done were sown in Rockwood by family, friends, the First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), teachers and coaches. Rockwood gave me wings and a safe harbor to come home when it was time to land. The Key to the City of Rockwood is still one of my most cherished awards. I attended the University of Tennessee and immediately began working 50-60 hours a week to pay for my education. I ended up working 12 years (1994-2006) in the men's sports information office in the UT Athletics Department and still help out in the press box on a contract basis for most home football games when my schedule allows me to hike off LeConte. I've read that the golden age of any organization is when you were there, and that makes a lot of sense. However, I really was fortunate to be part of a winning tradition at Tennessee, serving on the publicity team for the 1998 football national championship team and directing media relations efforts for the 2001 NCAA outdoor track and field and 2002 NCAA indoor track and field champions. I was honored to be presented with national championship rings by all three of those title teams in appreciation for my contribution. I particularly enjoyed my assignment to the Tennessee track and field team (a fine group of athletes and coaches), where I served as the first publicist for future Olympic gold medal winners Justin Gatlin (100m, 2004 Athens) and Aries Merritt (110m hurdles, 2012 London), who is also the world record holder. Also while at Tennessee, I coauthored a book about Tennessee football tradition with Mike Griffith, formerly of the Knoxville News Sentinel, and Peyton Manning (foreword), quarterback of the Denver Broncos and Super Bowl XLI MVP. Peyton was also a pleasure to work with during his days as a Tennessee Volunteer. I think my professional work also helped me academically because I knew it was paying for my degrees. I earned my B.S. in journalism/public relations concentration, finishing as the top graduate in the College of Communications for spring 1999. If memory serves, Peyton Manning finished as top graduate for my college a couple of springs before and skewed our graduates' starting salary averages. I brought the starting salary average back down to Earth, but living most of it has been plenty interesting. It took a while because I was working lots, but I earned my M.S. in communications/public relations concentration in 2005, graduating with a 4.00 GPA. Then things really got interesting. After my dad passed away at the beginning of my senior year of high school, I learned the hard lesson that you're not guaranteed a chance to do all you want in retirement. So I hatched a plan to do some of the adventurous things I'd been dreaming of since I was a boy while my body would still let me. It was hard leaving a career track at the university, especially because I worked with some of the finest people ever to grace the Volunteer State. Since I left UT, I have worked as a horse wrangler in Hawaii (2007), Colorado (2007 and 2008), Alaska (2009) and Wyoming (2011 in Yellowstone). In Hawaii, I most remember a branding we had on the foothills of Mauna Kea on the Big Island. Almost everything was a highlight at Cherokee Park Ranch in Colorado, though it's hard to top helping our neighbors round up their cattle on horseback in the Front Range of the Rockies. Riding for Cherokee Park Ranch might have been the best job of them all. In Alaska, I most remember having to ride with a .44 magnum strapped to my chest (I never had to use it) in grizzly country while taking out moose and Dall sheep hunters on horseback. My most vivid memory in riding for the Canyon Corral in Yellowstone National Park was when a bull bison charged out of the pines after me when I was on the ground trying to repair the reins of my wonderful horse, Raven. Even with no way to steer or stop Raven, I jumped up in the saddle and took off in a hurry. Raven saved my bacon that day (among others). Raven is the best horse I've ever worked, and he deserves his long winter vacation in Montana. I've taken on a few more adventurous jobs I really enjoyed. In 2009, before I left for Alaska, I spent the spring semester working at an environmental education center for elementary and middle school kids. I did everything from pass around ball pythons in the herpetology class I taught to helping belay and coach scared kids on our high ropes elements. In spring 2011, I worked as a crew trainer at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center's Space Camp in Huntsville, Ala., teaching space science and teamwork to kids from around the world. I most remember being assigned with another crew trainer to take charge of a group of Puerto Rican students for a couple of days who couldn't get home after the disastrous tornadoes tore through Alabama in late April 2011. We didn't have lights, hot water or hot food, and the rest of Space Camp was shut down, but those Puerto Rican students graduated on time under the space shuttle. I was honored to receive the Right Stuff Award for my winter training class, an award given to commemorate the qualities of the first U.S. space pioneers. I worked in January and February 2012 at McMurdo Station in Antarctica. I worked in the galley doing some rather unglamorous jobs, but I got to spend about seven weeks working at the end of the world. I was happy to be there. I was awarded the Antarctica Service Medal by the United States government for civilians (me) and military members who support U.S. science exploration on The Ice, the most difficult of continents. The medal probably didn't cost $2 to make, but I'm proud of it. I left Antarctica and returned straight to LeConte for the 2012 and 2013 seasons, where I've been fortunate enough to work with great people and meet the best guests in the Smokies. In between the 2012 and 2013 LeConte seasons, I was happy to return to Yellowstone to work as a winter guide, learning to drive three different types of snow coaches while introducing guests from across the globe to winter in the world's first national park. Like the Smokies, Yellowstone maintains quite a hold on my imagination. Allyson and Chris should return from off days this afternoon, so this should be my last High on LeConte update of the season. Thanks for reading and for being so friendly when you stop by to visit at the lodge. Happy trails.
Ronnie_Tn
11/14/2013 01:59:18 am
Nice picture. Thanks for all your help Nathan. You all are a great team on our beloved Mountain.
Tom Clemmons
11/14/2013 02:15:36 am
Thanks Nathan, and to all the crew. You have been around the block! I read the log every day. Will miss you. BTW...I just booked my overnight stay at the lodge for April 23, 2014. Very much looking forward to that! I'm a 70 year young guy who just lost 40 pounds, got a very good A+ from my doctor just recently, and will be ready for the climb!
Tracy G
11/14/2013 02:51:55 am
I have truly enjoyed your posts. Thank you for sharing your adventures. You have certainly done some amazing things! I have enjoyed all the crew introductions. Have a blessed rest of the season. Great life story Nathan. You've done a lot which makes your life tremendously fulfilled. For me, and I've been around a bit myself, such experiences are what constitute a "good" life; I wouldn't trade a single one of mine for riches of any amount. Once I get through my upcoming knee surgergy, and acquire a couple of nights at the lodge next season, perhaps you and I can sit down and share some of our "adventures", provided you're back next season, and I hope you are. Have a great day !
Al Lyerly
11/14/2013 04:05:08 am
Great life story. I always enjoy your writing. Sounds like a book opportunity for the future.
Steve D
11/14/2013 03:44:43 am
Great stuff Nathan-your life is a great example of the BIG ADVENTURE! I am so glad you are doing all that you are, no regrets there thats for sure. See ya next year.
Debi
11/14/2013 03:53:15 am
One life you can be very proud of. Thank you Nathan for sharing.
Pat N
11/14/2013 04:57:23 am
I love the pics and your fabulous, impressive life story. What a guy! Enjoy the remainder of your days at LeConte for 2013 and God Bless you wherever future trails may lead you.
Susan B
11/14/2013 05:07:02 am
Nathan,
Spencer Davis
11/14/2013 05:17:59 am
Nathan,
RJnLA
11/14/2013 11:33:07 am
WOW!! WHAT A LIFE. You have had more adventures and seen more in less than 20 years than most could do in several lifetimes. I envy you for all you have accomplished.Just imagine how wide eyed your grandkids are going to be oneday sitting around a campfire listening to "grandpa" telling them of all he has been so fortunate to see and do.Hopefully you will pass your free spirit and courage on to your kids. I have enjoyed your post as so many others have when Allyson is enjoying her off days.
Kent
11/15/2013 03:05:01 am
Impressive resume, Nathan. I admire a free spirit who follows his heart and passions. Comments are closed.
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LeConte LodgeWelcome to the official blog of LeConte Lodge. We hope you find the information provided here both helpful and enjoyable. Thank you for visiting the site, and we hope to see you on the mountain! Archives
January 2025
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