oh this city's changed so much since i was a little child. pray to god i won't live to see the death of everything that's wild.

1/6/2014

I always figured there were two ways to go. You can die from living, or you can die from just dying. Bison Dele

Morning y'all,

It's a stunning morning up top. It's a chilly day up top, be prepared for full on winter conditions if you intend to summit! The high yesterday reached 43 degrees. The low dipped down to 2 degrees. It is currently 3 degrees and lightly snowing up top. The mountain received 1.17 inches of liquid precipitation during the day, before it started snowing overnight. There's about an inch of fresh, gorgeous powder and 3 inches total. I would bet that the trails will be rather nasty. It was melting a lot yesterday, so it must have refrozen in all sorts of tricky, unpredictable ways.

The mountain is coated in wintry newness and the silence beckons. I'll be out exploring, trying to capture images that will hint at the glory up top. It's a shadow of an imitation, but I hope it will help to convey some of the majesty. We are blessed vessels for beauty and opportunity.

Rick Shepherd

1/6/2014 02:20:13 am

Looking forward to your photos, JP..... I'm near housebound until my back recovers and I can get back to hiking!.......Thank You!

Stephanie

1/6/2014 02:24:40 am

Yes, we are a blessed vessel and so thankful you are there to share it with us!!! Have an awesome day on your adventure into the wild.

Onedoey

1/6/2014 02:34:02 am

Be careful as you adventure out in the cold. I know it must be a sight to see. I like your photo today JP. Hope you enjoyed your days off the mountain.

Dan

1/6/2014 02:31:24 am

For once in winter time it is actually colder in SW Ohio than on top of old Smokie. Thanks for the reports and have a great walkabout.

dan waits

1/6/2014 02:31:51 am

blessed vessel? hmmmmm...

there's a 4' x 8' mirror right across from our shower, which leaves nothing to the imagination.

trust me, after spying myself after my shower of a few minutes ago, I might have trouble thinking I'm a "blessed vessel" !!!

hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!

(btw, I really enjoy your blog!)

JanL

1/6/2014 02:59:00 am

That's funny! If I had "spied" myself... the words Blessed Vessel wouldn't make it passed the screams!

It's a heat wave where I'm at! A nice -4 !!! I would still love to see the ice on LeConte though. Gotta be something. Love the pic this morning!!!!

Tony Ga

1/6/2014 03:18:40 am

LOL dan waits. I have been called a big vessel before.

Brian N bama

1/6/2014 02:52:03 am

Man I wish I was up top. Really wanted to come up and do a day hike today or tomorrow but no such luck. Once again, my timing on being able to come up has failed me. I will hopefully get one in soon though.

Steve D

1/6/2014 03:02:03 am

Brian N Bama-I hope you do too! I miss my winter hiking, what an incredible display of beauty and the still quiet of the mountain is amazing in the winter. Have good one.

Kent

1/6/2014 03:17:37 am

I'm still hoping to summit next Sunday or Monday. The extended forecast calls for rain, unfortunately. A warming trend might make the drive possible. I'll just have to wait until the end of the week to see how it looks, I guess.

Mtn Rose

1/6/2014 03:13:10 am

Thank you for your updates. I would so love to make it on a trail today, but the temps are too low for me.
Wonderful picture this morning. It gives one a feeling of actually being there.

Tom C

1/6/2014 03:42:31 am

Thanks JP. Please be careful in this kind of weather. Ask a favor....I suspect you'll be reporting one of the lowest temps recorded up there tomorrow morning (Jan 7). Could you, if you have the data, report on the record low at the Lodge with that report? Appreciate it if you can. Thanks.

doug y link

1/6/2014 03:48:28 am

When I came here earlier this morning there were no comments, just that good photo of the cabiin porch, nice; Looks like everyone in the region has been affected by the cold, etc. Here, it takes little snow and ice to close the schools, and I doubt they'll be open tomorrow. Yes, dan waits, I think I know how you feel; I try not to look in any mirrors these days. You see, my body was blessed by Mother Nature, but cursed by Father Time !! Now if I was closer to the Smokies right now, I'd be out on a short hike if the Park didn't have the roads closed, which they seem to do quickly whenever there's any snow or ice; just doing their job to protect people. I've made an offer on a little place in Gatlinburg, so perhaps I could be residding there later, at least as a second home. Nice to read all the comments this morning ! G'day

Tanya

1/6/2014 11:21:01 am

Hey Doug Y...how much snow did you end up with? We've got about 4 inches here in Pike County...roads are terrible!! That's great about having a place in the Smokies...we have seriously been thinking about that too, in the Cosby area.

doug y link

1/7/2014 12:03:54 am

Hey Tanya: We received somewhere around an inch it looks like; not much like up on Leconte I'm sure, but that and the bitter cold closes the schools; sort of like in the Park, it doesn't take much snow to close the roads. I did look some on the Cosby area and haven't ruled it out; in fact, this coming year I have plans to hike a bit more around there as well as up to the lodge a couple of times. Got to get those books about that place. The lodge looks rather mysterious at times with the snow and ice covering everything. Beautiful !

Debi

1/6/2014 03:59:31 am

Nice screen saver today for me. Thanks. 1 degree and having a blizzard up here in Michigan. Yeahhhaaa!!

Elisabeth

1/6/2014 05:24:38 am

GORGEOUS! Be safe everyone! It is 15 in the valley (Sevierville) but wind chill is nasty. I was going to drag my hubby to the top tomorrow (day off) but Jack Frost may deter me! brrrrrr Thanks for the pics....you have my dream job!!!!

Mary F

1/6/2014 08:19:48 am

Wow, but glad I am not there! Much too cold for me and most others, I would imagine. Beautiful photo, as always, and welcome back JP, stay safe!

Julie

1/6/2014 10:14:10 am

Beautiful post as always JP. We are snowed in here in lower Michigan, 18" of new snow in my back yard.

jean d

1/6/2014 11:32:35 am

So cold!!!! It's 6 degrees here in N Knox county at 19:24 hrs (7;24PM). Scary temp. Hope the electricity stays on through tonite. Have had a fire in the fireplace most of the day so its been comfy. Have kerosene lamps too so will be ok if the power goes off but because the furnace has run a lot today to keep the temp up to 71deg inside sure hope the power will stay on. Will turn the thermostat down to 66deg at bed time, Hope you stay warm JP.

Glad you are back - hope your holiday outing was great! Missed you!

Mike

1/7/2014 12:17:05 am

The high yesterday here in central IN was -10. Yes, that's a minus in front of the 10 so I can't feel too sorry for you southerners. Wind chills have been in the neighborhood of -40.

Val

1/7/2014 12:33:15 am

-4 in Gatlinburg this morning, can't wait to hear the temp up top!

Juanita

1/7/2014 12:32:27 am

Oh my goodness gracious, that's cold! It was 83 in Coral Gables yesterday.

Steve

1/7/2014 01:12:02 am

-18 on Beech Mtn. -12 in Boone area.

Comments are closed.

oh this city's changed so much since i was a little child. pray to god i won't live to see the death of everything that's wild.

Ryn
R.

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oh this city's changed so much since i was a little child. pray to god i won't live to see the death of everything that's wild.

RynR.

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Ryn
R.