Sept. 11, 2013

Matt enjoys the view in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

_Good afternoon to all of you.  Today I'm continuing the LeConte Lodge crew introductions with Matt Lowell, who is finishing up his first season on the mountain.  But first I'll catch you up on our weather.  Most of Tuesday's weather was nice, but we did see our first rain showers in a week.  We only tallied a trace of rain with a high of 69 and low of 47 Tuesday.  Wednesday has been dry thus far, but with more clouds this morning than in recent days.

Now, I'll turn the introduction over to Matt.

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Hello all,  

My name is Matthew Lowell.  This is my first season on Mt. LeConte and, so far, I am enjoying myself and grateful for the opportunity.

I was born on the Island of Guam and spent my childhood living in various parts of Asia and Africa.  As a family, we moved a lot and, because of that, I think adjusting to new places is in my blood.  After high school I moved back to the states to get my college degree.

I went to school in Jackson, Tenn., home to the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, an overabundance of chain restaurants and an uncanny knack for being hit by tornadoes.  While in Jackson I worked my way through college and crammed a four-year degree into four and a half years.  I studied public relations and graduated into an abysmal hiring period we now know as ‘the Great Recession.’

After graduation I moved to Nashville for several years.  While in Nashville I worked, played music, ate “Nashville Hot Chicken,” and received a free tetanus shot from the city when there was a city-wide flood in 2010.  A word to the wise—you never know when you might need to be current on your tetanus.  Before working at LeConte I worked for a company that created music for TV commercials.           

I was first introduced to LeConte in 2009 when a good friend of mine started working as crew here.  I came up to visit and, since then, working on LeConte has always been at the back of my mind.  During the winter of 2012 I started thinking about LeConte again and decided to apply for a job here.  I was ready for a change of scenery, so when general manager Tim Line offered me a job, I quickly accepted. 

I enjoy life on the mountain.  I hardly miss television anymore and aside from the convenience of paying bills online I do not miss having the Internet at my fingertips 24 hours a day.  Our days are busy but I still find time to read, write, play my guitar and beat other crew members at Yahtzee…especially Chris.

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Thanks to Matt for providing the introduction.  Allyson is scheduled to return to the mountain today, so I'll turn High on LeConte updates over to her.  Thanks for reading.  Happy trails.

Matt on his first trip to LeConte Lodge in 2009.