Sugar Rush--2,000 Boxes of Cookies Required to Fuel LeConte Ascent

Once in a great while we're fortunate enough to be spectators for a spectacular sunset in the west and simultaneous lovely full moonrise in the east (that photo follows below).

Hello and happy Flag Day to everyone.  I'd also like to wish crew member Austin a happy birthday.  This is an eventful week for birthdays on LeConte, as Allyson (Sunday), Austin (Thursday) and Chrissy (Friday) all celebrate their entrance to the world.  Those are pretty long odds that three of our 10 crew members share birthdays within six days of each other.  By lunch, I'd already visited with an additional two hikers who were celebrating their birthdays today.  Perhaps June 14 is double-coupon day at the hospital's delivery ward.

We were pleased to welcome Girl Scout Troop 387 from Winter Haven, Fla., to LeConte Lodge Tuesday night.  The scouts and their leader seemed to be friendly and engaging folks.  The young ladies from the Sunshine State held garage sales and sold a whopping 2,000 boxes of Girl Scout cookies to help fund their trip to the Smokies.  These globetrotting scouts have also traveled to Switzerland and the Grand Canyon on troop trips.

After some hard-hitting investigative journalism and tough questioning, I got the scoop.  Among all the cookie choices, the Girl Scouts from Winter Haven like the Samoas best, followed by Thin Mints.  I will say with some pride that the scouts were enamored with crew member John's LeConte Lodge chocolate chip cookie bars, served as dessert for our guests after dinner.  That's a stout testimonial from ladies who rank as experts on the topic.  The scouts told me that their favorite things about LeConte Lodge were the hospitality, food and the view (although the weather didn't really allow them to see the full show of scenery).  We'd be glad to welcome them back on a clear day.

As far as the current weather goes, we've been hemmed in a cloud again almost all day.  We've seen the sun briefly, but not as much as I expected after listening to an optimistic forecast this morning while cracking eggs for breakfast.

Sometimes pursuing the sun on Mt. LeConte during a cloudy spell is a little like trying to date the homecoming queen; you hope she'll be happy to spend some time with you but she's often more elusive than you hope.  The high reached 59 degrees Wednesday with a low of 47.  We didn't record any rain, however, and that's progress.

Happy trails.

Turning around and leaving a fine sunset on Cliff Tops, our guests were treated to a full moon commandeering the eastern sky over North Carolina earlier in June.