these dreams of you. so real and so true.

3/6/2014

You only live once. Or a few times.

Morning y'all,

It's another beautiful, springy morning up top. The high yesterday reached 45 degrees. The overnight low was 29 degrees. It was 31 degrees and clear at 7am observation. The mountain received no new rain or snow and there is no snow remaining up top. The trails are pretty close to clear of ice, with only a few minor tricky sections remaining. If you are cautious, you should have no need for traction devices. Enjoy the day!

Remember what Thumper said, if you can't say nothing nice, don't say nothing at all...

Donnie R

3/6/2014 01:20:08 am

So very happy to have the comment section back..Thank You ;)
Beautiful pic this morning. Spring is in the air !

Ryan in Green Bay

3/6/2014 01:23:22 am

I am so longing for Spring. -13 here in wisconsin this morning and about 2 feet of snow on the ground that can go anytime. Making a road trip in two weeks with my 6 year old down to the Smokies can't come soon enough.

Paul B

3/6/2014 01:26:42 am

As much as I have grown to enjoy winter hiking, (due in part to your inspiring photos and posts), I am looking forward to a permanant thaw to take the seemingly never ending blanket of snow away and let the aroma of spring begin.
Thanks for another great season and enjoy your next stop in life's journey. Perhaps you have a blog there as well that we can follow and be inspired until November.

Papa Rico in Atlanta

3/6/2014 01:29:46 am

JP
I am so happy to have a chance to tell you how much I have enjoyed you photos and comments this year.
Thank you!

Tony Ga

3/6/2014 01:42:16 am

JP, thanks for keeping us entertained this winter. Happy Trails!

Larry O

3/6/2014 01:45:53 am

JP, I will miss your blog, I enjoyed meeting you at the Lodge and running into you a couple times on the trails. (You were doing the running) I look forward to reading your comments and hopefully visiting you next season. Take care and good luck on your next adventure.

Missy

3/6/2014 01:47:02 am

I've enjoyed reading about your stay at the lodge. I can't believe it's already March. Safe travels.

Rick Shepherd

3/6/2014 01:51:43 am

Happy Trails, JP.......Thank you for sharing LeConte with us!

Richard from MA

3/6/2014 02:04:40 am

Nice pics, JP. I'll miss your blog. What mountains are calling for the summer? the Whites? the Greens?

Sandra

3/6/2014 02:04:01 am

JP, Thanks for all the beautiful photos, quotes & observations! I wish you well wherever you're headed & hope you'll be back next winter. Take care & God bless!

Bill

3/6/2014 02:06:48 am

JP,
As always thanks for your winter tales and pics. Sorry you didn't get more snow. Enjoy your summer.

Steve D

3/6/2014 02:37:35 am

JP-It was so good seeing you last Sunday, and I wish you the best on your season in the Whites! We all look forward to having you back on our beloved LeConte next winter. For those of you who remember my past comments, my wife and I moved to Maui for 8 great months last summer but have now returned to Pigeon Forge where our heart and our home is. I got out and hiked the Alum Cave Trail last Sunday to the Lodge and was fortunate to run into JP and spent a few minutes catching up with him. I will say that it was a wonderful moment for me when I started out on the trail while it was still dark in the morning, and the sound of the water in the streams on the way up to Arch Rock is one of the sweetest sounds to my ears. Then as you pass Inspiration Point, the early morning sunlight is starting to come up over the eastern ridges, and as I approached the Bluffs, a startled Peregrine Falcon took off from a tree right in front of me! How cool that was! As I passed the double staircase, and began to ascend the upper side of the mountain I was of course treated to the fantastic views of the mountains that are part of the last 45 minutes of the hike. Arriving at the Lodge, getting to see JP and just enjoy the whole scene was good for my soul! It was so good to be back, as JP and I discussed, this mountain kind of gets into you doesn't it? I met two fine fellow hikers that day, and want to say hi to Frank and Jerry who I would be delighted to see again out there. Anyway, hello to all you LeConte lovers, and look forward to seeing as many of you as I can on the trails!

Scott

3/6/2014 04:36:53 am

Steve, the whole park is infectious to me. Ever since I found this bloga few years ago, it was my dream to make it to the Lodge. My wife and I did last April and I plan to be going up solo Saturday. Hopefully there will be some folks out with me. My wife has asked me what it is about Gatlinburg and the Smokies that has such a hold on me. Im always thinking about being there and thank God for websites that keep me informed such as this one. Hopefully Saturday I can spend more time up top. Lasttime we were kind of rushed to get off the mountain thanks to a storm getting ready to roll through. Glad you guys are back home!!

Tom P

3/6/2014 02:47:13 am

JP - Best of luck as you leave this mountain. Your posts are wonderfuly written and sincere. I look forward to them and will miss them over the summer. Safe travels.

Dianne

3/6/2014 02:56:52 am

Thank you for sharing your adventures this winter. Enjoy your next chapters, fair winds and following seas 'til next fall.

Tim 'O Thy

3/6/2014 03:08:06 am

Thank you kind sir.

Larry

3/6/2014 03:15:54 am

JP-Thanks for the photos and all your comments-Enjoy the Whites-
Hope to have you back next year, Good Luck!

Barbara Burnet

3/6/2014 03:28:16 am

JP - sending best wishes for wonderful adventures- safe travels
thank you for your awesome pictures, insightful comments
look forward to your return peace

Scott (NH)

3/6/2014 03:43:26 am

Will been nice reading your blog and nice photos. I just might run in to you in the Whites when out hiking. August will be my first trip to Mt.LeConte .

sunshine

3/6/2014 04:19:48 am

JP- thanks so much for a wonderful winter of commentary from a top the mountain, the quotes that invoked thought, and the pictures that helped filled the longing for the Smokies. I will miss your updates and such but I hope you have a wonderful adventure on the next mountain. I sure would love if you came back to LeConte next winter.

Scott A

3/6/2014 04:38:44 am

JP. thanks for another great job this Winter. Hope you enjoy where you are going and we hope to have you back in the Fall.

jean d

3/6/2014 04:50:52 am

JP, So glad the comments section is back up and running so that I can tell you how very much I have enjoyed your musings this winter. Beautifully written! Poetic! Would there be a chance you might be telling of your adventures through out the summer so we can read your account of further adventures? If so, could you post the site address here before you go?
My best friend who is not a computer person spent the night with me recently and I turned on "High On LeConte" and let her read many of your last accounts. She said, "I am in love" She just raved about your magical descriptive prose. Hope we get more of it next winter. Have great adventures in the Whites.

Joe

3/6/2014 04:59:34 am

I was afraid the comments would remain closed and I would not be able to say thank you for your posts. I look forward to reading them again next year.
THANK YOU!!

Ros

3/6/2014 05:24:42 am

JP...Enjoyed watching the intreview you did last Friday on the local news station.
Look forward to seeing your pictures next year.
Good Luck.

doug y link

3/6/2014 05:26:48 am

Good luck JP. I was wondering when the annual re-supply airlift will take place ?

Peppermint Pattie

3/6/2014 05:42:03 am

Thank you JP for all that you do for our beloved Mountain and Lodge. I enjoyed all your posts and photos. Thank you.
May God keep you safe; and have a blessed Summer. Please come home to Leconte next winter. I will pray for extra snow for you. ;)

Vickie

3/6/2014 05:45:45 am

I will miss your daily posts.. I am not a winter time girl but you inspire me to try to like it better. Thank you for your faithfulness to this site with the pics and amazing writing. I always enjoy reading it.I am going to try this hike for the first time this spring. Thanks JP your an inspiration !

cboone

3/6/2014 05:53:53 am

I enjoy your poetry,and all the good things you write about each day,and pictures.Reading your blogs is the way I start my day each morning and it doesn't seem complete if you are away.Good luck in the White Mts.We .were there in or R.V.in 1998 and most all the New England States.Wish I had gone to Le Conte when I first went to the Smokies(1958) and not waited uunti 9-11-11 because I am too old now.LOL Here's hoping you will be back in Nov.2014.

Pat Morgan

3/6/2014 06:29:56 am

Thank you for another season of beautiful pictures and thoughtful commentary. Hope you have a great summer. If you are back this November that would be a bonus!

Rick

3/6/2014 07:30:15 am

Thanks JP ,Comeback,Be Safe,GodBless

Brant

3/6/2014 07:48:17 am

JP... Good Luck on your next mountainous life adventure, and thanks so much for bringing us another winter of insight and inspiration from one of the greatest places in the world!

JEREMY BARNETT

3/6/2014 08:10:50 am

Thanks for all the wonderful pics and words throughout this winter. Hope you have a wonderful summer and stay safe. It would be great to see you back next winter. I hope you have one last snow as a going away present. COME ON SNOW!!!

Cincy Mark

3/6/2014 08:30:26 am

Like in the movie "It's a Wonderful Life", one never knows how another touches many lives. It is clear to me from the comment section, simple caretaker JP does this in many ways. He is the eyes, ears and mind for the many of us that dreams of being away from our place...and being in his. Thanks, be safe, and may all your travels be happy.

Foxgrape

3/6/2014 08:50:30 am

JP - Thank You for sharing some moments of your life on Mt. LeConte. You will always be remembered as a friend to many of us that follow this blog. May God Bless you in your walk of life.

Gozzlow

3/6/2014 09:10:31 am

Thank you for a wonderful season of photos and thought provoking quotes.

mark

3/6/2014 09:13:14 am

It was great to read your comments. Hoping you have a great summer and come back to the mountain again,

holtknoblady

3/6/2014 09:24:28 am

Thank you, JP, for your insightful prose and the awesome photography. Be good to yourself' and stay safe. I hope that memories of your winters spent here are sweet and bring your awaited return. Happy journeys!

Elisabeth

3/6/2014 09:49:11 am

All the best to you, JP! May your days and nights be filled with wonder ! Thanks for doing such a great job on the winter blog, and caretaking. I passed you last thurs (I think?) as I was coming down from the top, on Alum. You were leading a large group and I didn't want to slow you down, so I did not stop you to chat ! I am glad I get the chance to wish you well and thank you for all you do! THANK YOU!

Mountain Mimi

3/6/2014 10:21:05 am

Thank you so much for watching out for our beloved Mt. Leconte over the winter. When ever I look out my window and see this beautiful site I think of you and wondering what you are doing. LOL
Have a blessed summer and hope you are back HOME come fall.

Roi

3/6/2014 10:28:16 am

eating greens is a special treat. it makes looong ears, and great big feet. (but it sure is awful stuff to eat!)

Mary, Ohio

3/6/2014 10:33:12 am

So happy that the blog is back so we all can wish you much happiness and adventures in " The Whites"! I can't tell you how much I have enjoyed your writings and pictures. You really do bring the mountain to so many of us that can't get there ourselves. Hope you are back next fall. Happy Trails and many blessings to you!

Melissa G

3/6/2014 10:55:49 am

Thanks JP for all your wonderful pics and inspiring words and quotes this winter. Please be safe in your journey in the White Mtns. and return to us in the fall. God speed.

steve

3/6/2014 11:23:01 am

j.p. i have enjoyed your posts this year be safe in your travels.... thanks so much... steve

abbydoozer

3/6/2014 12:13:08 pm

Thank you for making me think, muse and smile. I love this mountain, too; and you bring it alive for me in a season I can't visit. Follow your spirit, listen to your heart, and do not entertain the "vapors" of those who have no heart. Hope to see you back again next year. Happy trails.

Chris and Tony

3/6/2014 12:16:29 pm

We have enjoyed sharing the season with you. Safe travels, happy trails to you.

Another Larry

3/6/2014 01:08:52 pm

Godspeed & Happy Trails from me, too, JP. Enjoy all you do for LeConte, and crossing paths with you on The Mtn, ...I still smile remembering how awestruck we were by the Frozen Rainbow Falls. ...might do again next year? Be sure to come back and see!

Shirley R. Smith

3/6/2014 01:24:07 pm

Your wonderful posts and photos bring back precious memories of my many hikes up LeConte. Many thanks and Take Care. Be Safe. Happy Trails.

Kevin Rowland

3/6/2014 02:26:54 pm

JP, I just love your obvious appreciation of Van Morrison!

Andrea

3/6/2014 02:58:44 pm

JP, life has been so hectic I haven't had many chances to check on your winter on the mountain, but my mom checks on you often. She doesn't like to post, so on her behalf I say thank you from both of us. Hope you have a great warm weather season and that we get to see you here again next winter. Also wondering if you are have an instagram or twitter you mind sharing with us so we can keep up with your adventures off the mountain. God bless you!

simi

3/7/2014 12:06:07 am

JP, your blog is the first thing I look at every morning..the pictures of LeConte are an amazingly peaceful way to start the day with a smile and your quotes make me more contemplative through the day. Thank you for the gift you bring us!

Lydia

3/7/2014 02:35:13 am

Thank you JP for another winter season from Mt. LeConte!
Blessings & safe travels to you as you begin your next adventure.
Hope you'll come back for Winter 2014.

Sharon

3/7/2014 05:20:39 am

Thank you JP for taking care of our mountain refuge!

Julie from Michigan

3/7/2014 11:03:08 am

Happy trails JP. Great job giving all of us a glimpse of LeConte this winter!

Comments are closed.

these dreams of you. so real and so true.

LeConte Lodge

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