 If the day and the night are such that you greet them with joy, and life emits a fragrance like flowers and sweet-scented herbs, is more elastic, more starry, more immortal — that is your success. Henry David Thoreau Morning y'all, It's another beautiful, clear morning up top. The high yesterday reached 32 degrees. The overnight low was 15 degrees. It was 16 degrees and clear at 7am observation. The mountain received some unexpected patchy snow yesterday, amounting to less than an inch total. It looks as though we'll be above the clouds again for a bit. Get out and enjoy it!  Top photo: Misty times on the Boulevard trail. Above: In the cloud at Apollo Overlook. Yesterday was another fantastic day above the clouds. Unlike in the White Mountains in summertime, where the clouds seem to reliably burn off a few hours after the sun starts churning, I've found it difficult to predict just what the undercast has in store during Smoky Mountain wintertime. It is a pleasant realization when I re-discover (seemingly every morning) that I have no idea what the weather or the day has in store for me. It is all new, every day, all the time.
JP
1/17/2015 03:11:23 am
Scott,
Richard Betz
1/16/2015 02:26:34 am
Your quote reminded me that the Welsh have a saying: Anyone who sleeps on top of the mountain comes down a poet, or a madman.
Kent
1/16/2015 02:28:22 am
I think I'm a combination of the two. ; )
JP
1/17/2015 03:12:06 am
You guys are too kind! Thanks for the encouragement!
ric
1/16/2015 03:15:23 am
as long as it stays new, you will continue to be a rich man
Franklin
1/16/2015 03:28:24 am
I think this describes JP quite well. "To know how to say what others only know how to think, is what makes men poets or sages .
Jan
1/16/2015 12:38:55 pm
You're right... that does describe JP well!
Richard Betz
1/16/2015 03:44:43 am
“I don’t mean to sell the poet at such great length, but I do this principally because the world doesn't esteem the poet very much. They don’t understand where we are coming from. They don’t understand the use for us. They don’t understand if there is any use. They don’t really value us very much. [But] we are the masters of the secret, not they. Not they. Remember that when you write.” - James Dickey That is a beautiful and well-crafted video. I liked the sections around the headwaters of Trout Branch, where the cables are and folks get afraid of falling, not realizing that a fair number of people have climbed UP that way from the stream valley. l also liked the shot at around 6:42 looking at a big landslide scar and bluff. That is another great off-trail route off of Styx Branch. In the six years since I've moved back to the Smokies area from the northeast, I'm glad that people in this area have finally latched on to the idea of microspikes instead of yaktrax or instep crampons. Well, microspikes still aren't as good as real crampons but they're a heck of a lot better than the two options I just mentioned.
Barbara
1/16/2015 02:44:34 pm
Sorry, I must have missed something but what video? It sounds beautiful and would like to see it. Thank you.
norman
1/16/2015 02:55:51 pm
I missed the video also Barbara. Would like to see it too!
Jan
1/16/2015 12:44:20 pm
Someone posted a video of their hike up to the top of LeConte today. They went up the ABC trail, I could tell because of the cables, and the views. What you've been saying about the ice, they got on video! I think one would be very foolish to try that without traction devices!! All I kept thinking was "I wonder how many will be rescued from falling and injuring themselves?" Still absolutely beautiful, but it demands respect. And a little common sense!
Barbara
1/17/2015 12:08:39 am
Jan, thank you. You don't happen to have the web site or is it on u tube.
Jan
1/17/2015 07:39:23 am
The website is GoSmokies.com, and it's "Icy hike up LeConte".
Richard Betz
1/18/2015 01:09:33 am
Right, the video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCl0ZRwxTno I have hiked up many many times but never in conditions like this, nor have I seen the sky so absolutely clear and brilliant! 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
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