 Hello Friends and Neighbors! Well, that greeting may be pushing it a little bit, since all of the roads and the Park have been closed for almost a week. So I guess that my closet neighbor must live in Gatlinburg, which would be about ten miles away on foot! The Lodge still has ten inches of snow and experienced -4 degrees temperatures last night. I had one visitor yesterday—a backpacker from Louisville, KY, came up Rainbow Falls Trail, arriving at the lodge at about 6:30 PM. I think that he had a 15 degree, 600 fill power sleeping bag. When he discovered that the temperature was already -5 degrees, and the tarp on the front of the shelter had been blown down by the wind, he quickly decided that he was a day hiker, and walked back down the trail, arriving at his vehicle at about midnight! It was cold enough last night in the kitchen, which is heated, that large pots of water froze to the bottom of the sink. Since temperatures yesterday never rose above 5 degrees, I spent much of the day inside the kitchen and tried baking apple cobbler. It turned out well! HAPPY TRAILS!! WILDCAT/Bert 
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 Good Morning, Everyone! Cold and clear, and all of the roads are closed! That just about sums it up! The morning temperature today is eight degrees below zero (- 8 degrees)—the lowest temperature that the lodge has experienced thus far this winter. Yesterday the mountain received about two inches of new snow, making the current snow level about ten inches. Now that the snow has stopped and the skies are clear, today’s first project should be to clear the accumulated snow off decks and steps before it becomes packed and frozen. Having sunshine today will at least make it to seem warmer outside! HAPPY TRAILS!! WILDCAT/Bert   GOOD MORNING, FOLKS! Well, as expected the Park is still closed. So naturally the roads to Mt LeConte trailheads are closed. At the present time we are receiving a light freezing rain at the lodge. This is creating a thin crust of ice on the snow. The temperature this morning is 18 degrees. Colder temperatures and additional snowfall are predicted. “Cleaning the privy” takes on a whole new meaning in winter weather such as the lodge is experiencing now. First you must shovel the snowdrifts away from outside the door to make it possible to open the door. Then you must shovel the snow out of the privy—where fine snowflakes have blown under the door, creating snowdrifts inside. Once all of this is accomplished, sweep the remaining snow out of the privy. Then, last but not least, replace empty toilet paper rolls as needed. Then hurry back to the kitchen and warm up by the stove! I love winter on the mountain! HAPPY TRAILS!! WILDCAT/Bert   HELLO EVERYONE! Surprise! The weather is relatively warm up here this morning—the current temperature is 22 degrees. That’s 24 degrees warmer than at the same time yesterday. The skies are fairly clear. Meanwhile, the roads down below are not clear! All of the roads in the park remain closed at the present time. The weather service is predicting an additional 4 to 6 inches of snow for tonight, with another round of rain and ice mixed in for the lowlands once again. Don’t be surprised if roads around East TN, not just the park, remain hazardous in the coming days. Well, I’d better get out and change the date on the sign—one never can tell when some very determined hikers will start arriving! HAPPY TRAILS!! WILDCAT/Bert   GOOD MORNING!
The temperature is sub-zero on Mt LeConte this morning—minus 2 degrees, to be exact! Clear and COLD! The Park is still closed this morning. Visitor Centers May open later in the day, but roads are still closed. Yesterday’s morning temperature at the lodge was 25 degrees—this morning the temperature is -2 degrees! I didn’t see any hikers yesterday. I went up to Cliff Tops yesterday afternoon to observe the sunset. It was a strange feeling—being REALLY alone. Breaking trail thru 10 inches of snow! There was no wind at Cliff Tops—only silence. The clouds were more fascinating than the sunset. There was an inversion and the sun and I were above a fascinating layer of clouds. Difficult to describe—almost a religious moment! I wish that you could have been there to experience it with me! HAPPY TRAILS!! WILDCAT/Bert  Good Morning, Friends! First of all, I’ll try to answer your questions: There are about ten inches of snow on the ground at Mt LeConte Lodge this morning. The temperature is 25 degrees. The Park and, of course, most of its roads are closed again today, as is our reservations office. I understand that the roads down below are icy, so my advice is to not take any unnecessary risks! The first thing that I’m going to do after I compose this blog will be to clear the snow off my porch and the steps between my cabin and the kitchen. Once that’s done I plan to get out and do a little exploring in this beautiful winter wonderland! Cold temperatures are being predicted so there is sure to be some of the white stuff left for you to see after the Park is opened! Please stay safe and warm! HAPPY TRAILS!! WILDCAT/Bert   HOWDY! Wind and snow! Snow and wind! The morning temperature at the lodge is 26 degrees. Yesterday’s high and low were 28 and 10. “Significant accumulations” of snow are predicated —I think that means possibly eight inches. So most park roads and facilities are closed today, and also because it’s the MLK holiday. Our reservations office is closed unexpectedly due to the inclement weather affecting life outside the national park as well. Prospective guests who had balances due today will have their reservations held through Friday, so no worries there! There were a few day hikers sighted on the mountain yesterday—I’m expecting even fewer today! This seems like an excellent morning for a cup of freshly brewed hot black coffee, accompanied with a bacon egg and cheese biscuit. As usual I’m listening to classic Bluegrass music on the radio. I was surprised yesterday morning when the station dedicated an entire set of Bluegrass Gospel music to “WILDCAT—up there on top of Mt LeConte.” It made me feel “Special “! I hope that y’all stay warm and safe! HAPPY TRAILS!! WILDCAT Bert   Another Chilly Morning On LeConte!
It’s currently 17 degrees up here. The temperature yesterday ranged from 10 to 19 degrees. Not warm enough to melt much snow! The roads are still closed. Additional snowfall is being forecast. A Winter Storm Warning goes into effect from 1:00AM this evening through 7:00AM Tuesday, calling for high winds, frigid temps, and snow accumulation of several inches at all elevations. I was able to observe another nice sunset yesterday—no clouds! After three days of solitude I saw two people—two hardy backpackers from the shelter joined me at Cliff Tops to watch the sunset. This is apparently their first winter backpacking trip—I hope that they are well prepared! I was actually anticipating single digit temperatures last night, so before going to bed I added another blanket. I was warm and cozy and slept very well! Be prepared and stay warm! HAPPY TRAILS!! WILDCAT/Bert  GOOD MORNING FOLKS!
The roads are closed. VERY high winds yesterday. The weather station atop nearby Cove Mountain reported gusts upwards of 105mph at times! The wind has since died down this morning. Current temperature is 11 degrees. Still 4” of snow on the ground. Trails are very icy. Please use traction devices!! It’s good to see a little sunshine after a cloudy, windy, wet day yesterday. HAPPY TRAILS!! WILDCAT/Bert  Good Morning, Y’all!
Today is starting just like yesterday—there were no day hikers on top of LeConte yesterday—not even footprints! The Newfound Gap road is still closed due to high winds, and even higher winds are forecast for today. The Cherokee Orchard road is still open. The current temperature is 27 degrees. There was very little snow melt yesterday, so we still have four inches of snow up here on top. If you should decide to attempt Rainbow Falls or Bullhead, I would strongly recommend using traction devices! I witnessed an unusual sunset yesterday. First of all, I was the only person on the top of the mountain—unusual! Secondly, there were no clouds on the horizon—unusual! I’m just guessing that I will have another unusual day. HAPPY TRAILS!! WILDCAT/Bert |
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
July 2026
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