Morning,
It was a beautiful, clear day up top. We had some of the best visibility you can get in the Smokies. The high was 41 degrees. The low was 28 degrees. It was 31 degrees and clear at observation. It looks like we'll have another great day up top. 
What I really need is to get clear about what I must do, not what I must know, except insofar as knowledge must precede every act. What matters is to find a purpose, to see what it really is that God wills that I shall do; the crucial thing is to find a truth which is truth for me, to find the idea for which I am willing to live and die. Kierkegaard
Morning, It was a cloudy day on the summit yesterday. The high was 41 degrees. The low was 28. The mountain received .30" of rain and there are only about 2 patchy inches of snow on the ground left. It looks like it'll be a clear day today. I haven't talked to another person since Sunday afternoon. Watching sunrise this morning, I was grateful to feel the power of the coming day. The particular way that the light came over the horizon has a consoling way of making me forget my human, all too human concerns and putting my self back into perspective. It's reassuring to know Nature is a mysterious and absolute force which affects us in ways that we can not categorize. She brings a solace and calm in desperate times that is beyond my capability to understand. I'm glad she is the way she is. 
The mountains - Tinker and Brushy, McAfee's Knob and Dead Man - are a passive mystery, the oldest of all. Theirs is the one simple mystery of creation from nothing, of matter itself, anything at all, the given. Mountains are giant, restful, absorbent. You can heave your spirit into a mountain and the mountain will keep it, folded, and not throw it back as some creeks will. The creeks are the world with all its stimulus and beauty. I live there. But the mountains are home. Annie Dillard
Top photo: A beautiful day for tracking. Above: My favorite tree from my bushwhack yesterday.
Morning, It felt like a summer day up here yesterday. The high reached 50 degrees and it felt even warmer with the sun reflecting off the snow. The low was 30 degrees. It was 37 and cloudy at observation. It looks like we'll have another mild, clear afternoon once these clouds pass through. I spent yesterday afternoon tracking my elusive friend. I followed tracks for three hours all over the mountain. I figured I was somewhere north of the shelter and then ended up on the Boulevard trail near Myrtle point. Oooops! I guess I had better get a nice orienteering compass so that I don't get permanently lost trying to meet my neighbor. I learnt this yesterday - the little guy/gal has excellent taste in bushwhacks! 
My sneaky little neighbor finds a way through the thick red pines!
A well deserved break at Myrtle Point after my adventure.
I cannot see on the outside at all. We thought ourselves great philosophers in those wet days, when we used to go out and sit down by the wall sides. Thoreau
Above: View towards LeConte from Brushy Mountain. Below: Brushiness on the way up. I hope I never reach the point where walking through Rhododendrons approaching the peak of a summit doesn't get my heart racing, filled with nostalgia for March 2010 and anticipation for every adventure on the horizon.
Morning, It was a mild day atop LeConte. The high was 34 degrees. The low was 27 degrees. It was 30 degrees and clear at observation. It looks like it'll be another beautiful, clear day. Highs may creep into the 40's. Be prepared for some wet trails, as a lot of snow is melting right now. The spring was flowing as forcefully as I've seen it. Last night, while listening to the radio I thought about a conversation I had with my friend a few weeks ago. Caretaker: I don't know if I could ever get lonely up here with an oldies' station this good. Friend: That is the loneliest thing I've ever heard. 
Above: Brushy Mountain survey marker. Below: Twilight on Trillium.
 He delighted in echoes, and said they were almost the only kind of kindred voices that he heard. He loved Nature so well, was so happy in her solitude, that he became very jealous of cities and the sad work which their refinements and artifices made with man and his dwelling. The axe was always destroying his forest. "Thank God," he said, "they cannot cut down the clouds!" "All kinds of figures are drawn on the blue ground with this fibrous white paint." Emerson's eulogy of Thoreau.  Top photo: Hiking down Alum on Sunday. Above: Winter wonderland near Cliff Tops. Morning, It was a really nice day up top. The high was 29. The low was 12, but that was early yesterday morning. The weather got better from there on out. It was mostly sunny and with all the snow on the ground, it felt much warmer than the thermometer indicated. It was 29 and snowing a bit at observation. We received about a half inch of new snow and the total is still hovering around 8 inches. Be prepared! As Joni Mitchell said, you don't know what you got 'til it's gone - and though I doubt she was talking about frostbite, it certainly applies to toes. Bring gaiters & extra socks, just in case your footwear fails. Wet skin loses heat 30 times faster than dry skin and that could be the difference between a really good 'close call' story and hobbling on 6 toes the rest of your life.  My favorite neighbor came out of his/her den to play.  To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts, nor even to found a school, but so to love wisdom as to live according to its dictates, a life of simplicity, independence, magnanimity, and trust. It is to solve some of the problems of life, not only theoretically, but practically. . . . When he has obtained those things which are necessary to life, there is another alternative than to obtain the superfluities; and that is, to adventure on life now, his vacation from humbler toil having commenced. Thoreau Morning, We had a beautiful, albeit cold day up top yesterday. The high was 13 degrees. The low was -4 degrees. It was 12 degrees & clear at observation. It looks like we'll have another wonderful, clear day. There is still plenty of snow on the trails, so be prepared. Do not wear cotton (including jeans), have some sort of waterproof footwear and consider gaiters & traction devices. When I headed to Cliff Tops for sunset last night, some folks in the shelter wondered whether I ever get used to the beauty up here and end up taking it for granted. This question caught me off guard, and I recalled the times I didn't bother to go to sunset. Initially, this makes me regret how I've spent my time up here, as if I'm not living well enough to justify being in such a fortunate situation. However, thankfully enough, I think I am less habituated to the scenery here than my initial concerns would indicate. There are some strokes of nature more subtle than the beauty at sunrise and sunset. My time up here has taught me to appreciate the way the sunlight plays in the trees at 4:36pm, rather than just the overt grandeur of something as magnificent as a sunrise or sunset. It's been a gift in it's own way, to be fortunate enough to have my eyes opened to the constant beauty and majesty one can gain only by a full immersion into Nature.  Top photo: View from Cliff Tops yesterday morning. Above: Snow & sunlight in the trees along Alum Cave trail.  Looking up. 
Wisdom crieth in the streets and no man regardeth her; yet she teacheth temperance and forethought, justice and fortitude; than which men can have in their life nothing more profitable.
Morning! It's been a glorious 24 hours on top. The high was a balmy 16 degrees. The low was -4 degrees. It was -4 and clear at observation. The mountain received 7 additional inches of snow yesterday, bringing our grand total to 8". It looks like there are some knee deep drifts, so be cautious on the trails. DO NOT HIKE UP UNLESS YOU HAVE GAITERS!!! AND DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT BLUE JEANS!!! Unless, of course, you want to lose some toes. Then you can wear blue jeans. It looks like 441 is still closed. Keep an eye on the Park Service's twitter feed for the latest updates. Remember, don't try to be a hero! This summit will continue to be here for some time. You will not if you exercise poor judgement. 
Top photo: The shelter in some wintry weather. Above: Elizabeth & Kathryn on Cliff Tops.
High point!!!
 I remember lying on the side of a hollow, waiting for L to come & mushroom, & seeing a red hare loping up to the side & thinking suddenly "This is Earth life." I seemed to see how earthy it all was, & I myself an evolved kind of hare; as if a moon-visitor saw me. Virginia Woolf Morning, SNOWWWWWW!!!!!!!! The mountain received an inch of snow and it is coming down hard up top. It looks like we may have 6" to a foot by the end of the day, according to my very scientific estimations (looking out my cabin window). The high was 36. The low was 15. It was 15 and snowing at observation. 441 is still closed and looks like it may be all day. If you are considering visiting the mountain, expect a longer hike up Rainbow, Bullhead or Trillium. Pay attention to the Park Service's website & twitter feed for updates on road conditions. Keep in mind - be prepared for serious winter hiking, the lodge is CLOSED! Also, check out your favorite blogger on Channel 10 news. My 15 seconds of fame!  Top photo: Cabin in the snow. Above: Wind gauge next to my cabin with hoarfrost. 
I know nothing whatever about true underlying reality, having never met any. I am pleased enough with surfaces - in fact, they alone seem to me to be of much importance. Such things for example as the grasp of a child's hand in your own, the flavor of an apple, the embrace of a friend or lover, the silk of a girl's thigh, the sunlight on rock & leaves, the feel of music, the bark of a tree, the abrasion of granite and sand, the plunge of clear water into a pool, the face of the wind - what else is there? What else do we need? Ed Abbey
Top photo & above: All kinds of Bobkitten sign!
Morning, It's actually starting to feel like winter up here. The air is crisp and all anyone wants to talk about is weather! It looks like we may receive 6-8 inches this weekend! I won't rejoice until I see it, but I am very encouraged. The high yesterday was 29. The low was 15. It was 28 and hazy at observation. I spent yesterday following Bobkitten's numerous tracks all over the mountain. I've still yet to see the little fella, but it's reassuring to know we take many of the same routes for our afternoon rambles. It further reinforces to me the conviction that we would make great friends. For what is the most apt definition of a friend? Simply put, I believe that it is someone whom I'd like to accompany me on a walk. There's no better or more intimate way to experience the world than a walk through cleansing woods with a friend. 
Sunset.
Sunrise.
Tell me what you will of the benefactions of city civilization, of the sweet security of streets. I know that our bodies were made to thrive only in pure air, and the scenes in which pure air is found. Muir
Top photo: View from my porch this morning. Above: My favorite and most elusive neighbor.
Morning, It's finally beginning to look like winter up here. There was about half an inch of light snow, but the rime ice is nicely coating the trees and temperatures have dropped. The high was 25. The low was 13. It was 14 and clear at observation. It looks like we'll have another clear, cold day today. Highs are expected to be in the upper 20's. I'm hoping the forecast proves correct, as more snow looks to be on the way and temperatures aren't supposed to get above freezing until the 14th. C'MON WINTER!!!! 
Only 3 more weeks of winter scenes like this!
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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
February 2026
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