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DLIA Biodiversity Hike to Mt. LeConte

Saturday, August 6, 2011

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Discover Life in America will be hosting its annual Biodiversity Hike to the Mt. LeConte Lodge over the weekend of September 3rd and 4th. The hike will be guided by an expert naturalist, and will include a picnic lunch on the Alum Cave Trail, as well as dinner and breakfast at the LeConte Lodge.

DLIA executive director Todd Witcher will be giving a presentation on the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory project, and park service staff will hold a sunset program at Cliff Tops.

The mission of DLIA is the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI), a joint effort with the National Park Service, that aims to identify and record every single species within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. To date, the ATBI has discovered 910 species that are new to science, and 7101 species that are new to the Smokies. Click here for a summary of these discoveries.

The cost for the Biodiversity Hike is $275 per person, which includes meals, lodging, as well as support for DLIA . To reserve one of the limited spaces, call Todd Witcher at 865-430-4756, or email him at todd@dlia.org or click here.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com
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A hike to the LeConte Lodge

Friday, June 17, 2011

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Author Randy Johnson provides a nice overview of the hike up to the LeConte Lodge atop Mt. LeConte in the Great Smoky Mountains:



Randy Johnson is author of, among several other local hiking guides, Best Easy Day Hikes of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

For more information on hiking the Alum Cave Trail to Mt. LeConte, please click here.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com
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A day in the life of the LeConte Lodge winter caretaker

Thursday, January 6, 2011

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The Smoky Mountain News published an excellent article yesterday about Doug McFalls, the Gatlinburg native who spent last winter as the LeConte Lodge caretaker. The article does a great job of explaining a little bit of what it's like to spend the winter near the top of the 6593-foot summit of Mt. LeConte. It explains the caretaker's duties, the weather conditions, how they keep supplied, as well as some of the hikers and critters they meet during their stay.

You can read the article by clicking here.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com
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First snow of the year in the Smokies

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

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Allyson Virden, resident manager at the LeConte Lodge atop Mt. LeConte is reporting the first snow of the year in the Smokies. On her "High on LeConte" blog, Ms. Virden is reporting that the mountain received 3 inches of snow on Monday morning, and another half-inch overnight.

She also stated that this is the biggest first snow since 1979.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com
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LeConte Lodge set to open March 22nd

Thursday, March 11, 2010

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The 2010 season for the LeConte Lodge is March 22 through November 23.

The Lodge sits atop Mt. LeConte and is accessible only by trail. Hikers can reach the summit and the Lodge via the Alum Cave, Rainbow Falls, Bullhead, Trillium Gap or Boulevard trails

Reservations are required and can be made by calling 865-429-5704 or e-mail reservations@lecontelodge.com.

If you're hoping to stay at the Lodge this year, please note this statement from the LeConte Lodge website:

We began booking 2010 reservations on October 1, 2009. Most weekends are now booked for the 2010 season. Some weekday reservations are available with the exception of June, July, early August and October. E-mail inquiries may take up to 7 business days to receive a reply. If you need an immediate response, please call the reservation office number, 865-429-5704.

Also, don't forget, day hikers and backpackers can purchase a sit-down lunch in the lodge dining room by making reservations at least 48 hours in advance. You can call 865-429-5704 to reserve a spot. Lunch will be served from 12:00 noon to 3:00 pm Eastern Time.

Day hikers also have the option of ordering a sack lunch to go, which does not require a reservation.




Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, and more.
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New website for LeConte Lodge winter caretaker

Monday, March 8, 2010

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Last week I received an email from Doug McFalls announcing the launch of his new website. Doug is the winter caretaker at the LeConte Lodge. This coming Friday Doug will be retiring his current website, www.lifeonleconte.com, a site known for some incredibly beautiful photography from the summit of Mt. LeConte.

His new website, www.ReflectionsoftheSmokies.com, is already up and running, and promises to continue with even more inspirational photos from the Smokies.

Doug also mentioned that the management for the LeConte Lodge has decided to do their own blog on their own website. Should be interesting to see how they proceed with this.

Speaking of Mt. LeConte, during the months of December, January, and February, the mountain received more than double the average amount of snowfall.

Mt. LeConte received 112" of snow overall during those three months; in an average year, it receives 51 inches.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, and more.
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Mt. LeConte now has 50 inches of snow!

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

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Doug McFalls, winter caretaker at the LeConte Lodge, is reporting this morning that there are now 50 inches of snow on the ground at the top of Mt. LeConte!

With warmer weather on the way, it looks like this could be the high point this winter for most snow on the ground.

If you haven't been to his site recently, he has some outstanding pictures of some of the winter scenes on the mountain. Please click here to visit his site.



Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, and more.
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1st Annual Discover Biodiversity at LeConte Lodge

Sunday, July 12, 2009

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Discover Life in America (DLIA), the non-profit organization coordinating the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI) in the Great Smoky Mountains, is sponsoring a guided overnight hike to Mt. LeConte on August 15 - 16.

The event will raise money for DLIA and the Smokies ATBI. Icluded in the package is a guided hike up the Alum Cave Trail, lunch on the trail, an evening sunset program at Cliff Top, a set of handmade DLIA notecards, and a night's stay at the LeConte Lodge which includes dinner and breakfast.

The trip is $295 per person. There will be shared sleeping arrangements at the Lodge; so bring a friend or you will definitely leave with a new one! Reservations are required and space is limited.

For more information, please click here (PDF), or call 865-430-4756 or email: heather@dlia.org

For more information on the Alum Cave Trail, please click here.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, and more.

Smoky Mountain Day Hikers Store Quality gear and apparel from some of the best outdoor brands.
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Lunch served for day hikers at LeConte Lodge

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

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Last summer, the National Park Service announced that it awarded the current operator of the LeConte Lodge a new 10-year contract. The most interesting aspect of the new contract is that, beginning this season, hikers will be able to purchase snacks, beverages and lunches at the Lodge. Up until the end of last season, only overnight guests were allowed to purchase meals at the lodge.

Beginning on March 23, day hikers, backpackers and horseback riders will have a couple of options for purchasing a lunch at the lodge.

Day hikers can have a sit-down lunch in the lodge dining room by making reservations at least 48 hours in advance. You can call 865-429-5704 to reserve a spot. Lunch will be served from 12:00 noon to 3:00 pm Eastern Time.

The lunch menu for the dining room includes soup, chicken salad (cheese or peanut butter and jelly is also available), bagel, baked goods, hot chocolate, coffee and lemonade.

Day hikers have the option of ordering a sack lunch to go, which will contain a bagel, cream cheese packet, beef summer sausage, applesauce, trail mix, cookies and a Gatorade drink packet. The sack lunch to go does not require a reservation.

Both the sit-down lunch and the sack lunch will cost $9.00 each.

Additionally, from 12:00 noon to 4:00 pm, the lodge will offer hikers hot chocolate, coffee and lemonade for $3.00 each, and assorted baked goods for $1.00 each.

The rustic mountaintop lodge is perched at the 6,593-foot summit of Mount LeConte and is accessible only by trail. The contractor cooks on propane, uses oil lamps for light and packs supplies in and out by llama.

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Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, and more.

Smoky Mountain Day Hikers Store Quality gear and apparel from some of the best outdoor brands.
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at
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The annual LeConte Lodge helicopter resupply

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

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According to staff employees, the date for the annual LeConte Lodge helicopter resupply will be on Monday, March 16 this year, weather permitting.

Restocking the wilderness lodge atop Mt. LeConte in Great Smoky Mountains National Park requires some fairly unique solutions. With no roads anywhere near the mountain, the Lodge uses llama pack-trains to carry certain supplies throughout the season. However, just prior to the beginning of each new season, the Lodge is resupplied by helicopter with the heavier equipment and cargo that can’t be transported by llamas.

During the annual airlift, a Sikorsky S-61 helicopter will ferry roughly 200,000-lbs. of supplies and equipment for the upcoming season, including items such as propane tanks, maintenance equipment, canned foods, wine, t-shirts and other souvenir items.

The supplies are ferried over from a staging area at the Luftee Overlook parking lot, 3/4 mile from the Newfound Gap parking lot. The helicopter roughly follows the Boulevard Trail as it makes its commute back and forth to Mt. LeConte.

The Sikorsky helicopter, operated by Construction Helicopters out of Ypsilanti, Michigan, is roughly 59 feet long, and has a rotor diameter of about 62 feet. The twin turbo engine can lift about 7000 pounds, and flies with two pilots, each of which has a bubble window that they use to peer out to see where their load is hanging.

After dropping off its load, the chopper returns to the staging area with trash or empty propane tanks from the previous season.

After each drop-off, the palettes are quickly emptied. Lodge employees form bucket brigades to move the new supplies into different buildings while others move the cargo nets and empty pallets, and ready them for the next flight. For anyone interested, the Lodge always appreciates volunteers for the bucket brigade. It’s a great way to spend some time on the mountain.

You can visit this page for more information about hiking up to the top of Mt. LeConte.


Check out the new Kindle 2 from Amazon, the next generation wireless reading device. Kindle is a convenient, portable reading device that gives you the ability to wirelessly download books. Reading Kindle's screen is as sharp and natural as reading ink on paper and it’s completely mobile. The Kindle 2 holds over 1500 books, and with more than 230,000 books available for download, that kind of storage capacity will definitely come in handy. For more information, please click on the logo below.




Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, and more.

Smoky Mountain Day Hikers Store Quality gear and apparel from some of the best outdoor brands.
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at
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Mount LeConte Photos: New and Old

Friday, August 29, 2008

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I received an email today from a gentleman who saw yesterday’s posting on vintage photographs from the Smoky Mountains. The gentleman was kind enough to send a link to his web site which includes photographs from Mount LeConte in a slideshow format.

The first slideshow features a couple dozen excellent photos from his hike up to Mount LeConte last year. The second slideshow features a few historical pictures of the LeConte Lodge. They include pictures of the original cabin built in 1925, as well as photographs of the current lodge during its construction phase. There are also a couple pictures of Jack Huff, the original owner of the lodge.

Here’s the link: http://www.billnapper.com/hiking/slideshows/mt_Leconte/index.html

Just click the icon in the lower left of the player and then choose either slideshow.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com

Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, hiking gear store, and more.
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Stop in for Lunch at the LeConte Lodge

Friday, July 4, 2008

2 comments
The National Park Service has announced that it has just awarded the current operator of the LeConte Lodge a new 10-year contract. The most interesting aspect of this new contract is that beginning in 2009, hikers will be able to purchase snacks, beverages and lunches at the Lodge.

Up till now, only Lodge guests were able to purchase meals at the Lodge.

What's your opinion on this?

Will this encourage more hikers to the mountain, and possibly cause issues with overuse on the trails?

Or, is this an innovative approach for the Park Service to exploit one of the unique features of the Smoky Mountains and increase revenues for a Park that desperately needs additional funding for various improvement projects.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com
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