1morethan8
US Veteran, Absent Comrade
High atop Mt. LeConte in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, LeConte Lodge is the highest guest lodge in the eastern United States. It is situated on an open glade just below the summit of Mt. LeConte at an elevation of about 6400 feet. The Lodge serves as a grandstand for the entire Park and commands spectacular views of the Smokies.
It is accessible only by hiking and is the only place in the Smoky Mountains where a visitor can sleep overnight in a snug permanent structure. There are no roads that lead to the Lodge. There are five hiking trails that lead to the Lodge ranging in length from 5.5 miles up to 8 miles.
Hikers on Wednesdays and Fridays can be overtaking a llama pack train carrying fresh supplies to the lodge, weather permitting. Since the only way in or out is on foot supplies are delivered that way as well. Horses once did the hauling, but the damage to the trails from their shod feet caused the management to seek alternatives. The most environmentally compatible creatures for packing purposes are llamas, which have very little impact on the trails with their padded feet and are a delight to all hikers of any age with their humming sounds and gentle features.
Mount Le Conte has a climate similar to that of Southern Canada, giving it cool summers, and cold, snowy winters. Annual snowfall averages 39.43 inches near the base to 71.82 inches on the highest peak. The climate is much cooler and somewhat wetter than the lower elevations. The lowest temperature ever recorded was -32F, on January 13, 1986. The highest temperature ever recorded at the lodge was 85F.
In 1993 the blizzard dropped over 5 foot of snow at the lodge in one day!
LeConte Lodge homepage..
LeConte Lodge | Mt. LeConte | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | Log Cabins | the Smokies | Cabins | Llamas | Trillium Gap Trail | Grotto Falls | Alum Cave Trail | The Boulevard Trail | Newfound Gap | Bullhead Trail | Rainbow Falls | Hiking
Mt. Le Conte Lodge Llama Train...
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErfuBRs8vJE"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErfuBRs8vJE[/ame]
Yeah.. a little different!
It is accessible only by hiking and is the only place in the Smoky Mountains where a visitor can sleep overnight in a snug permanent structure. There are no roads that lead to the Lodge. There are five hiking trails that lead to the Lodge ranging in length from 5.5 miles up to 8 miles.
Hikers on Wednesdays and Fridays can be overtaking a llama pack train carrying fresh supplies to the lodge, weather permitting. Since the only way in or out is on foot supplies are delivered that way as well. Horses once did the hauling, but the damage to the trails from their shod feet caused the management to seek alternatives. The most environmentally compatible creatures for packing purposes are llamas, which have very little impact on the trails with their padded feet and are a delight to all hikers of any age with their humming sounds and gentle features.
Mount Le Conte has a climate similar to that of Southern Canada, giving it cool summers, and cold, snowy winters. Annual snowfall averages 39.43 inches near the base to 71.82 inches on the highest peak. The climate is much cooler and somewhat wetter than the lower elevations. The lowest temperature ever recorded was -32F, on January 13, 1986. The highest temperature ever recorded at the lodge was 85F.
In 1993 the blizzard dropped over 5 foot of snow at the lodge in one day!
LeConte Lodge homepage..
LeConte Lodge | Mt. LeConte | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | Log Cabins | the Smokies | Cabins | Llamas | Trillium Gap Trail | Grotto Falls | Alum Cave Trail | The Boulevard Trail | Newfound Gap | Bullhead Trail | Rainbow Falls | Hiking
Mt. Le Conte Lodge Llama Train...
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErfuBRs8vJE"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErfuBRs8vJE[/ame]
Yeah.. a little different!
