LeConte Trip this Weekend

“Twice a year, they airlift heavy supplies in by helicopter. It's quite a site to behold. Routine resupply comes by llama train. The full time workers at the lodge have set some speed records on just about every approach over the years.

I will have to look it up, but the record for leaving LeConte, getting down Alum Cave Trail, going in to Gatlinburg, getting beer and smokes and getting back to the lodge was amazingly fast.”

“I think it was around two and a half hours”

“Did you guys not see any bears? Around Leconte, I thank you get a refund if'n you see no bears. That place used to be crawlin' withem!”

“No bears this time, but I have seen one on Rainbow Falls trail before.”

“No bears...only deer and a peacock (which might even be rarer than seeing a bear?)”

“NA, once they bricked over the fireplace, it cut down on bears. Rumor mill had it that someone grilled burgers in there at some point and it was like bear cocaine until the walled it off.

Mocs, that sounds right, I am sure it was under 3 hours.”

“LOL chili, I'm thankin'of them poor bruins sniffin and likkin on everything they can to get taste of hamburger.

So by bricking over the fireplace, you mean there's no more fireplace? Like, totally bricking it over?”

“Yep, they completely stoned it over.”

“IMHO, the fireplaces in the shelters are nigh on to worthless anyway.

It takes a cord of wood to ever heat it up (and if the chimney is clogged it will turn the shelter into a place that resembles an opium den) and then one or two people max can stand by the fire.

I havent seen enough firewood to burn around a shelter site in a couple years.”

“naked ape I like the Picasa site. It's really the only one I have tried. Pretty simple to use”

“chili, but the opium den ref and the Smordita (patent pending) were both coined around a Smokies shelter fireplace.”

“Speaking of opium dens, that last time I was at the LeConte shelter we built a fire in the fireplace and the smoke came back in to the shelter through the gaps in the stone.

Up until that point I had never seen a dry stacked chimney before.”

“HPM, quite a marvel of engineering, isn't it.

Dayhiker built a fire in the shelter at Silar's Bald and we had to stand outside in the rain until the smoke cleared out enough to breathe.”

“Nay, nay, not dayhiker. I was the one standing there with you and longlost though when he called it an opium den. This was shortly after he made the smordita and came back with a bloody nub when offering it to a section hiker.”

“but I finally found the time to get my pics posted. Enjoy:

Toph's Trips”

“Great pics toph, I'll see ya'll at Sipsey.”

“Thanks karo...see ya then.”

“Toph you're purdy darn good with that camera man!!!”

“Thanks Spam...they're not the best but I try! I figure if I'm gonna tote all that extra weight around, I'd better at least try to know what I'm doing ;)”

“. . . .and the church said 'amen!'

Thanks for sharing the pictures.”