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Most roads closed in Great Smoky Mountains

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010
Due to more snow and ice overnight, most of the roads in the Smokies are closed again. Here's the full list:

• Newfound Gap Road (US-441)
• Little River Road
• Laurel Creek Road
• Cades Cove Loop Road
• Foothills Parkway West
• Foothills Parkway East
• Cataloochee Entrance Road
• Old NC-284 between Big Creek and Cataloochee
• Cherokee Orchard Road at Twin Creeks Science Center
• Greenbrier Entrance Road at the ranger station
• Cosby Entrance Road
• Upper Tremont Road
• Lakeview Drive
• Wear Cove Road
• Gatlinburg Bypass
• The southbound portion of the Spur (US-441) between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg is closed due to a rock slide. Traffic is being rerouted into the northbound lane.

Please click here for the most up-to-date road information, or you can call 865-436-1200.

For the latest weather updates and forecasts for the Smokies, please click here.

> Meanwhile, Doug McFalls, the caretaker at the Mt. LeConte Lodge, is reporting that 2 inches of new snow fell over night atop the mountain. There are now 35 inches of snow on the ground.

Doug also reports that with all the deep snow at the higher elevations, hiking, as you might expect, is difficult today.


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

Posted in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Smokies, mount leconte, road closings, snow | Comments Off

More snow, more road closures

Thursday, February 11th, 2010
Snowfall yesterday and overnight across the region has resulted in more road closures in the Smokies.

Knox News is reporting that the summit of Mount LeConte received another 14 inches of fresh snow, while 4 inches of new snow were reported in Cades Cove.

Here's the full list of road closures in the Smokies:

• Newfound Gap Road (US-441)
• Little River Road
• Laurel Creek Road at Tremont Road
• Cades Cove Loop Road
• Foothills Parkway West
• Foothills Parkway East
• Gatlinburg Bypass
• Cataloochee Entrance Road
• Old NC-284 between Big Creek and Cataloochee
• Greenbrier Entrance Road
• Cosby Entrance Road
• Upper Tremont Road
• Wear Cove Road
• The southbound portion of the Spur (US-441) between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg is closed due to a rock slide. Traffic is being rerouted into the northbound lane.

Please click here for the most up-to-date road information, or you can call 865-436-1200.

> Also, Forest Service officials from the Cherokee National Forest say they have temporarily closed several roads in the Tellico Ranger District. Current temporary road closures include: Old Furnace Road, 76; Wildcat Road, 384; Bald River Road, 126; and Whigg Road, 61.

More snow is predicted for the weekend. For the latest weather updates and forecasts for the Smokies, 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.

Posted in Tellico Ranger District, cades cove, cherokee national forest, mount leconte, road closings, snow | Comments Off

Smokies see highest number of visitors since 2000

Friday, January 22nd, 2010
Visitors to Great Smoky Mountains National Park during its 75th anniversary year were up 5% over 2008 and were the most in nearly a decade.

Park Superintendent Dale Ditmanson said 9,491,436 people came into Park in 2009, making it the highest number of visitors since 2000.

Ditmanson attributed much of the increase to the anniversary celebration, but said the Smokies also benefited from a massive rock slide on Interstate 40 at the Tennessee-North Carolina state line. Many drivers used U.S. 441 through the Park as an alternative route.

The increase came despite a record rainfall of 104.3 inches atop Mount LeConte this year. Elkmont also reported more than 20 inches of rain above the normal amount.

According to the Park website, rainfall averages 55 inches per year in the lowlands to 85 inches per year at Clingmans Dome.

For the year, attendance at all of the Park’s entrances was ahead of 2008. Gatlinburg reflected a 6 percent rise; Townsend recorded a 4 percent gain; and Cherokee showed a 4 percent increase. The outlying areas, a combination of 10-plus lesser-used entrances in North Carolina and Tennessee, tallied a 4 percent increase.


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.

Posted in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Smokies, mount leconte, record rainfall, visitor statistics, visitors | Comments Off

Ed Wright, a Mount LeConte Legend, passes away

Saturday, November 28th, 2009
Sadly, I’ve just learned that the Great Smoky Mountains has lost a dear friend.

Many of you may have heard about or actually met Ed Wright while hiking to Mt. LeConte. Mr. Wright is famous for being the person to have hiked to the summit of LeConte on 1,310 occasions. Many of those hikes are documented on his website. It appears that his final attempt at reaching the summit occurred on June 20th of this year. He had not been feeling well and made the decision to head back down when he was about two-thirds of the way up the mountain.

I never had the privilege of meeting Mr. Wright, but he was the first person to agree to exchange links with my website shortly after launching it last year. I also had a few email exchanges with him, and found him to be an extremely cheerful and helpful person.

This is the message posted on his website by his family:

Update 11/24/09
Sadly, Ed succumbed to complications of congestive heart failure while sleeping on the evening of 11/23/09. He was 84 years old.

Plans for services are as yet undetermined.

A guestbook has been set up at HeavenCalled.com. Feel free to follow the link and leave your thoughts.

Watch this MtLeconte.com home page for further updates.

Ed's family



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.

Posted in Ed Wright, mount leconte | Comments Off

Leconte Lodge Seasonal Closing

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009
Another closing hikers should be aware of this time of year is with regards to the Mt. LeConte Lodge.

Although overnight accomodations at the lodge have been booked full for the season for some time, day hikers can still enjoy the opportunity to purchase a sit-down lunch, or a sack lunch to go, at the top of the mountain.

However, the lodge will close for the season after November 24, at which time those services will end until next spring.

For more information on hiking to the summit of Mt. LeConte, please click here.

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Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com

Posted in Mt. LeConte Lodge, hike, mount leconte | Comments Off

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