The lodge was started in 1925. Back then it was supposedly a destination for Washington D.C. VIPs to see the great views. Today it is not modern by any stretch of the imagination. As you can see from the pictures, it is very rustic. Our room, in a 3 room lodge, had a queen size bed but the room was barely larger than the bed. The only lights are kerosene lanterns. There are propane heaters in the rooms because even in the summer the temperature can get down into the 40s. In the history of the mountain the temperature has never reached 80 degrees. The propane is helicoptered in each spring along with building supplies and whatever else is needed for the year. There is also a spring that supplies running water to a spigot outside between the buildings.
Dinner was family style in the dining lodge. The food was beef, mashed potatoes, green beans, etc. $8 extra got us all the wine we could drink. I've got to admit that I saw a worker carrying the wine into the dining hall. It is the kind that comes in a box, but after 4 hours of hiking and at almost 6600 feet elevation, it tasted great. Breakfast was pancakes, eggs, ham, homemade biscuits, etc. The food and supplies are delivered to the lodge a couple of times each week by llama pack train. The used to use horses but llamas are easier on the trail because their feet are softer.
Even though it rained most of the day on the way up, it cleared in the evening so we had clouds below us and blue sky above. It was like being in an airplane above the clouds. We could see Clingman's Dome (50 feet higher than Mt. LeConte) in the distance and fog was pouring down over some of the mountains just like the fog rolls into San Francisco. The sunset was great as you can see in the picture below. Looking over one side of the mountain was the sunset and the other side had a rainbow at the same time.
The views were worth the trip but unless you are staying overnight you will have to miss the sunset because the trip back down is 4 hours.Mount Leconte and LeConte Lodge is a great experience. We highly recommend it.
By the way, you can click on any picture to see it bigger. This blog site only allows one large, two medium, or 4 small pictures per posting. So I went with the small ones in order to get more in.
