Newfound Gap to Le Conte

[valleyfire]

We are planning to hike from Newfound Gap to Mount Le Conte: AT to The Boulevard Trail and back down to Icewater Spring Shelter. Is this going to be a really long hike or are we going to be able to enjoy the views?

[Egads]

We are planning to hike from Newfound Gap to Mount Le Conte: AT to The Boulevard Trail and back down to Icewater Spring Shelter. Is this going to be a really long hike or are we going to be able to enjoy the views?

It will be a very very long hike in the deep snow that is on the ground now

[valleyfire]

We are going March 19-21, do you think there will still be snow then?

[The Solemates]

We are going March 19-21, do you think there will still be snow then?

probably...

[Bearpaw]

We are going March 19-21, do you think there will still be snow then?

Right now there is supposedly over a foot. I wouldn't be surprised if there were new snow between now and then. The entire route is 5000+ feet which means conditions more like coastal New England than Tennessee, and this year is considerably snowier than usual.

If there IS snow, the trail will be very icy from folks packing in down, melting in the afternoon sun, then refreezing overnight. Be prepared with some kind of traction device, yaktrax, katoolas, instep crampons, whatever.

[valleyfire]

Right now there is supposedly over a foot. I wouldn't be surprised if there were new snow between now and then. The entire route is 5000+ feet which means conditions more like coastal New England than Tennessee, and this year is considerably snowier than usual.

If there IS snow, the trail will be very icy from folks packing in down, melting in the afternoon sun, then refreezing overnight. Be prepared with some kind of traction device, yaktrax, katoolas, instep crampons, whatever.

which will be the cheapest option when it comes to traction devices? It might be the only time this FL boy needs them

[take-a-knee]

We are going March 19-21, do you think there will still be snow then?

I have yet to unpack my crystal ball, I'll get back with you.

[Egads]

which will be the cheapest option when it comes to traction devices? It might be the only time this FL boy needs them

not the cheapest, but I like insteps. I have used the Petzl Crab 6

http://www.ems.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3667360


The CMI ice cleats look like they will work too

http://www.outdoorpros.com/Prod/CMI-ICECLEAT-Ice-Cleats/32883/Cat/156?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=googlebase&cvsf a=1184&cvsfe=2&cvsfhu=3332383833

[Bearpaw]

which will be the cheapest option when it comes to traction devices? It might be the only time this FL boy needs them

Yaktrax Pros. They won't last nearly as long as the others, but they're about $30 versus $50-80 for crampons or Katoohla Microspikes. Weight about 4 ounces per pair.

[Highstepper]

The NWS in Morristown, TN reports that Mt. Leconte had 51" of snow on the ground as of 7:30 this morning....

[mts4602]

Like the last person just said. There is 50 inches on Mt. Leconte right now. It's "supposed" to get warm next week so I would bet a lot of it will melt. Thats A LOT of snow though.

I talked to Doug who is the winter caretaker on Leconte and he said he does not believe anyone has come across the boulevard since they got all this snow the last few weeks.

I'm going with a couple of friends next weekend, the 12th. We're going up Alum Cave trail and going to Try and cross the boulevard. I'll let you know how it goes.

[Ox97GaMe]

Snow depths on LeConte on Wed morning was 51 inches. There was over 36 inches at Newfound Gap. It is going to be slow hiking across the Boulevard for a while. It isnt likely that many folks have tried to hike that 12 mile loop, so there wont be many tracks to follow.

Trail should be broken from NFG to Icewater, as there have been a few thru hikers that have made it through there, but they were post-holing most of the way.

The temps are warming up in the valley, but it wont be much above freezing at 6,000 ft. That snow is going to stay for a while. Probably going to take 2-3 weeks of warm weather to melt the majority of it, and even then you are likely to see some deep patches on the north side of the mountain or in places shaded by the hemlocks, spruce, and firs.

[Tennessee Viking]

I saw a posting on Facebook. LeConte lodge has about 51 inches of snow at the moment.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Gre...4903672?ref=ts

Its somewhere around 8-9 miles from Newfound. Rainbow Falls, to some, is the hardest approach. Alum Cave would be the shortest.

[Ashepabst]

i think that guide service in gatlinburg rents gear... maybe yaks

[Snowleopard]

which will be the cheapest option when it comes to traction devices? It might be the only time this FL boy needs them

Have you done any winter hiking in places that have real winter (not FL)?
If not I'd recommend against doing this hike until things melt out, especially since you're not acclimated to cold.
If you do it, carry more warm clothes than normal for the temps. In particular, carry extra warmth for your legs (heavy synthetic long johns, fleece tights, don't use down pants) and spares for when they get wet. Carry waterproof rain pants. Once it warms up enough for deep snow to start melting it'll be a challenge avoiding hypothermia when hiking through waist deep wet snow. To repeat, warm wet deep snow at 40F or 50F can be more dangerous than dry deep snow at 0 degrees. Read the old Fhart's hypothermia article: http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/show...6956#post96956

[Tennessee Viking]

The attached photo is just a taste of what you will be facing. A foot or more of just ice. This is a pic a mile north of Newfound on 2/14/07. That years snow was small compared to now.

I encounter a bunch of these ice layers in 5-10 foot sections. Then about 2 miles in, I came across one over 200 feet long. And turned back.

[Chaco Taco]

The last mile and a half will be rough because of the exposed areas, like in TV pics. I almost fell off a section with a 100 foot drop off in 06 with Yaktraks on. Those cables in the walls are there but they are only so helpful

[mts4602]

Was up there yesterday the 13th. The Boulevard trail is still waist deep in snow. Unless you have snowshoes not really possible to cross. We along with several others turned around shortly after the Mt. Leconte shelter.

[Praha4]

here's the NWS report from Saturday March 13th.

Leconte had 22" snow
Newfound Gap had 6" snow

high temps getting up to the 40s

[Praha4]

the NWS link

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/productview....rsion=1&max=61