Sunday, November 25, 2018

Guy Charleville #100: From New Orleans to Le Conte

Adam Gravett with Janice and Guy Charleville

 The Le Conte community is grieving over the loss of Guy Charleville, who was fatally injured in a highway crash Dec. 21 in Louisiana, just four weeks after he and his wife Janice celebrated their 100th climb of Mount Le Conte.
Guy, 64, was a special education teacher for 41 years in New Orleans. Even though the Charlevilles lived over 600 miles from the Great Smoky Mountains, they visited frequently and volunteered at the lodge. Guy's obituary says, "He took every opportunity to be in the beauties of nature that God provided him."
Adam Gravett met the Charlevilles atop Le Conte on Thanksgiving Day and posted this note on Facebook:
Let me introduce you to Guy and Janice Charleville. They are from New Orleans and love our mountains. Love them so much that they volunteer at the lodge. They were volunteering to help break everything down at end of season this year. They also volunteer to be a substitute caretakers when needed. Since 1984, they have made 100 trips to LeConte Lodge! Bravo, congratulations, and thank you ... for your love of the mountains, 100 trips to the lodge and your willingness to volunteer for something that we all hold so dear.
 The Charlevilles are the 50th and 51st hikers we've documented with at least 100 climbs of Le Conte. Many of those are couples, including longtime lodge employees Pauline and Jack Huff, Lisa and Tim Line, Myrtle and Herrick Brown, and Allyson and Chris Virden.
 Excluding staff, the record for most hikes by a couple is held by Jean Ann and Dr. Jesse "Kip" Miller of Jackson, Tenn., whose 239th hike in 2012 was mentioned in the High On LeConte blog. That was Jean Ann's 79th birthday. Dr. Miller made 99 hikes before he had heart bypass surgery in 2000, and they returned to Le Conte just 24 days later. If you have any update on their totals, please leave a comment.
 Another couple on our list is Shirley and Bo Henry. She had 173 hikes and he had 107 in 1998, when they were last mentioned in Ed Wright's hiking logs.
 Vesna and Erik Plakanis, owners of the Walk in the Woods guide service, both have climbed Le Conte more than 100 times. 

No comments:

Post a Comment