Daily Posts

but i miss you like the wind misses the trees. cause i'm a stranger in a strange land, guess i left the world behind. but my love is like the galaxy it seems slow but it sure does shine.

2/26/2015

Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom. Aristotle

Morning y'all,

It's a beautiful, snowy morning up top. The high yesterday reached 36 degrees. The overnight low was 10 degrees. It was 19 degrees and cloudy at 7am observation. The mountain received 6 inches of additional snow, bringing our snowfall total to 12 inches. There are sure to be deeper drifts in windswept sections, so prepare for a tiring day if you intend to hit the trails. I would still recommend Microspikes, as there are some slick spots underneath the powdery goodness. Get out and enjoy this taste of winter!

I spent a nice chunk of yesterday wandering around in the afternoon, before settling in on my porch just as the snow started falling. It was perfect timing - the dusk hours had provided a slate gray backdrop to the highlight the fast falling flakes. There are few things that beat spending the final daylight hours huddled in a sleeping bag, sipping tea, enjoying the caretaker tv.

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i'm falling hard for every yard of the dream you sold me, dream you sold me.

2/25/2015

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Lately, since love had seemed an impossibility, I had steeled myself against it. But I held Claire, and that was that forever. Something was sealed. Desire abides. It is all people have that stands proof against time. Everything else rots. Charles Frazier

Morning y'all,

It's a beautiful, clear morning up top. The high yesterday reached 22 degrees. The overnight low was 10 degrees. It was 22 degrees and clear at 7am observation. The mountain received no additional precipitation. There is about 6 inches of varied snow on the ground. I would highly recommend traction devices and full winter gear if you intend to reach the summit. Get out and enjoy the wintry beauty!

I spent a great day wandering around camp yesterday, planning for my departure and enjoying some quiet time in my cabin. I was still pretty exhausted from my night hike, when we didn't get back up until an hour past my typical bed time. It was a great joy to be reading and planning in bed, watching the snow swirl and trees sway in my skylight. I relish these quiet days, knowing that the majority of my days in the coming year will be spent exhausting myself both physically and socially. It is an ideal opportunity to recharge mentally, recover physically and enter my next challenge with the proper mindset and appropriate confidence level. Just as I miss what is coming next right now, I will surely look back on these quiet, lazy cabin days with a certain nostalgia... the cycles of a life well lived.

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i am gonna make it through this year if it kills me.

2/24/2015

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I personally would rather do the existentially essential things in life on foot. If you live in England and your girlfriend is in Sicily, and it is clear you want to marry her, then you should walk to Sicily to propose. For these things travel by car or aeroplane is not the right thing. Werner Herzog

Morning y'all,

It's a beautiful, snowy morning up top. The high yesterday reached 29 degrees. The overnight low was 17 degrees. It was 19 degrees and cloudy at 7am observation. The mountain received 2 inches of new snow, bringing our snowfall total up to 6 inches. The trails are very slick, so be sure to pack Microspikes if you intend to reach the summit. It's a beautiful day, get out and enjoy it!

I had a great night hike up Rainbow last night. I took off at 6:30 with my buddy Pretzel and we walked up the road from Twin Creeks. We made it to the trailhead just as night was darkness was settling in between the snow laced trees. There were plenty of blowdowns, adding a new wrinkle to a trail I've done more times than I can count. The moon's crescent was bright enough as we turned near the Falls that I thought there was someone else night hiking down. The stream crossings were a bit of a gamble in the dark, the snow covered rocks gave no hints as to how sturdy they'd be as stepping surfaces. We plunged our feet in a few times and laughed it off because there was nothing to do but go onwards and upwards. The Falls roared, but our headlamps were not bright enough to see them from the bridge. The first flakes of last nights' snowfall greeted us as we trudged up the final .6 from the Bullhead junction, giving us a taste of what we'd have in store come morning.

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if love, if love is a poison cup. then drink it up. cause a sip, a sip or spoonful won't do. won't do nothing for you. except mess you up.

2/23/2015

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The pain is a toll I willingly pay on my way to the top, for here, amid these mountains, I restore myself and lose myself, knit together my ego and then surrender it, detach myself from the mass of humanity so I may learn to love them again, all while coexisting with creatures whose kind have lived here for millenia. Phillip Connors

Morning y'all,

It's a beautiful, cloudy morning up high. The high temperature yesterday reached 37 degrees. The overnight low was 25 degrees. It was 26 degrees and cloudy at 7am observation. The mountain received no new precipitation. There is still about 4 inches of drifty, hard packed snow remaining up top. The drifts are especially high along certain sections of trail, so be prepared for an adventure if you intend to reach the summit. I would still recommend Microspikes if you intend to reach the summit. There are some very icy sections of trail. Enjoy the day!

I had a fantastic hike up Alum yesterday afternoon. The mountain was tucked into its friendly cloud blanket and it was as still as it's been for days. It was a great day to wander around and see what the past few days of serious wind did to the trails. There are a few blowdowns, a lot of icy branches strewn across the trail and a seemingly infinite number of little fir tree clusters. There is a snow drift on Alum just below Cliff Tops that is larger than any I've seen in the Smokies. It almost seemed like a practical joke when I first discovered it. The slushy snow conditions made for some difficult trudging, but it was all worth it, as always. I forgot just how quickly some warm, wet conditions can accelerate the melt around here. I am looking forward to seeing the sun again and welcoming my old friend Spring any day now!

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and it's joy, pure joy now honey, pure joy just to see you again.

2/22/2015

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Men come and go, cities rise and fall, whole civilizations appear and disappear - the earth remains, slightly modified. The earth remains, and the heartbreaking beauty where there are no hearts to break....I sometimes choose to think, no doubt perversely, that man is a dream, thought an illusion, and only rock is real. Rock and sun. Edward Abbey

Morning y'all,

It's a beautiful, blustery day up top. The high yesterday reached 34 degrees. The overnight low was 16 degrees, recorded shortly after observation yesterday morning. It was 34 degrees and cloudy at 7am observation. The mountain received .22" of rain yesterday. There is still about 8 inches of snow up top, with a crunchy, ice layer atop some softer drifts. I would definitely recommend MicroSpikes and full winter gear if you intend to reach the summit. Enjoy the day!

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because i'm doing this for the thrill of it, killing it. never not chasing a million things i want.

2/21/2015

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Youth - nothing else worth having in this world... and I had youth, the transitory, the fugitive, now, completely and abundantly. Yet what was I going to do with it? Certainly not squander its gold on the commonplace quest for riches and respectability, and then secretly lament the price that had to be paid for these futile ideals. Let those who wish have their respectability - I wanted freedom, freedom to indulge in whatever caprice struck my fancy, freedom to search in the farthermost corners of the earth for the beautiful. the joyous and the romantic. Richard Halliburton

Morning y'all,

It's a beautiful, blustery day up top. The high yesterday reached 26 degrees. The overnight low was 0 degrees, recorded early yesterday morning. It was 23 degrees and mostly cloudy at 7am observation. The mountain received an inch of additional snow last night, bringing our snowfall total to 11 inches. There are a lot of drifts, more than I've seen yet this season. Last evening's wind really re-arranged things. The snow is deep in areas, I would highly recommend winter boots, wool socks, gaiters and Microspikes if you intend to reach the summit. The trails are still mostly hardpack snow underfoot with a powdery layer on top. None of the trails to the mountain are entirely broken. A few folks have hiked up and down, but last night's winds got rid of my tracks to the kitchen in about 5 minutes. The snow is bound to be pretty deep no matter which trail you intend to take up. Enjoy the snowy madness and stay within your limits!

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i'll stand up and laugh at my own frightened heart.

2/20/2015

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I was young and I thought I was tough and I knew it was beautiful and I was a little bit crazy but I hadn’t noticed it yet. Norman Maclean

Morning y'all,

It's another beautiful, clear, COLD morning. The high yesterday reached 0 degrees. The overnight low was negative 21 degrees, recorded shortly after observation yesterday. It was 0 degrees and clear at 7am observation. The mountain received no new precipitation yesterday. Our snowfall total is still around 10 inches. There are some deeper drifts along the trail. I would highly recommend MicroSpikes and a full winter kit if you intend to hike up. Enjoy the day!

A friendly reminder: THE LODGE IS CLOSED! There are no goods or services available. No cabins to warm up in, no place to buy tea or coffee, etc. Please be prepared to be self-sufficient if you intend to reach the summit. You will find every building except for one privy locked for the season.

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we might be hollow but we're brave.

2/19/2015

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When it's over, I want to say: all my life I was a bride married to amazement. I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms. When it's over, I don't want to wonder if I have made of my life something particular, and real. I don't want to find myself sighing and frightened, or full of argument. I don't want to end up simply having visited this world. Mary Oliver

Morning y'all,

It's a beautiful, clear, COLD day up top. The high temperature yesterday reached 10 degrees. The overnight low reached negative 23 degrees. It was negative 21 degrees and clear at 7am observation. The mountain received 7 inches of new snow yesterday, bringing our snowfall total to 10 inches. The trails are still pretty slick, the 7 fresh powder inches are easy to walk through but there is still an icy baselayer beneath that. I would highly recommend Microspikes if you intend to reach the summit. Needless to say, it is extremely cold out. If you intend to reach the summit, be prepared for arctic temperatures. Windchills are expected to dip into the negative 40's on the summit. Be careful & have fun out there!

The snow was absolutely marvelous yesterday. The flurries started at 7:30am and really picked up around 11am. I waited until 3pm, then started skiing around the mountain. Boot deep snow, absolutely nobody else in the park (bless the snowy roads!), powder still swirling, trees laden with the heavy happiness of winter and self-propelled motion! What else could a young man wish for?! I carved a nice little run down from the office to the bear trap, 3 solid turns and about 10 seconds of snowy adrenaline. It was too much fun. I didn't realize I lost feeling in my hands until I tried to open the door. My smile clearly mattered more than the numbness. Sometimes, I can't believe this is my life.

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they don't wanna think about the other side. is that grass just greener cause it's fake?

2/18/2015

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Finally, the slick mountains of love break over us. Mary Oliver

Morning y'all,

It's a beautiful, grey morning up top. The high yesterday reached 19 degrees. The overnight low was 6 degrees. It was 10 degrees and cloudy at 7am observation. The mountain received no new precipitation. There is still about 3 inches of slick, hardpack snow up here. The trails are pretty slick, I would definitely still recommend Microspikes if you intend to summit and descend safely. Enjoy the day!

I had a fantastic hike up Rainbow from Twin Creeks yesterday. There are few greater pleasures than wandering through an essentially closed National Park. I hiked the road for a few miles, marvelling at the snow laced trees. The peace and beauty was otherwordly. The tumult of the icy streams was a fantastic contrast to the tall, noble trees abiding by their banks. The Falls were starting to form a cone near their base. I would expect them to freeze up on Thursday morning. I reached the final .6 junction just as the light was fading in it's pre-sunset show. The dim gold glistening through the thin spruce fir forest was a fitting exclamation point.

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i'm already nothing. you just noticed me fading.

2/17/2015

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Divinity must live within herself: Passions of rain, or moods in falling snow; Grievings in loneliness, or unsubdued Elations when the forest blooms; gusty Emotions on wet roads on autumn night; All pleasures and all pains, remembering The bough of summer and the winter branch. These are the measures destined for her soul. Wallace Stevens

Morning y'all,

It's a beautiful, clear, cold morning up top. The high yesterday reached 31 degrees. The overnight low reached 12 degrees. It was 12 degrees and clear at 7am observation. The mountain received .71 inches of freezing rain yesterday. There is still about 3 inches of very slick, hardpack snow up top. I would definitely recommend Microspikes if you intend to reach the summit. As of this posting, Highway 441 is closed. Check out the Park Service's twitter feed for updated road status.

I went out for a short jaunt yesterday afternoon, just as the impressively raw weather was cresting. Freezing rain was flying sideways, leaving you to cinch your hood and shake your head at just how real reality can be. We are typically selective with our days in the backcountry, but when we limit ourselves to 'nice' days, we miss a great deal. I will remember the cruel winds whipping my face at Cliff Tops and the way the sleet was just solid enough to hurt far more than every non-descript sunny day combined. I am the luckiest man alive.

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