all i want for christmas is you.

We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once. Nietzsche

Morning y'all,

It's another gorgeous morning on the mountain. The high yesterday reached 33 degrees. The low dropped down to 8 degrees. It was 27 degrees and clear at 7am observation. The mountain received a trace of snow yesterday morning and there is still some patchy snow left up top. I've heard that Alum is pretty slick, so please be sure to pack traction devices. Allow yourself plenty of time to hike down, as Yogi Berra said, it is that time of year where it gets late early. It looks like we're in for some clear weather, so the views should be pretty great. Enjoy!

Top photo & above: Sunset yesterday evening.

I went out hunting for sunrise this morning. It's been a little while, as I've conceded the duskydawn hours to the native animals and have been respecting their space. However, the temptation of finding a big sunrise over my beloved Smokies with some inversion caps still hanging around was enough to violate my treaty. I left at seven with a Thermos of coffee. I forgot how short the days where, as I got to Apollo Overlook and had a twenty minute skyshow before the sun crested those distant North Carolina mountains. The majority of the valley clouds must have passed out overnight with our rising temperatures, but it was still a fantastic show. There were some distant clouds pinking up on the horizon and the sky grew ever more impressive shades of orange, yellow and purple. It's always the predawn show that is most impressive, the crescendo to sunrise. For some reason, the colours are richer before the sun hits the clouds. As I tramped back, the trail was lit with the slanty golden red of new day sun mingled with treeshadows. Sometimes it's all too much.

Good light in bobcat country.