_Morning,

The high yesterday reached 46 degrees. The low was 36 degrees. It was 42 degrees and cloudy at 7am observation. The mountain received .56" of new precipitation yesterday. There is no more snow left on the ground. The trails are clear of ice, but are still very wet.

I will be spending the next week in San Diego. The blog will return on the 26th. Enjoy the mountains.

_Morning,

The high yesterday reached 48 degrees. The low was 45 degrees. It was 46 degrees and drizzling at 7am observation. The mountain received 2.12" of new precipitation yesterday. There is no more snow left on the ground. The trails are clear of ice, but are still very wet. Enjoy the day.

_Morning,

The high yesterday reached 48 degrees. The low was 38 degrees. It was 46 degrees and drizzling at 7am observation. The mountain received 3.32" of new precipitation yesterday. There is no more snow left on the ground. The trails are clear of ice, but are still very wet. Enjoy the day.

Morning,

The high yesterday reached 47 degrees. The low was 43 degrees. It was 47 degrees and drizzling at 7am observation. The mountain received 1.42" of new precipitation yesterday. There is no more snow left on the ground. The trails are clear of ice, but are still very wet. Enjoy the day.

Morning,

The high yesterday reached 51 degrees. The low was 43 degrees. It was 44 degrees and cloudy at 7am observation. The mountain received no new precipitation yesterday. There is no more snow left on the ground. The trails are clear of ice, but are still very wet. Enjoy the day.

Morning,

It's a gray day up top. The high yesterday reached 50 degrees. The overnight low was 44 degrees. It was 45 degrees and drizzling lightly at 7am observation. The mountain received .22" of rain yesterday. There is no more snow on the ground up top. The trails are very wet, but clear of ice. Enjoy the day.

Morning y'all,

It's a nasty day up top. The mountain is receiving a persistent little drizzle at the moment. It's so dark 30 minutes before sunrise... it feels more like 5am. The high yesterday reached 45 degrees. The low was a ridiculous 42 degrees. It's currently 44 degrees and drizzling. The mountain received .22" of rain starting around 8pm last night. There's no snow up top and the trails are clear, save for a few brief icy sections.

The winds that accompanied last night's storm were so intense that I was unable to sleep for a few hours last night. It was a nice break from my routine of uninterrupted 10-15 hours. My quiet little loft feels like an old ship during these storms. It could just be my runaway imagination, but I swear that I can feel it gently swaying in the waves. I lit my kerosene lamp and read in between bouts of awe. I wish my knee were 100%, I could've gone out to inspect the storm, a la Thoreau and Muir. It felt busy as a Saturday night downtown out there. Rarely are these woods so shamelessly animated. It usually takes a more subtle eye to sense their liveliness.

Best of luck to the Kilimanjaro crew! I can't wait to hear all about your adventure!

_Morning y'all,

It's a beautiful, warm morning up top. The high yesterday reached 44 degrees. The low yesterday reached 40 degrees. It is currently 44 degrees and slightly cloudy. The mountain received .09" of rain yesterday. There is still some patchy snow on the ground up top, but we've had a lot of melt lately. I would bet that trail conditions are improving - making traction devices a nice luxury, not a necessity.

The lingering clouds from yesterday are shimmering in the soft hues of pink & purple. Douglas Mountain is waking up slowly on this fine morning, trying to pull the clouds back over her like some beloved, ephemeral blankets. Pine Siskins are jumping from tree to tree in front of my porch, somehow they are more caffeinated than I am. They are usually very considerate neighbors, but their frenzied activity is a bit too much for me. This morning, I want to focus on the slow show in the sky. It's a couple ticks quicker than glacial, yet still gradual enough to let my mind marinate in it for an hour or two.

_Morning y'all,

It's a gloomy day atop LeConte. I have a feeling that we're stuck in a temporary cloud. The high yesterday reached 41 degrees. The overnight low was 33 degrees. It was 40 degrees and cloudy at 7am observation. The mountain received no new precipitation, but there is still patchy snow on the ground. The trails are very slick with the daily melt and nightly refreezing we've had lately. I'd be sure to pack some sort of traction devices, but I've seen plenty of folks who make it to the summit in sneakers. I guess it's a matter of how comfortable you are with descending a giant mountain covered in ice... or they have better health care coverage than I do.

I spent another day resting my knee, thinking positive thoughts and hoping it's on the mend. Patience is a virtue. I read plenty on the porch of cabin 6, soaking in the sun... I am finally starting to make a dent in my mountain man library, so there is a silver lining in being hurt. I also made a couple of loaves of 'bourbanana bread'. Guess what the delicious secret ingredient is! I've had a few folks ask me what I'd appreciate if they generously want to bring me an 'offering', so I figured it's easier to just be transparent about it. I expect nothing, but would prefer to just be open about it rather than responding to comments every now and then...

I always appreciate fresh greens, berries, smoothies (naked, odwalla, or bolthouse), interesting teas and any reading material, especially the New York Times. If you want to go above and beyond, my current wants in the paperback department include:

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihaly
The Sense of Beauty by George Santayana
Confessions of a Barbarian by Edward Abbey
Finding Beauty in a Broken World by Terry Tempest Williams
Nature's Kindred Spirits by James I. McClintock
Riprap and Cold Mountain Poems by Gary Snyder

A big thank you to all the kind souls who enrich my life up here with fresh food & good literature!

_Morning y'all,

It's another stunning morning up here. The high yesterday reached 48 degrees. The low was recorded yesterday morning, 27 degrees. It was 35 degrees and clear at 7am observation. The mountain received no new precipitation yesterday. There is still patchy snow on the ground up top. Be prepared to slide all around the trials within 1,000' of the summit. There is still dangerous ice higher than the double stair on Alum Cave. Microspikes are your best bet for a summit bid free of anxiety.

_It was a gloriously warm, clear day yesterday. I whiled away the hours reading poetry on the porch of cabin 6, watching the day hikers slide down the main staircase. I was sunbathing for a bit, working on my base tan for my San Diego trip next week. It was absurdly pleasant. Sunset was marvelous. There were enough clouds in the sky to lend it a wonderful kind of texture. The colours played in the clouds for over an hour. Every warm shade of yellow, orange, red, pink, purple and all types of unnamed in betweens left me almost a little too dazed to walk back to my cabin.It always feels good to see the cars & their headlights coming down from Newfound, knowing that my journey home is much shorter. It'd be hard not to be anxious traveling 30+ minutes in a car with how intoxicated sunset makes me. I'm glad I only have to stumble a short way down the Cliff Tops trail and can sleep it all off... until sunrise, of course. A little hair of the dog will make me feel better come morning.