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just give me on thing that i can hold on to. to believe in this living is just a hard way to go.

1/31/2015

True solace is finding none, which is to say, it is everywhere. Gretel Ehrlich

Morning y'all,

It's a clear, calm morning up top. The high yesterday reached 16 degrees. The overnight low was 6 degrees. It was 6 degrees and clear at 7am observation. There are still about 8 inches of snow up top. The trails are sure to be slick and snowpacked, so be ready for those conditions if you intend to summit today. As of this posting, Highway 441 is closed. Check the Park Service's twitter feed for updated road status. Enjoy the snow world!

Making pizza from scratch is more important than scratching down some words today.

on this ride i'm the captain. all my friends call me shackleton.

1/30/2015

Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth. Thoreau

Morning y'all,

It's a beautiful, blustery morning up top. The high yesterday reached 36 degrees. The overnight low was 6 degrees. It was 11 degrees and cloudy at 7am observation. The mountain received one inch of new snow. Our snowfall total is 8 inches. As of this posting, Highway 441 is closed. Check the Park Service's twitter feed for updated road status. Enjoy the snow world!

I spent a good portion of the day yesterday collaging and watching my invisible friend Wind rearrange the mountain outside of my loft window. The action was impressive all day. I felt like I could take a photo every 5 seconds and notice something new, changed, reborn. The clouds rolled calmly through the sky, like ships in the night. The sky would open and close in one slow gesture, like one hand clapping. First sun, then overcast, then a sprinkling of snow. It settled on sun for most of the afternoon, but the Wind was still indecisive and had the breath of a miler throughout the day. In control until it reached a breaking point, then gusting and gasping. It is easy to pay attention when you sit still enough.

i tried to pass for nothing, but my dreams gave me away.

1/29/2015

To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything, is to succumb to the violence of our times. Thomas Merton

Morning y'all,

It's a beautiful, blustery morning up top. The high yesterday reached 34 degrees. The low was 6 degrees, recorded shortly after observation yesterday morning. It was 34 degrees and clear at 7am observation. The mountain received no new precipitation, but there is still about 7 inches of snowfall up top. As of this posting, Highway 441 is closed. Check the Park Service's twitter feed for updated road status. Enjoy the snow world!

http://www.sparbaniephoto.smugmug.com/

Yesterday was a fantastic day to watch the world unfold. It was still and bluebird through early afternoon. The trees were a wonder to gaze upon, stark white against a deep blue backdrop. After days in single digits, the sun was out in full force, charging solar panels and warming backs. As the day progressed, a few clouds emerged and the wind went from a gentle whisper to a raucous howl. Sunset was perfect, illuminating the clouds with all shades of orange, red and pink. A bright moon worked with the deep snowpack to create a dim ethereal night. Every moment different, every difference new.

you're the tall kingdom i surround.

1/28/2015

Poetry is made of the grandeur that is available to a man with no fortune but with somewhere to walk to and ears to hear and a mind to transport him. He may be defeated in love and finance and yet the night belongs to him, he feels entrusted with the stunning sky, the guardian of the houses on the street and all the people in them. So are poets, the angels and shepherds of the sleeping world. Garrison Keillor

Morning y'all,

It's a stunning, clear morning up top. The high yesterday reached 16 degrees. The overnight low got to a bitter 5 degrees. It was 6 degrees and clear at 7am observation. The mountain still has about 9 inches of snow, with deeper drifts along the trails. As of this posting, Highway 441 is closed. Check the Park Service's twitter feed for updated road status. Enjoy the snow world!

It is yet another day of changed landscape, with clear skies coming in overnight. I will miss the mystery of the fog, the way your headlamp fails to penetrate and leaves the veil of the unknown hanging in the air. Coupled with heavy snow and closed roads, the fog world whispers to us. It speaks slowly, reminding us about how little we really know.

The big views and sunshine bring a warmth, a familiarity, a comforting reassurance that yes, our world is still out there. For better or worse. The snow is encrusted to the spruces and firs like an old friend's hug. Sunshine triggers an innate happiness, distracting and distorting the fog world's lessons.

sometimes it's painful in the light of the truth.

1/27/2015

To not to have entirely wasted one’s life seems to be a worthy accomplishment, if only for myself. Bukowski

Morning y'all,

It's another snowy, blustery day up top. The high yesterday reached 14 degrees. The overnight low was 8 degrees. It was 12 degrees and mostly cloudy at 7am observation. The mountain received 4 additional inches of snow, bringing our snowfall total to 9 inches. There are deeper drifts around cabins and near the trails, so be prepared for a slog if you intend to hike more than a mile or so up any trail. As of this posting, Highway 441 is closed. Check the Park Service's twitter feed for updated road status. Enjoy the snow world!

The change in landscape forces a change in mindscape. I am sure this hold true for everyone, everywhere - but the change is just more dramatic up here. With a few inches of snow, my world is transformed. I am no longer able to notice the drawbacks of being cabin bound, but my hopeful mind is forever looking at snowflakes in wonder and finding new excuses to be entertained and astonished by the beauty around me. Powdery blessings abound!

if my free time is gone, would you promise this? please, bury me with it.

1/26/2015

Examine the lives of the best and most fruitful people and peoples and ask yourselves whether a tree that is supposed to grow to a proud height can dispense with bad weather and storms; whether misfortune and external resistance, some kinds of hatred, jealousy, stubbornness, mistrust, hardness, avarice, and violence do not belong among the favorable conditions without which any great growth even of virtue is scarcely possible. Nietzsche

Morning y'all,

It's a beautiful, snowy morning up top. The high yesterday reached 33 degrees. The overnight low was 20 degrees. It was 20 degrees and snowing lightly at 7am observation. The mountain received 4 inches of snow last night, bringing our snow total to 5 inches. The trails are sure to be a slog today, but with such perseverance comes great rewards. Enjoy the carpeted wonderland!

There are few more affirming sights in the morning than seeing your skylight darkened with last night's snowfall. It is not a dusting, it is finally REAL. All those lying weathermen and cold but not cold enough rainy days disappear and the joy of the powdery now abides.

and if i don't come back. i mean, if i get sidetracked it's only cause i wanted to.

1/25/2015

Life is long if you know how to use it. Seneca

Morning y'all,

It's a beautiful, clear day up top. The high yesterday reached 24 degrees. The overnight low was 15 degrees. It was 23 degrees and clear at 7am observation. The mountain received no new precipitation yesterday, but there is still an inch of snow remaining on the ground. The trails are sure to be slick, so pack some Kahtoola Microspikes if you'd prefer to remain injury free. It sounds like the mountain is due to receive another bit of snow this evening. As of this posting, Highway 441 is closed. Check the Park Service's twitter feed for updated road status. Enjoy the snow world!

just close your eyes and i'll be there. listen to the sound of this old heart beating for you.

1/24/2015

“Nothing touches it,” Cohen said, as the light came into the cabin, of sitting still… Going nowhere, as Cohen described it, was the grand adventure that makes sense of everywhere else. Pico Iyer

Morning y'all,

It's a beautiful, snowy morn up top! The high yesterday reached 36 degrees. The overnight low got down to 19 degrees. It was 19 degrees and snowing lightly at 7am observation. The mountain received .97" of rain yesterday and an inch of snow overnight. The trails are sure to be treacherous, so be sure to pack traction devices if you intend to go places. As of this posting, Highway 441 is closed. Check the Park Service's twitter feed for updated road status. Enjoy the snow world!

so let's take a loan, i'll put it down on a house in a place we've never lived. in a place that exists in the pages of scripts and the songs that they sing.

1/23/2015

Do anything you like, but do it with conviction! Henry Miller

Morning y'all,

It's a gloomy morning up top. The high yesterday reached 35 degrees. The overnight low was 24 degrees. It was 29 degrees and mostly cloudy at 7am observation. The mountain received .26" of liquid precipitation last night. It is currently sleeting a bit, the mountain is covered in a veneer of ice. It was sketchy walking just to get to the kitchen from my cabin! As of this posting, Highway 441 is closed. Check the Park Service's twitter feed for updated road status. Enjoy the fog world!

the real truth about it is, there ain't no end to the desert i'll cross. i really known it all along.

1/22/2015

I feel like a song is a secret of the heart on the sleeve. I don’t run away from truths or un-surviving loves. I also feel that a song in its simplest form is no different than a day in a season. It could be a silent and early hour or it could be nothing but despair and loss and anger, and yet it is still only an autumn day. Jason Molina

Morning y'all,

It's a beautiful, grey tinged morning up top. The high yesterday reached 33 degrees. The overnight low was 19 degrees. It was 24 degrees and clear at 7am observation. There is still a bit of snow and ice remaining up top. I've heard that the trails are in slick shape after our freeze/thaw cycles, so be sure to use caution on sketchy sections. If you don't want to worry about slipping and falling, Kahtoola Microspikes are the answer. You can find them at the NOC Gatlinburg, right before the entrance to the park.

I spent a lot of time yesterday enjoying the sunshine on my porch. There are few pleasures greater than spending a chilly day with an immersive book (thanks Henry!), drinking coffee while wrapped in a wool blanket. These days of rest and respite are ones I dream of all summer, while working hard in the muddy New Hampshire backwoods. It all makes for a delicious balance, wildness and peace in the tranquility of the mountains. Every day in the woods is a blessing, however it is spent. We are the lucky ones who know this to be truth.

Much thanks to my friend Tenderfoot for bringing me up some epsom salts (an 8lb bag!) to help keep my swelling down. It is much appreciated! Have fun at Wildlife Week!

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