but there's only one only. who could go and leave me lonely.

Philosophy directs us first to seek the goods of the mind, and the rest will either be supplied, or not much wanted. Bacon

_Morning y'all,

It's a beautiful day atop Mt. LeConte. It was a cold day yesterday. The high only reached 30 degrees. The overnight low dipped to 13 degrees. It was 23 degrees and clear at 7am observation. There was no new precipitation on the mountain and we're down to about an inch of snow up top. There is plenty of treacherous ice, though. Beware. Microspikes are your best bet for reaching the peak. It's nearly impassable without traction devices.

Top photo: Sunset at Cliff Tops. Above: Adam at Alum Cave. Below: View towards Clingman's.

_Sunset yesterday was incredible, the best of my season. There were all kinds of dynamic events occurring, it felt like a sports bar with 12 different TV's on. Except it was interesting. It was still as could be at Cliff Tops, a rare circumstance that lended the proper eeriness to the peerless mind glow I was to embark on. I saw the golden sun imperceptibly moving across the remaining pockets of cloud formations, like a pretty girl taunting me in a cocktail dress. She knew she looked good. And the silence. The silence always gets me out there. It's so sublime. Some low lying clouds were drifting up near Chimney Tops, getting caught in a wind tunnel of sorts and shifting shape in all kinds of mysterious ways. My friend Mamaw mentioned how she's grateful for all the monsters in the woods - the cryptic shapes you let your imagination run away with. They're all I saw yesterday evening in those clouds. It's a great gift to feel content with so little external stimulus, just my monsters and the pregnant promise of even greater joys to come.