December 29th, 2016

There are lessons - small lessons, enormous lessons, lessons that may be crucial to the planet's persistence as a green and diverse place and also to the happiness of its inhabitants - that nature teaches and TV can't. Subversive ideas about how much you need, or what comfort is, or beauty, or time, that you can learn from the one great logoless channel and not the hundred noisy onces or even the pay-per-view. Bill McKibben

​Morning y'all,
It's a classically fog filled day up top. The high yesterday reached 47 degrees. The overnight low was 29 degrees. It was 29 degrees and in the clouds at 7am observation. The mountain received .64" of rain, with a thunderstorm (!!!) rolling in late last night. The trails are sure to be a bit soggy and may even have some glaze ice. Get out and enjoy the day!

I went out for a brief evening run last night along the Boulevard trail. It's been a while since I have done a pitch black night run (November 4th!) and was excited to have the opportunity. There is a different level of endorphins that seem to be pumped into you at night, as if your body is recognizing an even more primal set of circumstances and floods the system... it's not just runner's high, but a kind of survivor's high. I felt a bit like I was in 'The Most Dangerous Game'. The stars were pheomenal, as always. The trails were quiet and the lights of the surrounding area consistently surprised me - I kept mistaking them for headlamps when I hurriedly turned corners! The residences seem to fold into the mountains during the day, but at night it's pretty incredible just how many lights you see as you round different corners. I made it up to Anakeesta Knob, then turned around just as last night's front was approaching. I was lucky enough to make it back to the lodge half an hour before the skies opened and the thunder roared. It's not common to have both a headlamp jaunt followed by a thunderstorm... I've only heard thunder up here one other time I can recall. As bizarre as it felt to have a runner's high while I got ready for bed... and a thunderstorm started in late December... at this point, nothing will surprise me about this 'unusual' season!