gonna rise up, find my direction magnetically.

If the day and the night are such that you greet them with joy, and life emits a fragrance like flowers and sweet-scented herbs, is more elastic, more starry, more immortal, -- that is your success. All nature is your congratulation, and you have cause momentarily to bless yourself. The greatest gains and values are farthest from being appreciated. We easily come to doubt if they exist. We soon forget them. They are the highest reality. Perhaps the facts most astounding and most real are never communicated by man to man. The true harvest of my daily life is somewhat as intangible and indescribable as the tints of morning or evening. It is a little star-dust caught, a segment of the rainbow which I have clutched. Thoreau

Morning,

It was a mild New Year's Eve. The high was 43. The low was 24. It was 40 and hazy at observation. It looks like we'll be receiving a bit of rain this afternoon, so be prepared for slick trails. The ice has become a hazard. Be sure to factor this additional obstacle into your trip - being cautious on ice requires both time and attention. You won't make the same miles as you can in the summer.

I spent yesterday taking short hikes around camp, sunbathing and talking to dayhikers. Special thanks to Mike Wood and the Ketelle's for hiking me up some reading material for the new year!

Top photo: View near Alum Cave trail. Above & below: Sunset at Cliff Tops.