i set my pulse to the great lakes pulse.

It had occurred to me that comfort was only a disguise for discomfort; reference points, a disguise for what will always change. Gretel Ehrlich

Morning y'all,

It's a beautiful day up top. The high yesterday reached 31 degrees. The overnight low was 17 degrees. It was 18 degrees and clear at 7am observation. The mountain received no new precipitation. There is no snow remaining up top, but the trails should be a bit slick with the cold temperatures we had last night. Be on the lookout for black ice!

Yesterday evening my friends and I were treated to one of the best sunsets I've seen up here. I've jokingly started grading sunsets and knew straight away that this was due to be an A+. Clingmans' resembled a majestic whale coming up for air and the clear conditions let the orange glow linger long and long. The clouds hung around the valley all day, obscuring any signs of civilization. There were no lights from Gat Vegas and Pigeon Forge blotting out the moonlight, so we had no trouble walking back in the dark without headlamps. It was another one of those evenings for which the right words just do not exist.