so while you sit and whistle dixie with your money and your power, i can hear the flowers a-growing in the rubble of the towers.

I feel great gratitude for being here, for being, rather for there is no need to hike oneself to the snow mountains in order to feel free. I am not here to seek the “crazy wisdom;” if I am, I shall never find it. I am here to be here, like these rocks and sky and snow, like this hail that is falling down out of the sun…the absurdity of a life that may well end before one understands it does not relieve one of the duty (to that self which is inseparable from others) to live it as bravely and generously as possible. Peter Matthiesen

Morning y'all,

It's another beautiful, clear morning up top. The high yesterday reached 29 degrees. The low was 13 degrees, recorded shortly after observation yesterday morning. It was 24 degrees and clear at 7am observation. The mountain received no new precipitation and there is still 2 inches of snow remaining up top. The trails are in worse shape than I had expected, with a lot of slick spots and generally tricky areas. Be sure to pack some sort of traction devices unless you enjoy slipping and sliding down a cold mountain!

Sunrise from Apollo Overlook.

I went for a wonderful midnight stroll yesterday night. Most of my night hikes start with some sort of daylight and turn into races to get back to my cabin before it gets too late. However, last night I really savored the mountain in moonlight. There were a number of instances where I'd turn corners, see some stark light amongst the trees and expect to run into some other crazy headlamped hikers or a joyful fire pit or chilly Cherokee ghosts, only to remember that the dim yellow orb amongst the trees was my old friend, moon. It was a little shock to the system, an honest surprise each time.

On one hand, you could say it has something to do with a failing short term memory... but I prefer to think of it as an ever renewing gift for living in the present. Each new turn of the trail found the moon in a different place in the sky and with my focus on my feet and my heartbeat, it was like I was born new every 3 minutes. I'd fail to remember my past encounter with this ethereal brightness amongst the spruce-firs and the old game was on again...