High noon hit these woods like a spotlight and the whole valley lit up amber. The sun comes down in hard beams, cutting between the ridges, and the trees catch fire with it. Orange, gold, copper. This is what neon looks like when it grows on trees.
I stood on the ridge trail with my hood down and my jaw somewhere near my knees. The beams are so solid you could almost lean on them. Almost.
Down in the valley the color goes deep, almost burning. Up top where I'm standing, the green is still green, still holding on. The transition between the two happens fast, like a street corner where one block is all light and the next is all shadow.
The clouds overhead are stacked thin and white, letting the sun through in these dramatic shafts. Photographers call it god rays. I call it the forest flipping every switch at once.
I hiked down into the gold until my shoes were full of leaves. The air smelled like October and distance. Best light show in town, and admission was one pair of sore knees. #autumn #forest #lightrays #golden
