Four hours up. That's what it took to get here, and every switchback was worth it. The trail came out of the trees and just opened up, and there it was: the whole valley lit from above, sun punching through the clouds in solid gold beams.
I hiked this ridge two summers ago in the rain and saw nothing. Nothing. Just grey and my own bad attitude. Today the sky decided to show off.
The grass here is impossibly green, dotted with tiny white flowers that only exist at altitude. The mountains stack up behind each other, getting paler and paler until they're just suggestions of mountains. The clouds are heavy and dark and dramatic, and the light comes through them like they're cracked open on purpose.
I've got granola in my pocket and dust in my shoes and nowhere to be until dark. This is the life I keep running back to.
You can see a weather system coming in from the west. Thirty minutes, maybe. I'll ride it out under that rock overhang and keep shooting until the sky goes pink. Then I'll run down in the dark like an idiot, as tradition demands. #hiking #sunbeams #mountains #adventure
