Above The Clouds | Mt Adams

Minutes turned to hours, those hours turned to dawn … And when the sun rays popped on the tops of the clouds with Mt. Adams in the distance, I was very emotional. And very grateful to still be standing near the top of the mountain to witness such a beautiful sunrise. But, I almost didn’t see it. I almost wasn’t there to capture this beautiful moment. Let me start at the beginning. And try to explain.
 
A few hours earlier, after finishing photographing the Milky Way near the top of Mt. Rainier, worry and doubt crept into my mind during the darkest part of the night. I sat alone against a large boulder to help protect me from the cold mountain wind. It was the same doubt that had visited me many times over the past year-and-a-half, making me feel that my business and art was in shambles and not worth fighting for. Just give up, it said. Get off the mountain. Hike back down. You shouldn’t be up here. It's too cold. Too windy. Bears will eat you for a midnight snack. The glacier above you is going to crack off and crush you. It was a heavy, negative force and I eventually gave into the darkness. I started hiking back down the mountain in the middle of the night. But, after about 1/2 mile down, I came upon a small meadow with a babbling brook and a sense of calmness overcame the doubt and my thoughts turned to my family. My wife and daughters and their glow of love began growing inside of me, pushing away all the darkness. The feeling that they were with me, rooting for me to stay on the side of the mountain. Cheering for me not to give up. So, I listened. I stopped and gazed upon the nature that surrounded me. Its beauty, just vailed in the darkness, was patiently waiting for the morning light. So, I decided to do the same. And I laid down on the path and waited. Gazing up at the endless sky of stars above me and those few minutes eventually turned to dawn with me standing on the mountain side, capturing one of the most spectacular moments that I’d ever witnessed with my own eyes.