Where Clouds Are Made

4:25 is certainly an early time to wake up, but when you want to run up a mountain before the sun comes up, you have no other option. This is precisely what Meg and I did along with a friend named Polly yesterday. Equipped with camera, water, headlamp, and my Vibram shoes I love so much, we parked at the base of the trail then proceeded to the Old Pali Road and jogged up the half paved/half jungle route. Lights from the city were blocked by the trees so our meager head lamps were the only things allowing us to have a peek at how steep and how slick the ascent really was.

Upon reaching the summit around 5:45, the sky was beginning to lighten up but the Sun itself was not yet visible. Looking at the peak to my left, clouds were being created right before my eyes. It was a truly magical sight: small faint white splotches appearing from crisp clear air and growing as the wind whipped up from the base of the mountain and carried them higher.
Turning back to my right, the sun was beginning to peek through the clouds in the distance. This is what you see in the photograph. It didn't waste any time as it quickly crawled past the clouds and into the open, warming the mountain as well as the valley below. It may be difficult to wake up before 4:30, but after seeing a sunrise like that, there's no question that it was worth it. What a way to start out the day.