Making the Most of the Light
8:25 AM
Summer has met its end and fall has crept upon us. We have lost the pumpkins to the first hard frosts and the trees appear naked, stripped of their vibrant leaves. As granite state enthusiasts, this is always a bittersweet time. Gone are the days of “rocktober” but powder-filled mornings loom ahead. The days are short, really short. Some of us get to work before the sun and leave long after it has turned in for the night. In this season, Saturday morning reigns king. If you can move yourself to get out of bed and spark up the wood stove, the hiking trails are open and the leaf peepers have gone for the year. That said, sometimes that motivation escapes us. The bed is warm and the air is not. The breathtaking burnt autumn views escape us at the summits, which are often clouded in with a bone-chilling rain. It can be hard to want to venture from our warm homes for these less than spectacular pursuits and this can lead to a lull in the appreciation of our home summits. However, there is one gem that this season provides us. The 7:15 sunrise. In the summer, many of us find our way to the top of a 4000 footer at the break of dawn. Often we are accompanied by an all too enthusiastic friend wanting to get there hours before day break —these ventures require waking up entirely too early to reach these 5am sights. Yet, when the days grow short, these early mornings become far more attainable. You can easily wake at 6 to leisurely make your way to a nice rocky outcropping, just in time to see the first rays of the day. Heck, you can even have a few beers the night before and still make it to the summit! If you don't believe me, give it a try. When the days are this short, there is nothing more therapeutic than to see the the entire length of the day. To watch as the sun peaks over the rounded summits and warms you cheeks, illuminating the blue hills in the process. Though the wind may be whipping and the sky is free of snow, these moments are precious in their own right. They teach us to appreciate what we have in the moment and are intended to excite us about the winter season to come.
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