I woke up, again, and the temperature was still 30 degrees and the winds still howling at around 50 miles per hour but the rains had stopped and the cave-like darkness of my tent had turned into a twilight grey. Curiosity and the need to relieve myself overpowered my want of comfort. I stepped out of my tent quietly enough so as to not wake my neighbors hidden away in their tents amidst a dense shelter of trees. The piss steamed as it hit the now frosty ground. Even that minor loss of warmth caused a noticeably bittersweet shiver up my spine. A pair of wool socks, jean shorts, and sleeping bag was all I had to keep me warm as I hiked out of our little canopy of firs: all my clothes were soaked wet hiking to and around the campsite the day before. Regardless I dared the biting wind that numbed my skin and made it red and bumpy to the touch. It was so cold that I could feel each tendon resist every time I made a fist. The mucus that did not dry instantly on my upper lip left a somewhat salty aftertaste in my dehydrated mouth. A short half mile hike through the sometimes knee high brush took me to the top of a roundtop mound offering a free, uninhibited view of the luscious landscape. Bright red blueberry patches and random trees spotted the yellow scrub of a meadow, almost speaking by their very existence of divine intent. On either side of the plateau to the north and south ranged hills covered in impossible yet vivid mixtures of yellow, red and orange, if names could ever be given to such exorbitant colors. Winds coursed through the rocky valleys where small streams attempted to audibly mirror the mad and overpowering rustling of the leaves. Fall was in full, majestic bloom. I stood there for a few minutes worth of eternity in complete ecstasy, in absolute awe, when the dawn crested over the mountain peaks. There I was slowly and deeply exhaling visible breaths and stunned utterly speechless. What good have I ever done to be so lucky? What have I ever done to deserve sight of such inexplicable beauty? Even now drenched in memory the picturesque landscape waters my eyes and shortens my breath to a mere gasp. For there I was, alone amongst the firs, aspens and birches of Appalachia and the Monongahela, taking in the heat and vitality of the rising sun's first rays and feeling goddamn happy to be alive. Sunday, October 23 Dolly Sods, West Virginia Intersection of Trails 526 & 523 http://community.webshots.com/album/487686436AClbRn