Hope, Hurricane Ridge

Olympic National Park, Washington. I drove the switchbacks up to here in the dark, the mountainsides impossibly steep on each side of the road. I trudged up Hurricane Hill until I saw the little promontory I had spied the previous evening, then puffed my way up to the top of the cliff as the sky began to smudge. The remains of a tree marked the edge of the void, where I crouched, hands in armpits to stay warm, watching my breath. This is an older image, when I was more motivated for sunrise. I wonder why I was...was it the promise, the anticipation, the Hope that a good sunrise implies? But hope is a stupid thing, a sure disappointment, a dream waiting to be be ruined by waking. We are only human, we can't help wanting things to be...but it's better not to expect, not to cherish that desire. Better to be taken by surprise. Some mornings are glorious, some go bust. Sometimes I'll be there and let it happen, one way or the other.

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Image Size: 2048x1363 / 2.3MB; Hurricane Ridge National Park Olympic National Park WA Washington landscape nature landscape photography Ray Palmer Ray Palmer Photography ridge sunrise Mt Angeles
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Olympic National Park, Washington. I drove the switchbacks up to here in the dark, the mountainsides impossibly steep on each side of the road. I trudged up Hurricane Hill until I saw the little promontory I had spied the previous evening, then puffed my way up to the top of the cliff as the sky began to smudge. The remains of a tree marked the edge of the void, where I crouched, hands in armpits to stay warm, watching my breath. This is an older image, when I was more motivated for sunrise. I wonder why I was...was it the promise, the anticipation, the Hope that a good sunrise implies? But hope is a stupid thing, a sure disappointment, a dream waiting to be be ruined by waking. We are only human, we can't help wanting things to be...but it's better not to expect, not to cherish that desire. Better to be taken by surprise. Some mornings are glorious, some go bust. Sometimes I'll be there and let it happen, one way or the other.