Burned

Hebgen Lake, Montana. Following the snowmobile trails along the Madison Arm, I praised the heavy, bulky suit while cursing the cold that stung whatever small areas of my face that were exposed and made my eyes water even under the face mask. By the time I reached here the temperatures had already climbed to somewhere above zero. I have been gliding through a standing burn, the tall skeletal remains of lodgepole pines that have not yet keeled over. New growth barely peeks above the snow. The mist that rises off the water and hangs between the end of the cindered forest and the distant peaks coats everything in hoarfrost, even the snow. The burn of fire, the burn of cold. In the charred trees I see a will to stand, upright while the elements try to wear them down. If passion is fire, what is ice? I was burned in that heat, and somehow came out standing. Burned again, the cold sinks in like despair. I don't know if I stand for a reason, or if I'm just too dumb to fall.

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Filename: Burned.jpg
Image Size: 2048x1367 / 2.4MB; Yellowstone Montana Madison Arm Hebgen Lake MT winter hoarfrost burm standing bur lodgepole landscape landscape photography Ray Palmer Ray Palmer Photography
Contained in galleries: West

Hebgen Lake, Montana. Following the snowmobile trails along the Madison Arm, I praised the heavy, bulky suit while cursing the cold that stung whatever small areas of my face that were exposed and made my eyes water even under the face mask. By the time I reached here the temperatures had already climbed to somewhere above zero. I have been gliding through a standing burn, the tall skeletal remains of lodgepole pines that have not yet keeled over. New growth barely peeks above the snow. The mist that rises off the water and hangs between the end of the cindered forest and the distant peaks coats everything in hoarfrost, even the snow. The burn of fire, the burn of cold. In the charred trees I see a will to stand, upright while the elements try to wear them down. If passion is fire, what is ice? I was burned in that heat, and somehow came out standing. Burned again, the cold sinks in like despair. I don't know if I stand for a reason, or if I'm just too dumb to fall.