the salient word there is clear, and so far this year, there hasn't been much of that--at least in our sun loving memories. cloudy weather, often accompanied by precipitation, has been predominant. april and may each have had above average precip--2 and 3 inches respectively.
such were my thoughts sunday evening after a steady rain most of the day. cory and i were planning on hiking cardigan to see the sun and the moon on opposite horizons, one setting and one rising close to simultaneously. that happens once a month (theoretically it could happen twice, but i don't remember that occurring recently) + a day around the full moon.
before going to bed i emailed that perhaps we should put it off until july. in my mind, rain in the evening didn't bode well for a clear morning--not even partially clear which can lend itself to a very colorful event. i hadn't heard a peep from cory since friday when we originally talked. which also made an early morning hike less likely to happen.
when i woke up in the deep night to go pee, i knew something had radically changed. sitting on the toilet, a very bright light was shining through the skylight above my head. back in the bedroom i looked out the windows and saw plenty of faint starlight--the moon was full--and no clouds.
even though i tried, a clear sky woke me up beyond falling back to sleep! i grabbed some clothes and made it down stairs without waking pam. it was 1:55a leaving me two hours to 'kill' before heading out. i emailed cory incase he was having the same problem sleeping, made some breakfast and a pot of tea.
i was at the trailhead at 4:05a, along with another couple with the same objective. i started hiking feeling a bit foolish for discouraging cory, but glad to be moving. it was headlamp dark until about halfway up, when i clicked it off and stowed it in a pocket. when i got up onto bare rock, it was clear all round and the moon was full, bright, and headed west. the sun was still below the horizon, but a couple of clouds near the horizon were starting to pink up, marking where it would finally show its face.
it is fairly rare to up on cardigan alone and i always relish the solitude. donning a jacket i snapped a picture of my pack resting under the moon. it was cold and windy enough that i tucked in behind the lower structure at the tower and waited.
looking off to the east i looking at a spot at the bottom of the franconia ridge line--lafayette, truman, lincoln, little haystack, liberty, and flume the over 4,000 footers--where the sun would poke above the horizon, thinking it would be so cool if it came up in a specific notch. it made me giggle that it did.
the moon was due to set twenty minutes after sunrise, but i was keeping my eye on it as it approached a thick haze. it started to be obstructed just as the sun rose above the ridge. i snapped both pictures below within a minute.
and lucky thing! in another minute, after a final swig of water, shouldering my pack, and turning to head down, the moon was barely visible. the other couple, who summited just as the action started, had settled down out of the wind looking east. if they didn't look very soon, they would miss the moon in the west.
i took mostly ski trail down, doing a bit of trail work along the way, scuffing out leaves damming up drainage, tossing blow downs--the ones i could actually move--off the path, rolling rocks out of the trail, and looking around for things that might need more attention.
back at the truck, the clock read 5:55 when i turned the key. that made me nod a yes! i enjoy digital palindromes and love that particular one. often i am setting the kettle to boil for my first pot of tea. to celebrate, i raised my thermos in a toast. going outside and playing was a great start to any day!
such were my thoughts sunday evening after a steady rain most of the day. cory and i were planning on hiking cardigan to see the sun and the moon on opposite horizons, one setting and one rising close to simultaneously. that happens once a month (theoretically it could happen twice, but i don't remember that occurring recently) + a day around the full moon.
before going to bed i emailed that perhaps we should put it off until july. in my mind, rain in the evening didn't bode well for a clear morning--not even partially clear which can lend itself to a very colorful event. i hadn't heard a peep from cory since friday when we originally talked. which also made an early morning hike less likely to happen.
when i woke up in the deep night to go pee, i knew something had radically changed. sitting on the toilet, a very bright light was shining through the skylight above my head. back in the bedroom i looked out the windows and saw plenty of faint starlight--the moon was full--and no clouds.
even though i tried, a clear sky woke me up beyond falling back to sleep! i grabbed some clothes and made it down stairs without waking pam. it was 1:55a leaving me two hours to 'kill' before heading out. i emailed cory incase he was having the same problem sleeping, made some breakfast and a pot of tea.
i was at the trailhead at 4:05a, along with another couple with the same objective. i started hiking feeling a bit foolish for discouraging cory, but glad to be moving. it was headlamp dark until about halfway up, when i clicked it off and stowed it in a pocket. when i got up onto bare rock, it was clear all round and the moon was full, bright, and headed west. the sun was still below the horizon, but a couple of clouds near the horizon were starting to pink up, marking where it would finally show its face.
it is fairly rare to up on cardigan alone and i always relish the solitude. donning a jacket i snapped a picture of my pack resting under the moon. it was cold and windy enough that i tucked in behind the lower structure at the tower and waited.
looking off to the east i looking at a spot at the bottom of the franconia ridge line--lafayette, truman, lincoln, little haystack, liberty, and flume the over 4,000 footers--where the sun would poke above the horizon, thinking it would be so cool if it came up in a specific notch. it made me giggle that it did.
the moon was due to set twenty minutes after sunrise, but i was keeping my eye on it as it approached a thick haze. it started to be obstructed just as the sun rose above the ridge. i snapped both pictures below within a minute.
and lucky thing! in another minute, after a final swig of water, shouldering my pack, and turning to head down, the moon was barely visible. the other couple, who summited just as the action started, had settled down out of the wind looking east. if they didn't look very soon, they would miss the moon in the west.
i took mostly ski trail down, doing a bit of trail work along the way, scuffing out leaves damming up drainage, tossing blow downs--the ones i could actually move--off the path, rolling rocks out of the trail, and looking around for things that might need more attention.
back at the truck, the clock read 5:55 when i turned the key. that made me nod a yes! i enjoy digital palindromes and love that particular one. often i am setting the kettle to boil for my first pot of tea. to celebrate, i raised my thermos in a toast. going outside and playing was a great start to any day!
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