Wasn’t expecting this! As I trekked up the north side of the mountain I could barely see a thing. Brought the camera just in case but it looked like all I was going to see was fog. It was kind of eerie, very little sound other than the chirping of the birds and the sound of our breath and my heart pounding from the exertion. I have seen signs of the bears awakening and was sincerely hoping I was not going to have my first closeup bear encounter! Finally over the summit… but the anticipated clearing on the leeward side didn’t happen. I tried a couple of shots of an aspen tree that looked particularly cool in the dim morning light through the mist and it took some doing to find the trail back, the fog was that dense.

And then all of a sudden I came down out of it and the fog was swirling around the trees,

the ground was steaming from the morning sun after the ice storm the night before. I took a few shots and then everything changed. Took a few more and walked a few more feet. Every few steps and the landscape looked totally different, it was truly amazing. And the old abandoned mines which I imagine to be quite haunted by the spirits of those who did not survive the harsh lifestyle appeared extra ghostly on this day 🙂

As always, this image and more are now available on my website as wall art on glossy acrylic or metal sheets, wrapped canvas and traditional framing and matting. I’ve been doing so much shooting lately that I’m getting a bit behind on my processing. Keep an eye on my website, there are dozens more to come!