Beyond the Fog

After living in Fort Collins for years, I’d always wanted to hike up to Horsetooth on a foggy morning and see if I could get above it.

I’d just never made it happen.

Then a friend who was interested in photography came to visit, and we made plans to hike up Horsetooth for sunrise.

We woke up that morning to thick fog. We could barely see what was in front of us. We decided to go anyway.

On the drive over, I joked, “Maybe we’ll get above it.” I was mostly kidding. But part of me was hoping.

As we made our way up, somewhere around halfway, I looked up and noticed a little blue sky beginning to appear through the thinning clouds.

Suddenly, I wasn’t kidding anymore.

We kept climbing, and eventually we broke through.

Below us, the fog stretched out over Fort Collins like a huge blanket. Above it were blue skies and bright morning sun.

I’d imagined seeing something like that for years, and there it was.

I’m glad I had my camera with me to photograph it.

More importantly, I remember taking it in and enjoying the moment first.