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Sunday Dawn at Zealand Falls Hut

On Sunday morning, I awoke at 5:30 am to the sound of a crinkling wrapper. I’m not a light sleeper — I can filter out rattling air conditioners, steamy radiators, and my husband’s sonorous snoring —  yet this exotic noise piqued my slumbering mind. It sounds like… cellophane on an energy bar? Better wake up and investigate.

It turned out the man in the adjacent bunk — the snorting snorer who woke me up at 2am when he struggled to climb down from his top bunk to go to the bathroom and then again at 3:30am when he turned on his headlamp to read, flooding my face with light — had decided he wanted a little predawn snack. And why not! He had a very active night!

Giving up on sleep, I pulled on my socks and padded gently out to the hut’s main room. It was 6am, and the official wake-up wasn’t until 6:30am. The hut crew was already setting up for the 7am breakfast, and I grabbed an herbal tea to keep me company as I contemplated the view from the front porch.

Through the valley, a stream of morning mist floated by as delicate as finely-steamed milk on a proper cappuccino. Occasionally a break in the translucent flow would allow a glimpse of the tall conifers of the neighboring mountain, peaking out through the froth clinging to its boughs. And higher in the sky, the more resolute clouds shifted to reveal patches of soft blue sky that would be concealed the next time you looked.

The sky continued to change as the hut began to hum with the activity of 36 awakening guests. Soon an opaque cloud cover descended, casting a doomy gloom on the morning. But… in the distance, a spot of brilliant sun had opened up, and I ran to get Mr. P’s camera to capture it. When I returned, the porch had been transformed into a seething tourist attraction. One father with his 2 young sons (all clad in identical black Under Armor) was in awe of the intense bit of sun piercing the gray sky, and he proclaimed, “It’s just like Noah’s dove!”

I snapped several pictures, but none of them could live up to the real thing. How could it?

Ray of Light

Ray of Light

Posted in Existence.

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