The fog lifts

In the afternoon the fog lifted revealing a majestic valley so beautiful I cried. This was also the best place to take a picture of my climbing partners: Ken and Lorie Johnson my father-in-law and step mother-in-law. I wish I could adequately describe the beauty of the clouds moving through the mountains, the sudden awe felt when a cloud opens to reveal a sight hidden from view, and the majesty of the forest. film cannot capture the smooth natural motions of the wind made visible by the silent clouds, nor the sound of the many rushing waterfalls discernible to the eye but too far away for my camera. These clouds moving through the mountains have a special name in Chinese. It is called 嵐 Lan, a combination of the character for mountain 山 Shan, and the character for wind 風 Fong. They are also imbued with a powerful type of 氣 Chi or energy. Seeing them or having them pass over you can be a very auspicious occasion, an occasion that happened many times to us on the trail. I am grateful I had this opportunity and I hope I can share more days like this with more of my friends and family in the future.