Hiking up to this location was serious work.

I set my alarm for two A.M., got up and stumbled downstairs and out the back door in my underwear to look up into the sky for clouds. (I really didnt want to climb to 10,000 feet and not have some nice clouds, and without clouds I would simply go back to bed).

Seeing a few high clouds, I decided to grab my gear, leave a note for my sweetheart and drive up to the trailhead. At three A.M., I parked my truck and loaded 2 camera bodies, 3 lenses, tripod, and other survive-alone-on-the-mountain gear into my pack, grabbed a small flashlight and my trusty walking staff and headed into the dark tunnel of aspen trees following a well-worn trail into the high country.

Two hours later, the dim light over the mountain to the east was enough to light my way. The trail I had been following ended at the shoreline of a high alpine lake, I could see the outlines of several tents where campers were sleeping. It was a beautiful place, but my location was still a long way up the mountain.

There was no trail now and I had to climb at a much steeper angle over the fallen logs, boulders, through the brush. Sunrise was just sixty minutes away.

Closer now to the summit, I made my way around large patches of unmelted snow and past the last few surviving trees at timberline. I was glad to see the small lake was not still covered in snow and ice. Finally, around the water and up the slope to the place I knew I could set up my tripod.

The dawn was beautiful, and my camera was ready. Color blazed in the sky, in the clouds above Mt. Timpanogos.

Oh yes,....worth it.