Are you feeling brave?

T minus 7 days

Some days begin with the sun, or an alarm, or a coffee. This day began a week prior when I finally voiced an itch in the back of my brain. A desire to tie in the fall leaves off a trail I had been to only once years prior. It has been a rough semester and I was about to go out of town again. Honey had been working crazy hours so we weren't seeing as much of each other and as such, hadn't been tying as often. I needed the outside, I needed their company, and I needed rope. They had a day off that happened to align so we made tentative plans.

T minus 3 days

Me:

Okay so I'm looking like a solid maybe for Monday
Trees look great
Weather is supposed to be clear but also freesing cold
(Like 34 degrees so literally)

Honey:

If you're feeling brave I'm feeling brave

Me:

I think I'm feeling brave

T minus 2 day

The predicted temp continues to drop and their is now a small chance of snow overnight. We start to talk about precautions. Long underwear is a must. I plan to buy hot hands for both my hands and theirs while we tie. I've tied in cold before but at that time we pre-tied most of the harnesses in a warm car. This time there will be almost a mile hike before the rope comes out of the bag. We're both nervous but also, we're both excited.

T minus 0 days

And then final a day that began a week prior is finally here. I leave, I drive 4 min down the road before realizing I forgot a lens and have to go back for it and then finally I am on my way. I pick Honey up and we begin the hour and half drive from the plateau into the edge of the smokey mountains. An hour out we get off the interstate and begin the slow climb to the trailhead. The closer we get the more sure I am of our timing. The leaves are perfect glorious shades of red and yellow and litter both the ground and the trees. Nothing is sticking or even really falling but there is snow floating in the air around us giving the whole trip a kind of mystic quality.

I was hoping that the freezing cold Monday morning of it all would prove for a deserted trail but there are a few other hikers other than ourselves. Far more than the none I expected. After making our way past a cliff edge that we determined was too on the trail we pick out a small bridge between to faces of rock just above the narrow stone staircase that cuts the mountain in two and gives the trail its name. After setting up the ring we have to take a moment to gather our bravery as Honey takes off his overcoat, I take off my gloves, and meet the cold head on.

From here my words start to fail me and that is part of why I take photos. This experience was everything I needed it to be. It was quiet and bold and exciting and familiar all at once.