When I told my sister Sarah that one of my planned adventures was watching the sunrise from a cool location, she said, “You could just get up in time to see the sunrise. That’s something you’ve never done before.”
Anyone who knows me will probably agree. I have never been a morning person.
But when I woke up on my own at 7:15 a.m. to the sound of birds singing in the gray light outside our tent, I hopped up, ready to face the task at hand.
Last night, the sun had set across the water, so I knew the sunrise would be beyond the woods behind our campsite. All I had to do was find a view of it.
Unfortunately, I had left my clothes in a pile on the tent floor and they were soaked with dew. I had worn a t-shirt and shorts to bed, so I just pulled on my gym shoes and headed to the woods.
I started to lose my footing and instinctively reached for a handhold; it was a dead tree root that slipped effortlessly out of the cliff side and sent me plummeting backwards to the water. It was an “Oh, crap” moment if there ever was one.
I could see light pink flares just beginning to appear through the leaves. At first, I was able to follow a small trail in the direction of the lake. Then it ended and I was on my own moving through the underbrush. At last, I could see water through the trees. Surely once I got close to the water, I could find a small cliff or beach to sit on.
Alas, it was not to be. Heavy, thick underbrush surrounded the lake, falling into it in areas. I got excited once I found a gully down to the water, but at the end of it was more thick underbrush blocking my view.
Finally, I fought through heavy thorn bushes to the side of a small cliff. Carefully moving myself along the side of it, I thought I might find a place to sit.
I started to lose my footing and instinctively reached for a handhold; it was a dead tree root that slipped effortlessly out of the cliff side and sent me plummeting backwards to the water.
It was an “Oh, crap” moment if there ever was one.
A fallen tree surrounded by thorns and spider webs caught me and broke my fall, but I still landed with a splash in the shallows.
I breathed for a moment, relieved I hadn’t hit my head or lost my phone. Then I looked up. I had found the sunrise.
I stood in the shallows watching for a while. Pinks and oranges lit up the sky and reflected off the placid surface of the lake. It reminded me of when I was little and my grandparents owned a house on Norris Lake in Tennessee. I was always happy to wake up there and see the morning light over the misty water. Not a soul was out yet except me, listening to the birds. Mornings, I must concede, are beautiful.
I hiked back to the campsite through the gully, bouncing from wall to wall until I made it out of the woods.
When I got back, Kelly boiled water over the fire and made coffee in a French press. It was among the top five best cups of coffee I’ve ever had. We sat together outside our tent, drinking coffee and slowly waking up before going for a morning swim.
When I put on my swimsuit I noticed the cuts and scrapes over myself. At some point, a spider fell out of my hair. I laughed. The sunrise was worth it.