Thunder echoed off the steep rock walls, while I paused to take this photograph of the Palisade group from Palisade Glacier's terminal moraine. From left to right, there is the V-Notch Couloir, Polemonium Peak, U-Notch Couloir, North Palisade, Clyde Couloir, Starlight Peak, Underhill Couloir, and Thunderbolt Peak. More...

Thunder echoed off the steep rock walls, while I paused to take this photograph of the Palisade group from Palisade Glacier's terminal moraine. From left to right, there is the V-Notch Couloir, Polemonium Peak, U-Notch Couloir, North Palisade, Clyde Couloir, Starlight Peak, Underhill Couloir, and Thunderbolt Peak.

We had climbed North Palisade the day before, deciding to bivi at the top of the U-Notch rather than risk the rockfall of a late afternoon descent. In retrospect our caution, while prudent, was little more than an excuse to spend a night high on a mountain and savor the alpine environment and experience.

Now fortunate to be in such a place, securely nestled at the top of the U-notch, the sweet aroma of purple Polemonium wafting in the freshened air. The sun setting in a thin veil of clouds; muted light accentuating the broad expanse of peaks and canyons.

Dark! And a clarity of sky, and of mind. Seeking answers in the stars, and finding question within question in the dust between. No smallest or largest, beginning or end, rather fractal steps upon steps and a choice of universes.