I’ve had success towards one of my goals for the winter of 2026: get out hiking for more sunrises in the mountains. This was my second sunrise hike after a long period of bitterly cold temperatures and high winds made solo hiking before daylight too dangerous for my comfort.

I left my car at 4am and ascended a trail I know very well: the Liberty Springs Trail. Mount Liberty via the Liberty Springs Trail was my first New Hampshire 4000-footer when I was a kid and it’s one of my favorite summits. The weather forecast was claiming mostly sunny skies at sunrise but the timing wasn’t perfect and the summit was underneath a heavy cloud bank when I crested Franconia Ridge. It was also extremely windy so by the time sunrise was passed the clouds had all blown off to the east and the skies over the ridge were clear.

I didn’t quite get the glowing sunrise alpenglow I was hoping for but I did get to watch the early morning golden light work its way down the peaks of the White Mountains as the clouds slid by in the background.