Mountain Journey

Photographed on 1/22/2023

Published on 3/12/2023

Living in the mountains for college has been a blessing for me. Ever since I was young I've enjoyed walking in the woods behind my grandparent's house and seeking out treasures hidden in nature. My grandfather would show me unique rocks and places where the old glass mill dumped glass residue to create a strange fusion of glass and rock.

I have always loved being in nature and discovering evidence of humanity's interference amongst the plants that have lived long enough to see it all. I used to want to go to a college in the city. It was my dream college and it was the only school I applied to that I got waitlisted at. Because I was waitlisted there I ended up going to school in the mountains. Sometimes I wonder what my life would have been like if I had lived in the city. Currently, I believe I would have been worse off.

Some of my previous photo work heavily relates to my favorite places in nature and on the Blue Ridge Parkway specifically. It is a place that has hosted some of my most cherished memories. I have sat on the parkway and stared out at the twinking city lights by myself. I have laughed with friends while hiking and driving along its winding trails. I have had some of the most probing and revealing conversations with those close to me at the Parkway.

This photo album shows a trip to hike on the parkway that is not particularly unique to previous visits, but is still very special to me nonetheless. My two close friends who I've known since freshman year and I decided to go hiking, and I thought I'd bring my camera along to document the excursion. This was a short little hike in wet and cold conditions, but it resulted in some very detailed and beautiful photos with the fog as a backdrop.

I called this one mountain journey because it shows the collection of the best photos I took from before the start of the hike to when we reached the peak of this trail. It shows us at overlooks and admiring the nature around us at every step of the way and feels like a visual journey alongside our actual journey. At its conclusion we are resting on one of the highest peaks in our area, laughing and enjoying each other's presence.

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