late night sun rise

It was 5:30 pm and I had just finished work in east Tennessee when I decided to hike up the Chimney Tops trail with nothing but my N90 film camera and an extra jacket. At the start of the trail, other hikers were returning to their cars as I passed them going the other way. They all looked at me like I was crazy. "It's too dark," they said, "You will never make it to the top in time!". At first I was fully confident but after hearing these comments I grew worried, but I continued hiking ignoring their warnings. As I ran through the thick rhododendron covered trail trying to make up for lost time, I began to realize how dark it really was. I stopped and thought about turning around. The brush was so heavy and the trees were so tall that they blocked the light from getting to the forest floor. I couldn't even tell if the sun had set or if I still had time to make it to the summit. My mind raced as I thought, not only am I the only one here but I am the only one in the world that knows that I am here. My phone has no service and when I get to the top all I will see is the black night. I sat with a decision to make... I paused for a few moments and thought "what do I have to lose!" I turned and ran up the steep trail, chasing the sun. The summit was 1,000+ feet in elevation from the start of the trail, but it only stretched a mile long. Here are the pictures from my short journey.  

Steadied my camera on the bridge railing with the shutter open for at least 10 seconds. This was on the way back down where I had just a hint of light from the set sun.

 Chimney Tops, Great Smoky Mountains NP

And yes, I caught the sun right as it was about to go beneath the horizon. It was beautiful. The view was worth the dark walk back down!