The Other Side

The plan was to stay in the trail forest below Round Bald on our last night in the Roan Highlands and grab images of the trees, which are spectacular, but the clouds started shaping better than we thought they would so I could not resist one more hike to the top to grab sunrise.

Originally, I was facing the same direction, with practically the same composition, I had shot 2 years ago, but my friend Dan called attention to the color blowing up on the other side of what I believe to be Roan High Knob - the peak opposite Round Bald on the other side of Carver's Gap. Wanting to shoot something different, I quickly made way over to that side.

The grass around the bald is quite deceptive in that you have to watch you step or go into a hole and twist your ankle because the grass is high enough not to see the hole. That same grass is also one of the beautiful components of Round Bald, especially when the light hits it. It's both brutal and beautiful, much like everything about the Roan Highlands!