Landscape-After the Doubt

After the Doubt

From the summit of Mount Jo, the Adirondacks unfold in every direction—layer upon layer of autumn ridges dissolving into distant peaks while the sky ignites overhead. The climb rewards with this: forest canopy painted in impossible colors, a hidden lake catching the last light, and mountains that seem to breathe beneath bands of orange and gold. There is something about earning a view that changes how you see it, about standing on stone you walked miles to reach while the sun performs its nightly alchemy. Doubt whispers during the ascent—is it worth it, will the light hold, should I have stayed below—but the summit answers every question you didn't know to ask. This is what waits for those who climb anyway.