As the calendar flips toward 2026, I couldn’t resist one last jaunt into East Tennessee’s wilds to capture the essence of a year that again tested the Son of Appalachia. With time short amid holiday hustle, I headed to the Bald Mountains near the Tennessee-North Carolina border, where a recent cold snap had blanketed the landscape in a fresh layer of snow.
Armed with my trusty Canon R6 Mark II, I found a vantage point off a country road where the topography framed the scene as the morning sun began to gild the frosted peaks. It’s moments like these that remind me why I traded my old suit for hiking boots – nature’s quiet grandeur always delivers a fitting farewell.
The photo again tells the story: the rolling ridges of the Balds rise in the distance, the summits coated in a shimmering white that looks almost ethereal under the brilliant blue sky. Foreground evergreens, dusted with snow and catching golden light, frame the view, while midground hills show a mix of bare hardwoods and conifers standing resilient against the winter chill. Shot with my wide-angle lens to emphasize the depth and scale, this image highlights the Balds’ rugged beauty: a part of the larger Appalachian chain that’s seen its share of upheaval this year, from Helene’s scars to geomagnetic Auroras to snowstorms creating peaceful white vistas.
Looking back on 2025, it’s been a year of rebuilding and rediscovery in our Southern Appalachians – trails reopening, communities rallying, and vistas like this one proving that endurance runs deep in these hills. As the Badger, I’ll raise a metaphorical toast to the lessons learned and the adventures ahead. If this snowy serenity calls to you, grab your gear and head out; the mountains are waiting to whisper their own goodbyes – and hellos – to the new year.
Many of the HoneyBadgerImages are on display at instagram.com/honeybadgerimages.
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