It was hard getting out of the tent that morning. The howling wind screamed at us to stay in our sleeping bags, and the overcast sky threatened rain just before our trek of the famed Franconia Ridge Trail. The trudging along of footsteps outside however motivated us to move and join the small number of other hikers getting ready for the day. The way up involved a steep and seemingly endless ascent--the 3 mile segment had an elevation gain of 3,000 feet--in the gloom under the storm clouds. Luckily for us, it didn't actually end up raining that day. And our persistence that morning was rewarded when the sky began to clear up.