Sunrise at Belknap

I started the day very early and got to the trailhead a little after 4 AM. I decided to go out with a bang and do both Belknap and Black Crater in one day to close out my challenge. There was no moon so the hike across the lava flow in the pitch black was a surreal experience. When I reached the turn to Little Belknap I still had a bit of time before sunrise so I scooted over to the cone to catch some predawn light coloring the horizon. It was pretty cool. Then I headed over to the base of Belknap summit. I had burned a little more time than I thought and sunrise was approaching quickly. So I scrambled up quite quickly. Which wore me down quite a bit trying to hurry up the loose sandy slope. But I did make it up for sunrise. And of course I had the summit all to myself. I welcomed the light for the return trip over the lava flows.