I’d been obsessively checking the weather reports for weeks in advance. It looked like I was finally going to have a weather window to get the sunrise shot I’d been envisioning. The plan was relatively straightforward. I’d drive down to the Great Smoky Mountains on Friday and get on the trail up to the summit of Mt. Leconte no later than 3 a.m. on Saturday. Then I’d simply wait around and photograph the sunrise from Myrtle Point. How hard could it be?