Climbing a trail in the hour before sunrise, I turned to shine my flashlight to be sure I wasn't being stalked by a bear or mountain...

Crescent Moon Rising

Mount Rainier National Park, Washington

Climbing a trail in the hour before sunrise, I turned to shine my flashlight to be sure I wasn't being stalked by a bear or mountain lion.  That's when I discovered I hadn't been paying attention to the moon charts to know a crescent moon would be rising just ahead of the sun, the day before a New Moon.  I walked back down the trail to find a good composition to help frame the photograph. Photo © copyright by Stephen Penland.

Related Galleries: Trees and Other Plants