Onyu Pass: Autumn Mountains Above a Sea of Clouds When clouds fill the valley, the mountains take on a whole new shape

At dawn in late October, I turned to face the mountains from Onyu Pass. I pulled my scarf close around my neck and tucked my hands into my jacket pockets. The valley before me was filled with layer upon layer of white clouds, with only the wooded mountaintops rising above them. I’d come to take in the mountain range stretching into the distance, but that expanse of white was what first caught my eye.

The mountain on the far side of the valley looked rounded in the middle, almost like a little bump. I tried to follow the slope where it disappeared into the clouds, but couldn’t tell how far it continued. I knew the term “sea of clouds,” but I never expected the mountains to look like this. I’d usually look all the way down to the valley floor; today, my eyes kept following the mountaintops instead.

My friend asked, “Can you see that road?” I looked at the mountainside and spotted a narrow road doubling back. “Yeah, it keeps going past the bend,” I said, following it with my eyes to the next turn. When I drive, I take each curve one at a time. From up here, I could see the whole sequence at once. Once I noticed how the road wound across the slope, the mountain felt closer.

As the morning light reached the edge of the mountains, more leaves began to catch it. I looked back and forth between the trees above the clouds and the slopes still in shadow. My friend quietly watched the same view. Even when I tried to say something, the changing light kept drawing my eyes back to the mountains. I moved my fingers inside my pockets and waited a little longer.

After we’d talked about heading back, I took one last look at the valley. At first, all I’d noticed was that expanse of white. Now the mountains rising above it and the winding road would stay with me too. I started wondering what the valley looked like beyond the clouds, and found myself wanting to see it next time. That early-morning view gave me a reason to return to this pass.