It has been a long time since I set my alarm clock for 3:30am. But there was no way around it!

Sunrise was at 5:31am.

I wanted to be on location at 5:00am. If it took half an hour to hike to the overlook, I needed to be at the trailhead at 4:30am. Google Maps said it was a half hour drive to the trailhead, giving me a departure time of 4:00am. And because I figured it would take half an hour to shake the sleep out of my eyes, get ready for the day, pack up some snacks, and put on my hiking shoes . . . I needed to set my alarm for 3:30am.