DawnpatrolTam, adventure profile with Jeff Jungsten and what it takes to see the sunrise.
Name: Jeff Jungsten
Age: 56
Occupation: President Jungsten Construction
Passion: Sunrise on Mount Tam
Round trips up Mt. Tam for sunrise: 6700+ 7000+ (this has been edited to reflect accuracy and how badass Jeff is)
Instagram account: DawnpatrolTam
“If I should capture the most beautiful sunrise, only then, will I stop capturing them.”
Danikelii
The alarm sounds. It’s 4:30am and it’s dark. The 4:30am wake up no matter how many times it happens, is always a challenge. That burning feeling in your eyes lingers just long enough for you to question what you're doing. Within a short time, the quiet dirt trail is crunching below you as each pedal stroke propels yourself higher up the mountain. Illumination is poor, but with the possible illumination of the moon, a mounted bike light, or the slow rise of the sun just barely made out, one can reach their destination at the top.
The ride up Mount Tam to see the sunrise is not just a task, it’s a labor of love and a 46 year love affair with a moment that occurs daily for Jeff Jungsten. This journey, 3-4 times a week fuels his thirst for meaning. At the age of 10 he made his first trip as high as he could but not yet reaching the top. In highschool he hitch hiked his way to the top looking for that thrill of a downhill which we all know exists. But, as the downhill thrill waned, something else emerged in its place. That something was meaningful and captured his thoughts from the deepest place of his consciousness.
Ultimately we all search for meaning in our lives whether it’s through family, work, religion, sports, and countless other reasons. As part of that search for meaning, Jungsten has been making the journey with a singular goal of experiencing the awesomeness of sunrise from the top of Mt. Tam. More recently, that awesomeness has extended to his instagram account DawnpatrolTam. It seeks to inspire and share those moments even when others can’t be there with him. The “daily dose of dawn” and #alwaysworthit as seen from his instagram account can be attached to any of his photos.
Personally, as I scrolled through each one, it became noticeable that every day has a sunrise, but not everyday looks the same. Color takes on new meaning as the many shades of red, yellow, blue, purple, green, orange, are on display. These photos offer us inspiration before we ever walk out the front door.
For him, seeing the sunrise in this way has changed who he is and as he describes it, “my sunrise journey helps me balance out the crazy parts of life”. The day to day of running a successful construction company breeds its own challenges and struggles. But this daily journey to Mt. Tam’s East Peak, provides calm which permeates throughout the rest of the day.
As we were deep in conversation about DawnpatrolTam, he described to me in essence his thought process for this daily ritual, “What if the sunrise only happened once in a lifetime. The whole world would come out to see it. But it happens every day and we get complacent, and can even take it for granted. I never want to take it for granted. It's like a river, you never see the same one twice!”
I’m reminded of the days I spent serving in the U.S. Navy aboard warships, standing all night watches, and seeing the same sunrise like clockwork for 9 months straight. Life can seem tedious at times and the monotony could drive us to not see what exists right in front of us. Appreciation for what’s in front of us doesn’t need to be a once in a lifetime opportunity. It can be the site we see every single day. All we need to do is pay attention as proven by DawnpatrolTam.
“If I didn’t do this, I would be missing the point of life”. Jungsten has been living purposely, one Mt. Tam sunrise round trip at a time since he was 10 years old. His inspirational morning journey continues as a ritual most days of the week. And while we slowly wake ourselves each day, the sunrise is being captured by the DawnpatrolTam, for all of us to see.