"Radiation Inversion"
Altocumulus roll clouds over a High Sierra backcountry lake at sunset.
To get this shot, on the tail end of a six-day, 80+-mile backpacking trip, I endured 4 hours of intense, constant lightning, heavy hail and gale-force winds, as I trekked several miles both on and off trail. At some points, the storms grew so intense that I had to drop my pack and hide in lone clusters of foxtail pines. I barely made it over a high pass before the worst of the weather hit. But things began to clear up in the late afternoon...and this was part of the reward. Enduring weather like this is quite a moving experience. With no manmade shelter in which to hide, we finally realize just how vulnerable we are and how small we are in this world.
So many of the best places in the world are off the beaten path...
