This is an older shot that I recently realized has not yet been posted here. There is a bit of an ironic story behind it. A few days earlier some friends and I had started on a 14-day backpack trip along a long section of the John Muir Trail. (It included the one remaining short section that I have not hiked!) After about four days on the trail we arrived at Purple Lake, a bit south of Mammoth, where I began to feel a bit under the weather. Because the next portion of the hike was across a section of the JMT that doesn’t provide many quick exits in case of emergency, I decided that I would evaluate my condition the next morning before continuing.

I still didn’t feel great when I awoke so I regretfully left my group and backtracked towards Duck Pass to exit to Mammoth Lakes and head home. It was only due to this situation I found myself descending this trail below Duck Pass in wonderful weather of mixed thundershowers alternating with bursts of sunlight — which put me in the right place at the right time to see this beautiful scene as sunlight and rain alternately swept across these lakes.

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G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.

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