The hike in behind Saddlebag Lake in the Inyo National Forest is an incredible one. At the start it's all rock and ice at 10,000 feet. We crossed over rockslides that sounded like glass crunching and shifting under our feet. The lake stretched out before and behind us, meeting the backdrop of snowy-covered mountains.



After a lengthy stretch of walking on rocks, the trail takes a turn, and the end of Saddlebag Lake comes into view, a cluster of pines at one end. With all the rain, it was lush -- an emerald fairy land of wildflowers, moss and grasses. I photographed pink and yellow columbine, bright purple wild onion, red Indian paintbrush. Granite slabs protruded from the ground, with moss and wildflowers growing off them in cascades.



Beyond Saddlebag Lake lay another lake, sparkling in the late afternoon sun. Beyond that lay still another lake, meeting with a narrow canyon. A waterfall plunged down from a steep cliff. The high country is incredible, and from up here it's all lakes, ice, snow, wildflowers, and rock.






We returned to the edge of Saddlebag Lake, then crossed the rock slides once again, and descended on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevadas to see Mono Lake, home to strange tufas and spadefoot toads.