Trinity Alps Wilderness – Travel photo | Patagonia Catalog – Spring 2004

Alex Iams and I backpacked into the Trinity Alps Wilderness in August 2003. On the first night the sky was clear with no signs of rain, so we decided to camp out on a large, flat rock beside one of the clearest mountain streams I have ever seen. The next morning, when the sunlight first hit the water, it was so crystalline it looked almost like air. Small trout could be seen swimming lazily as they looked for food in the deeper sections of the pool. We interrupted their morning meal with a couple of can openers into the frigid, but very refreshing water. This shot made the Patagonia in the Spring of 2004 and was the first time I was ever published with the company. Thanks again very much to Jane, Karen and Sus for working with me for all these years and giving me a big break with this photo!