A dark tarn beneath the snow-streaked headwall on the north side of Forester Pass, Kings Canyon National Park.

Iron Water

Forester Pass, Kings Canyon National Park, California

First miles down the north side of Forester, fresh off the snow slide, legs still shaking slightly. The tarn had barely melted out and the water was that heavy, lightless almost-black that only exists at 12,000 feet in early season. I exposed for the water, not the snow — let the highlights defend themselves — because the weight of it was the picture.

Nikon Z 7_2 · 17-35mm f/2.8D · 19mm · f/5 · 1/200 · ISO 140

July 2, 2025

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More from Forester Pass, Kings Canyon National Park, California

Black and white panorama from Forester Pass at 13,120 feet over the lakes and peaks of upper Kings Canyon.

More from JMT

A small creek winding through alpine meadow toward Guitar Lake below Mount Whitney at golden hour.Storm clouds building over tundra and tarns below Forester Pass on the John Muir Trail in the morning.A meltwater creek running over green moss through a meadow below Forester Pass, Kings Canyon National Park.Storm clouds over East Vidette and the Bubbs Creek forest, from the climb above Vidette Meadow.Towering afternoon clouds over the Kearsarge basin with distant lakes far below, from near Kearsarge Pass.