Black and white photo of southbound hikers walking the barren shore of Wanda Lake toward Muir Pass.

Opposite Directions

Wanda Lake, Kings Canyon National Park, California

These hikers are southbound, a couple of miles from the hut, walking into the moonscape I was walking out of. Passing SOBOs late in your trip is a strange mirror — everything behind you is still ahead of them, and you can see it in the pace. Shot at 17mm across the full sweep of Wanda Lake, monochrome, because the encounter felt like a diagram: two lines crossing once.

Nikon Z 7_2 · 17-35mm f/2.8D · 17mm · f/5.6 · 1/1000 · ISO 80

July 8, 2025

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