Black and white photo of backpackers riding the morning ferry across Lake Edison back to the John Muir Trail.

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Lake Thomas A. Edison, Sierra National Forest, California

The morning ferry back to the trail is the quietest boat in California — everyone aboard is leaving showers, chairs, and cold drinks behind, and nobody talks. I shot from the bench at 17mm, close enough that the packs and hat brims do the storytelling. A companion piece to the crossing two days earlier: same boat, same lake, entirely different silence.

Nikon Z 7_2 · 17-35mm f/2.8D · 17mm · f/5 · 1/500 · ISO 280

July 13, 2025

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More from Lake Thomas A. Edison, Sierra National Forest, California

Black and white photo aboard the Edison Queen ferry crossing Lake Edison, Captain Paint at the helm on the left.Long exposure of Lake Edison at night from Vermilion Valley Resort, mountains mirrored in still water.

More from JMT

Marie Lake’s island-dotted blue water from the Selden Pass trail at midday, John Muir Wilderness.A backpacker climbing through sunlit lodgepole forest above Mono Creek toward Silver Pass.Black and white photo of a backpacker standing above Lake Virginia watching the evening light develop.Red meadow grasses and still water at Lake Virginia at dusk in the John Muir Wilderness.