Hiking towards the Palisades

A lone backpacker with trekking poles ascends a steep, boulder-strewn trail alongside a cascading waterfall, with rugged granite peaks shrouded in clouds in the background.

We were high in the Sierra Nevada, and the weather was turning. The clouds were already starting to obscure the peaks, and I knew we had to make good time to our camp before the rain hit. The sound of the waterfall was a constant companion on the climb.

Sierra Nevada, California · 2026