August 2026 (One Month - One Picture)
Explore Landscapes #122
Wow—what a month! A birthday, backpacking across the Sierras, summiting Mount Whitney, the highest mountain in the contiguous United States, and another trip to Asia.
Me atop Tumanguya (Mt. Whitney) at 14,505 ft (4, 421 m)
August 2026 | Jennie Lakes Wilderness | Kings Canyon National Park | Sequoia National Park | Hong Kong | Taipei
Wow—what a month! I turned 58 (on the 1st August) and that same day, started out on an 8-day backpacking trip (90 miles / +19,000 ft) across the Sierras.
This month’s image was taken by my hiking buddy Diem Nguyen and captures my excitement and happiness on reaching the summit of Mt. Whitney. I was a lot happier that I might look in the photograph—but hypoxia was kicking my butt at this point—and I was ready to get off the mountain.
I’m writing a post for each day of the backpacking trip, so will leave the ‘story’ of summit day until I share day 6 of the hike. If you’d like to read about the first 3 days you find the links below:
Much like the daily posts I’ve shared from the backpacking trip, I was prompted to write my pre-trip reflections by my friend Sydney Williams, and thought I’d share them here.
Pre-Trip Reflections
What was happening in your life when this trek first became real?
At the end of 2025 my dream of running landscape photography workshops in Joshua Tree came crashing down. Due to rule changes at Joshua Tree National Park the workshops were no longer viable. It was a major blow to me—because it impacted my identity and my wishes/hopes for the future.
My day job also became a lot more demanding and I had to put more energy into that, including multiple long-haul international trips, eroding the time I had to pursue my photography.
I was also starting to feel ‘old’. I was becoming increasingly conscious of my health and needed to take action to ensure that I could enjoy an active life thru my 60s and 70s.
What are you hoping that the trail gives you?
I’m hoping that the trail gives me some clarity on how I want to spend the rest of my life.
I’m also hoping that the trail teaches me that I can still do hard things and that I can get fitter and healthier.
What are you afraid the trail might reveal?
That I’m too old and unfit/overweight to manage the backpacking and/or summiting Mt. Whitney.
That the trail marks the start of my physical decline into my 60s.
What relationship are you bringing with your body right now?
I’m somewhat optimistic that my body is in good enough shape to get through the hike.
I’ve had moments on my training hikes where I’ve felt positive and happily sped uphill with good momentum and energy.
What would success look like if it had nothing to do with mileage or summits?
Success for me would be getting my head straight on retirement and/or the path we continue on.
Success would be having great memories of an amazing adventure backpacking through the Sierras wilderness.
Next week I’ll share day 4 of my Trans-Sierra Backpacking Trip.
