Over the weekend, Andrew (@andrewkearns) and I decided to head out to Lake 22 for the evening. It was an offhanded plan, and we pretty much only decided to go a few hours before we left. It's only about an hour south, and its one of Andrew's favorite spots. He wanted to go to shoot some work he's doing for the Environmental Defense Fund (elf.org), so we sent it.
After an hour and a half in the car and a stop for chicken tenders, we arrived at the trailhead. We grabbed our stuff and hit the trail. The purpose of the trip was to document a place Andrew is closely connected with, and Lake 22 is that place. It was one of the first places he really got into the outdoors, and held many good memories for him. This was, as mentioned, for the Environmental Defense Fund.
The Environmental Defense Fund is one of my favorite organizations out there fighting. They are dedicated to finding "practical and lasting solutions to the most serious environmental problems." Not only do they focus on conservation, they focus on all realms of the environment. They have programs that work to improve the climate, to research and support clean energy, improve health through safer air and chemicals, to maintain fragile ecosystems such as oceans, and enable sustainable agriculture. So its fair to say they have a hand in everything. I know this blog post is mainly about adventuring at Lake 22, the EDF is an incredible organization that I would encourage everyone to support if they like living on this world we live on.
Anyways, We got up to Lake 22 and ran around taking pictures. The light was apocalyptic looking filtered through the smoke of forest fires. We found some fireweed, cool reflections, and lots of crazy cliff faces. As we made our way around the lake, we got to the famous Lake 22 cliff jump spot, and decided to send it to top off the night. The water was warm, and it was exhilarating to get into the water.
As the sun started to set we ran back down to the parking lot, skipping and jumping the whole way. Another solid evening adventure.
I am currently selling prints, and 100% of proceeds are going to EDF, order one HERE. If you would like to check out the EDF and what they're about, or to donate to their cause, go to EDF.org.