This photograph is from August 30th, 2025, captured on Ross Lake in North Cascades National Park at the start of the Big Beaver, Perry, and Thunder fires.

Before this photo was taken, the park was perfectly clear. We spent the morning zipping around the lake on rented motorboats, swimming off steep, rocky shores in clear, invigorating waters, basking in the sharp presence of the mountain giants, and eventually drifting into a quiet, peaceful canyon for a break to catch our breath. By the time we drifted back in and exited the canyon, we saw this fire start around a bend, in another canyon on a different mountain. The wind was in our favor, blowing the smoke away while we were busy catching the first of four pretty big, pretty beautiful trout. We settled in for the night after gazing at the stars, left wondering about the destruction over on the other side of the lake.

It was only the next morning that the wind had shifted. We woke up to a smoky, sobering haze that settled over the lake, even if it wasn't thick at our immediate campsite. The day was still a blast—we boated over to a deep pool at the bottom of a wide, but short and slow-moving waterfall and caught three more beautiful, salmon-colored trout that stewed brilliantly when gutted, quartered, and stewed with diced tomatoes.

This photograph anchors the entire trip to one dramatic, smoky afternoon. Without a photograph, this written record is the clearest artifact of a peacefully rambunctious first day, and the primal joy of a three-trout tribute shared for dinner back at camp. A powerful image tells its own story; it's true the best moments are hardly destined for the camera.