By Middle Rock Lake in Mount Hood National Forest, Oregon

Steve Herppich, 43, a newspaper photo editor in Olympia, Wash. “I try to get out in the woods on a backpacking trip at least once a year. What I do for a living is totally immersed in humanity: there’s something I really love about covering assignments and meeting all different kinds of people every day. But to get out where, for all you know, there’s nobody within miles is priceless. The whole little mountain lake was surrounded by foothills, and our campsite was right alongside. After dinner, you’ve got a full belly, and scenery all around you. You watch the final rays of the sun cut across the top of the mountain, not a breeze in the air, the water still, like glass. The only ripples in the lake were these little red salamanders. Once in a while they would bump into each other and thrash around. But that was the only disturbance. It was really, really sweet.”