Somewhere along the mist-covered slopes of Lake Twenty-Two, a bewildered young hiker encountered something so unexpected that he leapt sideways in terror.
It stood approximately five and half inches tall.
And it sneezed at him.
Lake Twenty-Two
The fog at Lake Twenty Two was so thick that morning it swallowed the landscape whole, completely wiping out the postcard-perfect views promised by AllTrails. We had set out early, hoping for sweeping scenery, but instead arrived at a trailhead engulfed in heavy, impenetrable mist. Visibility was practically zero. I looked down at my camera, then over at Rick and Tuki—who was already vibrating with eagerness to hit the trail anyway. We decided to push forward.
The silver lining to the soup-like weather was the absolute, profound quiet. This is notoriously one of the most crowded hikes around, but that morning, we had the eerie, atmospheric woods entirely to ourselves. Tuki trotted off-leash, his black and tan coat blending into the damp earth, while Rick soaked in the rare solitude. I hung back, clicking the shutter to capture the serene, moody contrast of them navigating the rocky, snow-dusted terrain. It was pure, uninterrupted peace.
The Unassuming Wanderer
Then, a staggering silhouette materialized out of the fog.
Rick and I exchanged a wary glance. The figure’s gait was wildly off, and as he stumbled closer, the details came into focus: a drenched teenager, maybe sixteen, dressed like he had just staggered out of an all-night rave. He had no water, no backpack, no jacket—just pure, unadulterated luck carrying him down the mountain.
He ambled up to us, completely unassuming. When we asked if he was lost or needed help, he casually brushed it off, claiming he was just “wandering around.” It was immediately obvious he was riding out a heavy dose of mushrooms or something similar; the lights were on, but the kid was entirely on another planet.
We stood there chatting with him for several minutes, humoring his spacey vibe, when he suddenly leaped sideways, eyes wide with terror, and shrieked, “WHAT THE F#CK IS THAT?”
Rick and I looked at each other, completely bewildered, before following his panicked gaze down to the ground. Tuki was sitting right there, staring up at him with quiet, unbothered judgment. Before we could even catch our breath from laughing, Tuki let out one of his signature little fake sneezes.
He was startled not by a bear. Not by a cougar. Not some terrifying creature lurking in the Pacific Northwest wilderness.
But, a Yorkshire Terrier!
We parted ways with the utterly perplexed kid shortly after, laughing our heads off at the sheer absurdity of him wandering the rugged wilderness out of his mind, completely unprepared, and absolutely terrified of a tiny, sneezing Yorkie.
My only regret that morning as a seasoned photographer now, is that I didn’t get a photo of that kid!
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