Sunset at Lac du Blanc. The Mont Blanc massif from Lac Du Blanc. One of the highlights of my three weeks in France was hiking with my wife the rugged 2 miles from where a cable gondola deposited us on the flank of the Mont Blanc massif along a trail to this spot called Lac Du Blanc. We stayed overnight in a backpacker's hostel adjacent to this spot and were treated to a great sunset and some wildlife surprises, which I'll tell you about later. This shot was taken shortly before sunset. The next morning we awoke to a torrential rain and lightning storm in the mountains. I counted my blessings that at least the previous night there had been some great photographic opportunities. We lingered over breakfast in the hostel with the rest of the hikers who were reluctant to go out with lightning crashing all around. I kept thinking about having to carry my tripod back amid all this lightning, on a granite mountain no less! We waited as long as we dared in the hostel, and when the rain seemed to let up a bit, we ventured outside. It was still pouring down rain. We didn't venture very far before the rain let up, but the lightning continued a while longer. The trail in places was not well marked, and sometimes we had to double back over boulders, rocks and scree. But we eventually made it back to the gondola, tired and drenched. It was one of the most rewarding adventures of our year-long journey.