Pinecrest Lake, California · September 2026

Disconnected

Zero notifications for four glorious days

Camera: Fujifilm X-E3 · 23mm f/2
Photographs: 8 photographs

When’s the last time you’ve truly disconnected from your work, from your phone, or from all of the things that get in the way of being completely present?

A man lying on a towel on a sunlit granite slab beside the lake, pine-covered hills behind him

After 4 beautiful days at Pinecrest Lake with friends, I realized that I hadn’t done that in years. Maybe even decades.

A curving sandy beach lined with buoys and pines, a No Pets sign on a wooden fence in the foreground

As we drove in on a Thursday afternoon, I realized there would be zero reception for the rest of the week. Rather than fret about it, I turned my phone off until we re-entered civilization on Sunday evening. We spent time playing card games, cooking meals around the campfire, hiking around the lake, and connecting with each other. It was the most relaxed I had been in years.

Three people in camp chairs silhouetted between tall pine trunks, looking out at the blue lake

It’s rare to be truly 100% disconnected from technology, and it’s 100% necessary to do it. I hope you have an opportunity to do so with your family, your friends, or by yourself before the end of 2026.