Seven Lakes Beauty and Pain is a comical story about a backpacking trip I took with my hiking group friends to California's Sierra Nevada mountains. These lakes are relatively close to Mt. Whitney, which is California's highest peak. The book recounts a three-day hiking trip undertaken by a non-hiker with a backpack, camera, and friends. The book is not a guide to the outdoors or photography, but rather, it is a personal account of one's journey to find beauty despite the struggle to get there.