We were camping at the edge of the ansel Adams wilderness at about 7500 feet. We were counting how many satellites we could spot in a night. We noticed a satellite coming from the east to the southwest, which is diagonal to all other satellite orbits we've seen. It then stopped, and emitted what looked like a lightning bolt. It then changed it's course down, about 20 degrees. It stopped again, again emitting a lightning bolt, then turned toward the south until we could no longer see it because of the treeline. The object never changed directions as it was moving. We were amazed.