John Muir Trail

A 21-day photo diary from Whitney Portal to Yosemite Valley.

211 Miles

21 Days

47,000ft Elevation

Backpackers crossing a log bridge over Lone Pine Creek in morning forest light on the Mount Whitney Trail.Hikers ascending granite slabs beneath a pinnacled ridge and deep blue sky on the Mount Whitney Trail.Backpackers relaxing beside tents among granite boulders at Trail Camp below Mount Whitney in the evening.Dawn alpenglow on the pinnacles of Mount Whitney from the 99 switchbacks, a hiker on the talus trail below.Black and white photo of hikers among summit boulders beside the stone Smithsonian hut on Mount Whitney.A small creek winding through alpine meadow toward Guitar Lake below Mount Whitney at golden hour.Black and white panorama from Forester Pass at 13,120 feet over the lakes and peaks of upper Kings Canyon.A meltwater creek running over green moss through a meadow below Forester Pass, Kings Canyon National Park.Towering afternoon clouds over the Kearsarge basin with distant lakes far below, from near Kearsarge Pass.Black and white photo of a fly fisherman casting from a rock at Rae Lakes below Fin Dome in the evening.Half-second exposure of a cascade in golden evening light at the Palisade Lakes below Mather Pass.Black and white photo of hikers on the barren rock approach to Muir Pass, Kings Canyon National Park.View through the stone window of the Muir Hut over the barren lake country north of Muir Pass.Dark deep water of Sapphire Lake beneath a sheer granite wall in Evolution Basin, black and white.Marie Lake’s island-dotted blue water from the Selden Pass trail at midday, John Muir Wilderness.Long exposure of Lake Edison at night from Vermilion Valley Resort, mountains mirrored in still water.A backpacker climbing through sunlit lodgepole forest above Mono Creek toward Silver Pass.Red meadow grasses and still water at Lake Virginia at dusk in the John Muir Wilderness.The Milky Way core over two backpacking tents at a wilderness camp above Rainbow Falls at night.Black and white photo of a hiker sitting on a rock gazing at Banner Peak across Thousand Island Lake.Hikers resting beside the Lyell Fork in Tuolumne Meadows below granite domes, Yosemite National Park.A field of lupine in bloom below Cathedral Peak, Yosemite National Park.Black and white photo of Half Dome in evening haze from the Clouds Rest descent, Yosemite Valley beyond.Star trails circling above Half Dome over the dry bed of Mirror Lake, Yosemite National Park.
Two backpackers walking a rock-lined path through willows below Outpost Camp, granite spires above, Mount Whitney Trail.Pink wildflowers blooming beside a whitewater cascade among granite boulders on the Mount Whitney Trail.A hiker stands among boulders at dusk facing the moonlit east face of Mount Whitney from Trail Camp.Sunrise over Owens Valley from the icy cables section of the Mount Whitney Trail, hikers crossing old snow.Wildflowers above the Hitchcock Lakes with Guitar Lake in the distance, from the west slope of Mount Whitney.Storm clouds building over tundra and tarns below Forester Pass on the John Muir Trail in the morning.A dark tarn beneath the snow-streaked headwall on the north side of Forester Pass, Kings Canyon National Park.Storm clouds over East Vidette and the Bubbs Creek forest, from the climb above Vidette Meadow.Fifteen-second dawn exposure of the Kearsarge Pinnacles reflected in a still Kearsarge Lake before sunrise.Evening in the rocky basin above Lake Marjorie near Pinchot Pass, Crater Mountain on the horizon.Two backpackers crossing a snowmelt creek below Muir Pass, snowfields on the peaks above.Hikers in a vast basin of broken rock and snow patches near Muir Pass, black and white.Black and white photo of southbound hikers walking the barren shore of Wanda Lake toward Muir Pass.Sunset light over the waterfall at Evolution Lake’s outlet in Evolution Basin, Kings Canyon National Park.Black and white photo aboard the Edison Queen ferry crossing Lake Edison, Captain Paint at the helm on the left.Black and white photo of backpackers riding the morning ferry across Lake Edison back to the John Muir Trail.Black and white photo of a backpacker standing above Lake Virginia watching the evening light develop.A fisherman casting into Purple Lake in morning light while another hiker watches from the shore trees.Black and white view up the columnar basalt cliff of Devils Postpile with a pine at the rim.Six-second twilight exposure of Banner Peak over Thousand Island Lake with pink afterglow on the summit.Cathedral Peak reflected in still water at sunset under textured cloud, Yosemite National Park.View from the Clouds Rest summit ridge over Half Dome and Yosemite Valley under summer clouds.Half Dome catching last light above a meadow and the valley road, Yosemite National Park.
High Sierra Trail gallery cover

High Sierra Trail

Grand Canyon gallery cover

Grand Canyon

Death Valley gallery cover

Death Valley