Black and white photo of hikers on the barren rock approach to Muir Pass, Kings Canyon National Park.

The Last Mile

Muir Pass, Kings Canyon National Park, California

The final approach to Muir Pass, where the Sierra stops pretending to be hospitable — no trees, no meadow, just shattered rock and old snow to the horizon. I racked the lens to its long end, all of 35mm, to stack the walkers against the emptiness. In color this scene is brown and dispiriting; in black and white it becomes what it actually felt like, which is walking on another planet.

Nikon Z 7_2 · 17-35mm f/2.8D · 35mm · f/5 · 1/800 · ISO 64

July 8, 2025

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More from Muir Pass, Kings Canyon National Park, California

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.

More from JMT

Evening in the rocky basin above Lake Marjorie near Pinchot Pass, Crater Mountain on the horizon.Half-second exposure of a cascade in golden evening light at the Palisade Lakes below Mather Pass.View through the stone window of the Muir Hut over the barren lake country north of Muir Pass.Black and white photo of southbound hikers walking the barren shore of Wanda Lake toward Muir Pass.