View through the stone window of the Muir Hut over the barren lake country north of Muir Pass.

The Window

Muir Hut, Muir Pass, Kings Canyon National Park, California

The Muir Hut has stood on the pass since 1930, the only roof for a day's walk in any direction, and its window frames the country you are about to descend into. The interior stone sits many stops darker than the basin outside, so this is a bracketed exposure blended back together — the one technique this trip allowed itself. The only frame in my JMT gallery with walls in it.

Nikon Z 7_2 · 17-35mm f/2.8D · 17mm · f/5 · 1/1250 · ISO 100

July 8, 2025

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Two backpackers crossing a snowmelt creek below Muir Pass, snowfields on the peaks above.Black and white photo of hikers on the barren rock approach to Muir Pass, Kings Canyon National Park.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.Dark deep water of Sapphire Lake beneath a sheer granite wall in Evolution Basin, black and white.Sunset light over the waterfall at Evolution Lake’s outlet in Evolution Basin, Kings Canyon National Park.