This post originally consisted on the photograph and no significant accompanying text. This website has been going for two decades, and early on I often simply posted photographs without commentary. The post has now been updated on April 8, 2026 to include some description.
In 2007 I was part of a group of Sierra Nevada backpackers that traveled into the backcountry together every summer. This trip began in the Cottonwood Basin, crossed a pass at the upper end of Mitre Basin, and eventually headed north on the John Muir trail. From Tyndall Creek we made a big loop up to Lake South America and then back down the upper drainage of the Kern river before taking Shepard Pass out of the mountains.
The photograph was made along the ascent from Tyndall Creek toward the pass. This is a remarkable section of the Sierra Nevada. Here the range opens up, with extraordinarily broad views across giant swaths of alpine terrain. We hiked for miles up this relatively gentle trail, pausing for lunch at a lake before crossing the pass. Here the terrain changed radically, plunging down the east side, across snow fields and talus, and many miles later arriving at the desert at the base of the range.
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G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email
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