Mt. Whitney, Lake at Tawny Point. Sierra Nevada, California. August 9, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

Timberline Snag, Near Tawny Point. John Muir Trail, Sierra Nevada, California. August 9, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

Shepherd Pass, West Approach. Sierra Nevada, California. August 10, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

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.