Lyell Canyon 8950 ft - Donohue Pass 11056 ft - Rush Creek Forks 9640 ft ...9.2 miles
day 4 : 3 July 2003
  
  breakfast tea  
  enjoying a hearty breakfast before setting off for the day  
  
  
   
  pumping up  
  Leon filtering water from the Lyell Fork for our drinking needs  
  
  
   
  speeding bullet  
  faster than a speeding bullet, Steve Benoit passes us and in a flash disappears into the mountains  
  
  
   
  pass afar  
  pausing for a quick photograph and to appreciate the snow covered challenge just ahead  
  
  
   
  munch break  
  taking time off for a quick trail lunch  
  
  
   
  trees abound  
  the trail soon climbs steeply up the slope and above the treeline  
  
  
   
  lakelet  
  a beautiful lakelet set in a subalpine meadow with a backdrop of the snow covered mountain wall  
  
  
   
  beyond the trees  
  crossing the high subalpine meadows towards Donohue Pass  
  
  
   
  lean on me  
  Mike and Leon taking a break as the subalpine meadows give way to a barren rocky alpine landscape  
  
  
   
  donohue peak  
  the slow climb up Donohue Pass with it's exposed terrain allows the appreciation of the Sierra Crest with Donohue Peak (12023 ft) dominating the northern view  
  
  
   
  lyell valley  
  looking back towards the Lyell Canyon gives a satisfying reassurance of how much we have already achieved  
  
  
   
  nearing the pass  
  the gradual climb up the broad Donohue Pass, the trail is vague as it crosses over granite slabs that litter the pass  
  
  
   
  out of yosemite  
  the boundary of Yosemite National Park and Ansel Adams Wilderness marks Donohue Pass (11056 ft)  
  
  
   
  snow field  
  it being early summer, there is still much snow all around hiding all evidence of the trail below making route finding difficult; the pinkish colouration is due to a poisonous algae that grows in the stale snow  
  [ click on the above image for a panoramic view ]  
  
  
   
  going down  
  crossing the eastern side of the pass, this part of the JMT is unique: the stretch from Donohue Pass to Island Pass is the only section of the JMT that is east of the Sierra Crest  
  
  
   
  east face  
  the eastern face of Donohue Peak and the far stretching peaks of the northbound Sierra Crest can be appreciated  
  
  
   
  rest  
  Leon takes a breather as we descend into the Rush Valley  
  
  
   
  ritter & banner  
  Mt Ritter (13143 ft) and Banner Peak (12936 ft) are unmistakable landmarks of the Sierra Crest signifying it's grandeur  
  
  
   
  mike @ camp  
  our campsite for the night is on a dry rise in the otherwise wet and marshy Rush Creek Forks, in between the junctions of the trail to Waugh Lake and the trail to Davis Lakes