Cliffs of the Cathedral Peak massif seen during my descent. Rather than return via the way I came, the Mountaineers Route, I chose to head directly north down the mountain and check out a small lake I had noticed on my way up. I got this image close to sunset, and it shows what to me is the outstanding characteristic of the rock in the Sierra Nevada-- the way it "shines." The tarn is at the lower end of the small basin contained by these cliffs, and from it one can bushwhack a short distance to the Cathedral Lake Trail.
Yosemite National Park-- July 2005