The Lyell Fork of the Merced River flows down the center of most of Lyell Canyon. At times, the canyon is wide enough that ponds and pools appear in small meadows within the forest on either side.

Looking like the antlers of a fallen beast, the branches of a long-dead tree fill the foreground of this view of the end of Lyell Canyon where a small stand of trees has long ago gone extinct, leaving only the husk of a once-vibrant forest.

Again, about halfway down Lyell Canyon, the woods give way to an dry open meadow as we approach Kuna Crest and begin our climb toward Lyell Glacier.

This is, as I recall, about halfway into Lyell Canyon, which runs a total of nine miles from Tolumne Meadows to Lyell Glacier.

At the end of Lyell Canyon, which stretches out into the wilderness from Tuolumne Meadows, the John Muir Trail winds into a more forested area on its way up toward Lyell Glacier and Donahue Pass beyond.

This is the lower of the two alpine meadows below Lyell Glacier. After our first trip here in 2004, we hiked this section of the John Muir Trail again in 2006 and then once more in 2012. I find it one of the most beautiful spots in Yosemite and hope to crawl my way back up there for some years to come.

This is the view over the edge of Vernal Falls where many have unintentionally taken a plunge to the rocks below.

This is the lower of two alpine meadows below Lyell Glacier along the John Muir Trail and is my favorite place to camp on the climb to Donahue Pass

Vernal Falls is the lower of two cascades along the Mist Trail in Yosemite. Most every year, one or more people ignore the warnings not to wade in the pool at the top and are swept over the edge to their deaths.