From a notch in the rim of the Great Western Divide, you can scan east to the horizon and take in distant 14,497-foot Mount Whitney and the contiguous rows of mountain peaks on the distant Sierra Crest.

"You look way out there at Whitney and it's hard to believe that's where we started just a week ago," said Michael Furniss, expedition scientist.

We then turned to the west. From the tips of our boots, the slopes of the western Sierra fell thousands of feet directly below us to Farewell Canyon and beyond to the foothills of the San Joaquin Valley.

This was the final day in our 70-mile Sierra crossing. We'd started the trip the previous Saturday on the flank of Whitney. Between the Sierra Crest to the east and the Great Western Divide to the west, we'd explored the Cradle of the Sierra and the Kern Canyon.