Donahue pass is the exit out of Yosemite National Park on the John Muir Trail. This is the bottleneck to get a permit to hike the JMT and for a lot of people, their first big challenge.  I hiked it Northbound this year, starting outside Yosemite and entering it through the pass. It is a sharp steep descent, but you descend into this jaw dropping basin and water body. I call it Upper Ducy Basin, not sure if there is a different name to this.Hiking in the High Sierra in summer is always a song and dance with thunder and rain. You need the clouds to stay cool but you are wary of being stuck in a thunderstorm.