The pass was named for Stephen Mather, who served as the Assistant Secretary of the Interior and head of the National Park Service (NPS) from 1917 until 1929, by Chauncey J.

[2] Hamlin's was the first known party to cross Mather Pass by pack train in August 1921, taking 3 days to do so, as it was necessary for them to construct a rough trail.

The party was the first to make the trip north on what became the John Muir Trail from Mount Whitney, and Hamlin advocated for state funds to be used to complete the route.

[6] In 2019, following a heavy snowpack in the Sierra Nevada, a 67-year-old man hiking alone died near Mather Pass after he slipped on ice and his head struck a rock.

You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.This United States trail or long-distance path–related article is a stub.