It was COLD this morning when we woke. Started the morning with some jumping jacks and also got some beautiful morning photos. Climb up to Mather Pass was tough. Really felt the altitude for the first time which was kind of brutal. Climb was really not too long though so that made it fine. Quick break at the top before going down to the Upper Basin, a wide open space with little cover. Lunch shortly after. We began to climb up to Pinchot which wa really quite easy, especially considering that we were already at altitude and hadn’t really descended that much. It’s easy to forget that we’re really up in the spine of the Sierras now. Pretty mild hike up to the lakes at the base of Pinchot Pass. We set up the tent and then had to take it down because of how windy it was. Thing was flying all over the place. Lazy afternoon of drawing, writing, and enjoying a Snickers Bar in the shadow of Mount Ickes. We had an early dinner and were in the tent before it became dark for the first time.