This was the first day of a three day backpacking trip Clara and I took in mid-August, 2011. We started at Agnew Meadows in Devil's Postpile National Monument. We passed the meadow and descended to the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin River. Following the River Trail, we climbed about 2000 feet of elevation in about 8 miles, eventually reaching the Pacific Crest Trail near the outlet of Thousand Island Lake. The mosquitoes were biting, the river flowing, and the glaciers pronounced on Banner Peak, which dominated the the lake.