Taking a Dip

A picture is worth a thousand slurred words. Needless to say, after an epic night of dancing, singing (ask Lauren to sing you Beiber's "Boyfriend"), and me dominating at Bananagrams, we slept in this morning.  Upon awaking, we blearily ate some cereal  collapsed on the couch to some Keeping Up With The Kardashians and some Botched, which now that I think about it, is a great segway between shows when you think about it.  This also struck as an opportune moment to try one of my staple trail foods for this trip: JERKY.  But not just any jerky folks, Perky Jerky.  The protein and guarana marinated jerky is just the boost I needed this morning, and I haven't even started hiking yet!  The folks at Perky Jerky were so incredibly nice to let me sample their product for this journey, and from today's experience, going from feeling hellish to on top of the world, I am excited for the trail ahead.

Perky Jerky verdict: one of, if not THE best jerky products out there!

After a quick run to the market, we settled in to watch the World Cup Final, only to be royally disappointed that it didn't reach penalties. By the game's end, we had all recovered enough energy to embark on a day hike. It would be a terrible waste not to do so on such a beautiful day when you're surrounded by this:

Overlooking Twin Lakes

Today's hike was defined by maximum payout for minimum effort. A mere 3/4 mile jaunt uphill led us out of somewhat crowded, yet gorgeous Lake George, past measly Barret Lake, and up to incredible, desolate TJ Lake. With a steady breeze blowing, the heat was mellowed to the perfect temperature for hiking.  We haven't even begun our big journey and today's hike ranks among the most amazing outdoor experiences I've ever enjoyed. Hopefully the following pictures can do TJ Lake justice!

  TJ Lake

Lauren and I hiking down to TJ Lake

TJ lake

Taking a dip in TJ Lake. Majestic is an understatement.

More TJ

The girls at TJ Lake

Coming back down overlooking Lake George

One of many adorable photos of Kelly and Lauren at Horseshoe Lake

I'll do my best to find a good way to upload videos, as they give a much better scope of what we see.  

The gang overlooking Twin Lakes

We were discussing the idea of trail names last night, a topic that I'm not entirely sure applies to John Muir Trail hikers, but is an entertaining subject nonetheless.  For those who don't know what I'm talking about, long distance hiker culture dictates that you adopt a trail name given to you by your hiker brethren. Although you have the option to not accept the name, it is generally frowned upon to give yourself a trail name. For instance, one hiker I know along the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada shaved half her head and was given the name Half Dome.  Just for kicks, if you've got any suggestions for a trailname, post a comment. 

#SelfieSunday

And now we'll round out the night at the Mammoth Brewing Company, then get some dinner before preparing for our early bus ride tomorrow. If anything eventful happens you'll hear about it in tomorrow's post. I'm getting a little grief from the ladies for blogging, so I'm retiring the phone for the night.

Tomorrow Yosemite!