ET's Info-Stew

15:28: We left Livermore at about 8:50am, getting to SUmmit Ranger station in about an hour. From the ranger station to the trailhead the road is half paved and half dirt. Where the dirt started there were huge speed bumps that scraped underneath my car. It was a bumpy road to the trailhead where there were dozens of cards parked. There was also a team of horses and mules. The first mile was gently continuously uphill, which made it difficult for Jenny. She was really breathing hard and I felt bad for her because I didn't want her to think we were mad because she stopped frequently. She'll get more fit over time, and it won't be so hard.
We stopped at the Burst Rock overlook. It was gorgeous. I hope the pics turn out. From there it was pretty much a non-stop downhill hike. Jenny, who was leading, spotted a fork in the trail and after consulting the map, we determined it must head to Powell Lake, our first stop. The hike took about 2 hours. It was the easiest backpacking hike I've done so far.

We had lunch, set up camp, and now we're hanging out. Jenny is off taking pictures, and I'm going to try to go swimming if I can find a place out of sight of the other campers at the lake.

16:40: The guys on the peninsula in the middle of the lake left, so I was able to make it out there and find a place to get in the water. The first few seconds were shockingly cold but I quickly got used to it. I went all the way under and stayed in for a good 15 minutes. It was so refreshing. Unfortunately I when I was getting out some other campers were coming down to the lake to get water, and I was worried they might see me (after all I'm not an exhibitionist or nudist). So I had to rush to get out. Well stupid me, I left my "towel" up the peninsula a ways so that if I got up to get it the whole lake would see me. So, I had to put on my shorts getting them soaking wet. So I laid down in the sun a good half hour, and now my ares are quite sunburned.

Jenny looks so cute and looks like she's having lots of fun. She's going around and taking lots of pictures with her new gear. There's a lot of bugs around, but not too many to be annoying. It's about time to start dinner, pasta primavera. We're going to have a small fire so the mosquitos won't be too bad. With Jenny, the short hike and the beautiful area, this is turning out to be the best first backpacking day yet.