Ruby Lake via John Muir Trail(edit)

One of the most beautiful hikes of the week. From Gladys Lake, you hike down and see Rosalie Lake, then hike down a LONG series of switchbacks to Shadow Lake. When I say long, I mean long. There had to be around 40 switchbacks. Going the opposite direction would be a BITCH! Shadow Lake was absolutely beautiful. It's looks deep too. We stopped there for a while so Caleb could potty. I actually got a cell signal on Verizon there. We later passed a series of alpine lakes on our journey to Thousand Island Lake. Garnet was the most prominent of those lakes. We stopped for lunch there. Met a U.K. hiker with major blisters. He was heading for a series of rock trail switchbacks down to a small valley that we just hiked up. He was barefoot when we saw him because wearing his boots hurt too much. I patched him up with my Leukotape Tape and gave him half of my supply since I probably wouldn't need it. I have never had a blister while hiking. He was wearing jungle boots. We advised him to stop in Red Meadows and buy some real hiking boots. After lunch, we passed Altha, Ruby and Emerald Lakes on the way to Thousand Island. The approach to Thousand Island lake was not near as beautiful as when we walked around it the following day. That's where the beauty was. We also hiked around it at pre-dawn, which lit the surrounding mountains. We camped at an area just off the trail once you cross the bridge. The view was fantastic. We had a Marmot threatening to take our food for most of the night. He took heed to our rock throwing I guess because we didn't get a night visit. I would have liked to spend some time in a kayak exploring this lake.