Leaving on a jet plane

The plan is to fly Seattle to Fresno today, August 3rd. Noon flight out of SeaTac. Jean kindly dropped me off. I will miss her on this trip. There was a huge queue for departures. No photo. Inside the airport, it was as busy as I’ve ever seen. Again no photo. A little confusing with construction but I found the first class checking. A long line. That’s not normal for me/us. I guess this is a very popular travel time. TSA was beyond long. About 45 minutes to get through.

I found the first class lounge. Then discovered first class tickets no longer give you a free pass unless traveling at least 2,000 miles on a leg. Thanks to a very kind gentleman (Dean) who had major perks and added me as his guest. My attendant was understanding, his not so much. He said we were old buddies.

I had a first class complimentary Bloody Mary.

I unfortunately left the lounge a little too soon thinking I’d have to take trains to the gate. It was a 3 minute walk. Oh well. I didn’t miss it and it wasn’t too long of a wait. Boarded outside.

The flight was straightforward as usual. More clouds than I expected but got a view of Rainier.

Clouds from Narnia

You know how to “take” the reservation, you just don’t know how to “hold” the reservation. And that’s the important part, the hold.

Fresno airport is small. By the time I got a Starbucks and walked to baggage claim my bag was only a 3-5 minute wait. Right across from baggage claim is car rental. Perfect!

I reserved (technically it was prepaid) a Toyota Camry from budget which was the least cost option. It was a 40 minute wait to get to the counter. The busiest counter. They gave me a Corolla. I was not sure it would be big enough to shuttle 4 backpackers and gear when the time came. It’s smaller. But everyone was having issues getting the car they wanted. So I agreed, walked outside and waited 15 minutes in 105 degree heat for it to come back from detailing. One look and no way. That’s NOT what I paid for. Back to the counter I went. I said I need a bigger car. What I paid for. The Corolla is too small. Of course there is a huge line and the free associate is not really free. I checked next door at Enterprise. I could get a small SUV for a buck less. Sold. Back to Enterprise. I want a refund. The woman said leave the paperwork and she’s void it. I kept a copy and gave her a copy. Went back to Enterprise and got my Nissan Rogue. When I went to get it the staff were really friendly and the car awesome. I am not sure how much I might need to battle to get my $600 back but worst case is I dispute the charge with my credit card company. I’m not worried. Planes landed at 2:30. I was driving by 4:30 😠

The hotel was easy. 10 minute drive. Nice Hilton. I chose the 8th floor. Got settled. Rested. The packed. And went to REI to get camping fuel for our group and found a few extra things. Back to room and packed my pack. Then to get some food.

Tomorrow I head for Kings Canyon National Park. I camp Sunday and Monday night. Monday the three east coaster’s arrive. I’ll meet them at Roads End (our ending trailhead) to drop a car.

We start the Kings Canyon High Basin Route on Tuesday. 124 miles. 40,000’ gain. We’ll start with 4 days food and get a resupply by mule packer for the the last time 8 days.

Not sure about the next post. It might be after the trip unless I can find WiFi.

Continued…