Planes, Trains, and Automobiles -- From NH to Fresno. August 3, 2014

Our JMT adventure began at the crack of dawn on August 3.  Hugh graciously loaded us into his car when he could have been sleeping, and off we went to Boston's Logan Airport.  I should say, right here and now, that I am grateful to Hugh for allowing me to take the girls for almost an entire month -- that's a long time to not see your kids.  He knew this trip would be good for them, he knew they'd love the Sierras, and he knew I'd be appropriately protective.  He therefore gave his blessing -- still, I know it was hard on him to not see his kids for four straight weeks.  So, kudos to Hugh for being such a great dad and sacrificing some of his time with Alex and Sage so they could hike the entire trail.

The girls and I were excited...and fairly unburdened.  The girls each carried a small pack that weighed less than ten pounds, and I had arranged my own pack so it could be dismantled into pieces and carried onto the plane.  We therefore avoided checking luggage.  Sage carried on her small backpack and our tent, Alex took her small backpack and our blow-up sleeping pad, and I took my backpack and our bear canister (removed from my backpack).  My pocketknife and hiking poles had been mailed to Tuolumne Meadows, so I did not have to worry about TSA agents confiscating those items.

We flew from Boston to Los Angeles...

...enjoyed a leisurely lunch at LAX during a layover...

...and then flew to Fresno, where we stayed at La Quinta Inn.  I specifically chose La Quinta because I had read it was within two blocks of the Amtrak station.  It is indeed extremely close, and, as a bonus, it's just a block away from a grocery store.  The girls and I bought our dinner at that food mart and ate in our hotel room.

In Fresno, outside La Quinta Inn, walking to the grocery store

After dinner, we did chores.  Every night, from here until we returned to Boston, we 1) brushed teeth using tiny lightweight toothbrushes and a small dot of toothpaste each, 2) washed our undies and hung them up to dry, and 3) put on our sleeping clothes.  We each had only two sets of clothes -- one set of hiking clothes which we wore during the day, and one set of sleeping clothes which we wore in our tent (and when we went to bed in the La Quinta hotel room).  We never ate in our sleeping clothes, and, most of the time, our hiking/day clothes stayed outside the tent. Our reason for this was bears...we never wanted any food smells inside our tent.  Each of us sometimes spills food and/or toothpaste, and none of us wanted a surprise visitor in the middle of the night.

Once in bed, we spent the evening watching television and relaxing.  We don't watch television at home; the only time the girls watch television is when we're in hotel rooms.  That is one of the best parenting decisions Hugh and I have ever made, by the way.  The girls have never had television as part of their everyday lives -- we don't have cable and Hugh and I only watch shows periodically on Netflix (the recent Cosmos is an exception -- the girls and I watched that online every week last spring/summer).  When we travel, however, watching television is a nice part of the hotel experience.

The following morning, August 4, the girls and I walked the two blocks to the train station and headed to Merced.  I'll write again tomorrow with photos and info about our Fresno-Merced-Yosemite journey.

Our gear review will also begin tomorrow.
'Til then -- Trish