The next morning, we woke and walked the two blocks to the Amtrak station. Alex and Sage played "Hangman" while we waited for our train.
The train was clean -- super clean -- and comfy! I was impressed. The girls busied themselves with their Beanie Boos while we rode to Merced.
Once in Merced, we waited for the YARTS bus which would take us straight to Yosemite's Curry Village and our night's lodging. YARTS also takes you straight to Yosemite Lodge, FWIW. Note -- JMT hikers are allowed to stay in Yosemite's walk-in "backpackers' campground" the night before the start of their thru-hike. I wanted our last "normal" night to be somewhat private, though, hence our staying at Curry Village.
While waiting, we got our first look at some other JMT hikers. There was a Japanese couple waiting on the curb with the telltale large backpacks in tow. We didn't know it at the time, but we'd end up seeing them off and on during the first week of our hike.
The YARTS bus ride was pleasant -- the driver relayed a lot of information about Yosemite once we were inside the Park. We were let out directly in front of Curry Village's main office.
There was only one person ahead of us for check-in. Later in the day, we'd pass the office and see a line of folks going out of the building and down the sidewalk. I'm glad we arrived when we did. I'm allergic to standing in line.
The main office has a television in the corner that shows clips of bears breaking into cars. The voiceover repeatedly warns you not to leave food in your vehicle -- not even in your trunk. The girls and I didn't have to worry about that, since we were car-less. The check-in lady told us not to bring food into our tent cabins, or to have food on our clothing when we went to bed. All food items must be stored in the bearboxes outside the individual lodgings. No worries, that was what we'd expected.
Our tent cabin was cute. Private, spacious enough for three people, and not far from the bathrooms, it provided a nice, pre-hike setting to our imminent adventure. The price wasn't bad, either -- just over a hundred bucks for the three of us.
We dumped our packs, stored our food, and set off in search of the Wilderness Center to pick up our hiking permits. There's a free shuttle that circles the park, but we decided to walk the mile. Once we were out of the Curry Village parking area, it was easy to find our way around.
The ranger gave us a speech he must have already performed at least a thousand times this summer. We were told to always use our bear canister, not to tent/wash/use the bathroom too close to water, never to camp on vegetation, etc. etc. etc. He also told us -- and this turned out not to be true -- that wag bags are no longer available at Crabtree Meadows. He gave me three and I ended up carrying them unnecessarily for the entire hike. Wag bags are indeed available at Crabtree. At least, they were as of August 26, 2014. (Wag bags are plastic containers you must poop into once you reach the Whitney Zone...no leaving your poop in a cathole there, you must carry it out -- more on that, fortunately or unfortunately, in a later post).
Permit secured, we walked the short distance to Yosemite Lodge and picked up our Glacier Point bus tickets. We'd use those the next morning to get to our starting point (we did not start from Happy Isles...we began from Glacier Point -- and we're so glad we did!!). We then made our way back to Curry Village.
Dinner was next on our agenda. There's a pizza place in Curry Village that is wonderful. We ate what we could of a large, very rich pizza and watched this critter (below) crawl underneath everyone's tables. Most of the time, this guy sat unseen by someone's feet and ate all the morsels that fell to the ground.
Our tummies full, we returned to our temporary abode...
...did our chores, went to bed...and the next day, began hiking the 222 miles to Whitney Portal.
I'll post Hiking Day One: Glacier Point to Little Yosemite Valley -- by Sunday evening. There will be a TON of photos!
***
Today's gear report is on our canister, the Bearikade Expedition.
Loved it. A+ Click here for the full review!
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