Saturday, August 13, 2016 - The Permit

Today we have one overriding task. Get to the  backcountry permit office at the end of the road in Kings Canyon before they close at 3:30 pm and obtain our permit to enter the backcountry. If we get there late, we will have to wait until they open at 7:30 am on Sunday, thereby delaying our start time. It would also mean Sally and Barb, Craig's wife, would be driving in the heat of the day on their return to Yosemite. Barb's van does not have AC. The temperatures in the Central Valley are supposed to top 104° tomorrow. We want them up in the cooler mountains, well on their way to Yosemite Valley and out of California's Central Valley before that happens. 

It is two and a half hours from Yosemite Valley to the Fresno Airport where we will pick up Dave Cook, a friend of mine from ski patrol, and his son, Noah, at 11:30 am. We left the Valley about 8:00 am and made a stop in Oakhurst to obtain my fishing license, gas and some drinks. We rolled into Fresno about 11:15, all the while keeping in contact with Barb and Craig via text, who were going to meet us at the airport cell phone lot. We rolled into the lot and waited for Dave and Noah to retrieve their checked packs for baggage claims. Meanwhile Craig was getting the propane tanks filled on his van. With Dave and Noah on board, we headed for Taco Bell for lunch, texting l Craig and Barb our position.  They soon arrived. Ed was best man at Craig's wedding, but the two had not seen each other for twenty years. Over a quick lunch we talked, then loaded in the vans and high tailed it for the end of the road and our permit. 

It is 80 miles from Fresno to the Roads End and we arrived at 3:00 pm. The  whole area was packed with people. Their was no camping and no parking. Sally dropped me off and drove the van around and around the lot until a parking spot opened up. Meanwhile I was in the permit office getting us taken care of. With permit in hand we headed for the nearest "full" campground to see if we could find a random empty site.

As it turns out, we found three and picked what seemed like the best site., #30. We spent the late afternoon sorting gear, chatting and preparing for the start of our hike early tomorrow morning. 

Barb had offered to grill burgers for us. We settled into a delicious dinner of blue cheese hamburgers, chips and fried zucchini. 

During dinner we noticed our neighbors in the adjacent campsite were a bit noisy, but not too rambunctious. However, when darkness came the group of 10-15 broke out the boom box and alcohol.  The ten o'clock "quiet time" hour mandate for thecampground was ignored and by 11:00 pm it was obvious they were going strong. The father of the family camping across the road from them asked them nicely if the could lower the volume of their music. This elicited cries of "turn it up" from the revelers and so the party continued. 

We were rising at 5:00 am the next morning to get an early start on the trail and had hoped for an early bedtime. Not to be. Sally and I closed the pop-up on the van and put Yo Yo Ma on the stereo to drown them out. Ed, who was sleeping 40 feet from the ruckus, picked up his sleeping bag and pad and moved 10 campsites down the hill. Craig and Barb were sheltered inside their van, somewhat insulated from the noise, but Dave and Noah took the audio onslaught full on. Noah managed to sleep, but Dave endured until 2:00 am when they finally quieted down and he then slept three hours. 

It is surprising how inconsiderate and rude some people can be. Somehow, they consider their wants paramount, and the needs of those their actions affect go unheeded.  I am thankful situations such as this appear so rarely in my life. It gives me hope that the kind and caring people still vastly outnumber their counterparts.