It was supposed to be a leisurely day. That’s why we decided to have a late breakfast at 8. I was actually ready about 15 minutes early so I decided to walk down and knock on the doors of Wolf and Ivy. Before I could get the second tap on Wolf’s door, he had it open. As I suspected, he had been up and ready to go since 5. Ivy wasn’t ready and said she meet us at the restaurant.
It wasn’t Denny’s, but it was a good breakfast. We were all done eating by 8:45 so we started walking to the Enterprise Rental Car Office. We sent Bunny and Ivy back to the Motel to finish up packing while Wolf and I got the car. When we walked in, they said they had been trying to reach us. They would not have a car until 11:30 at the earliest, so we should go eat and take our time. What’s the point of a reservation if they don’t keep up their end of the commitment. They were charging us $250 for a one day rental. We had Kevin waiting up at Walker Pass for us to pick him up at 10. They didn’t offer to go pick him up. They didn’t offer us a discount. They barely even said sorry.
Wolf and I decided to go check out other rental places. Ultimately, we got hold of Melody at Dollar Rent a Car and she had a car for us before 10. It was a Kia big enough for all 5 of us and was only $100. The only catch was that we had to return it to an airport by 10 tomorrow morning. That really only added about another 1/2 hour to our overall delay but for the savings, it was worth it. Melody has a history with PCT hikers. A couple years ago, she was up at McIvers Cabin and rescued a hiker that was on the verge of dehydration. He called her an angel when she gave him water. We, too, call her an angel for saving us and helping us get back to Paradise Cafe.
We checked out of the motel and picked up Kevin at 10:45. A little late, but a couple hours earlier than we would have been able to if we waited for Enterprise. I think I’m through with them. They wouldn’t offer us any assistance or pick us up or drop us off as they advertise. Now the rush was to make it to Idyllwild before the post office and the outfitter closed. That meant we couldn’t even stop to eat because of the delays. It all went well from now on, we’ll make it to Idyllwild by 4.
The nice thing about renting the car under Wolf’s name was that only he could drive. Stated another way, we had a chauffeur for the day and only had to ride. We chose the route on the east side of the mountains to avoid LA traffic. Even so, we had to go through San Bernardino to get to Palm Springs (there’s only one road open into a Idyllwild because of the February flooding). Traffic was tense, especially when we were driving through the mountains.
Wolf managed to get us into Idyllwild by 3:45 in time to get to the Post Office and outfitter. I needed new tips on my hiking poles but the local outfitter is not an authorized Leki repair supplier. They ended up breaking my poles even more. I tried to call Leki but they were already closed for the day. I had no choice but buy another pair since we are heading into snow and ice where we’ll need micro spikes and hiking poles at a minimum to make it across. I was not happy with the outlay and know that I’m screwed because Leki won’t reimburse me. What good is a lifetime guarantee if you can’t get service when you need it?
Earlier in the day, I had tried to contact Osprey customer service because the pack I sent into them last winter is falling apart. I never thought I get fed up with either company, but now I’m willing to consider changing. I also have a Gregory pack which I might have to switch to. Getting replacement gear along the PCT is much more difficult than along the AT. Everything seems to be a bigger logistical problem on the PCT.
We ended up setting our tents up behind Paradise Cafe and then heading in for supper. We ran into Gus while we were eating. Gus is the old guy that drove us to Santa Clarita a few weeks back. We discovered he is 87. We asked if he could possibly pick us up at the Palm Springs airport tomorrow but he is busy. It’s not a big deal, with all the money Melody saved us, we can get an Uber and still be money ahead.
I wasn’t hungry even though we had only eaten breakfast this morning. Nonetheless, I know we aren’t eating for today, but for the trail tomorrow. I forced myself to eat a little burger and fries. The name of the burger was “the Motherlode” because it has a couple of 1/3# patties, bacon, cheese, and all the usual toppings. In fairness, I couldn’t quite fit my mouth around it, but I still managed to clean my plate and had Bunny’s fries for dessert. I felt into a meat coma so sleep was very pleasant.
EFG