October 7, 2026 - Park Ridge Lookout

 

Title: October 7, 2026 - Park Ridge Lookout

Hike Info : Description

Hike Info:

Type:Lookout

Description:

It was a good night, full of stars, many of which I could make out even without my glasses. The sliver of a moon did not rise up until a few hours before I woke up at 0500. There was no lightning to report-that is what I also observed from my perch in the lookout yesterday.

PG&E Block and Tackle

By 0630 I started to move around and change into the clothes for the day. I had my normal breakfast of granola, then took what I did not need and lowered it down to the ground. From there I went on a 40 minute walk. When I returned, the PG&E contractors were there, collecting their stuff. I guess they are done with this assignment.

By this time, it is 0900 and I go and do the lookout thing to get ready to go into service at 0930. But at 0916, Porterville comes on the radio and says the command channels will be down for 20 minutes. So much for the 0930 going into service.

Morning light

This throws me off a bit. Around 0940 I realized I had not gone into service with Ash Mountain Fire (AMF). Portervilles’s issue gets resolved and I go into service. I also ask if channel 4 is available. Affirmative. A short time later, Porterville does their weather and staffing. Well sort of. There is static during the weather part. Then during staffing, I hear about 30 seconds and then it silence until the Great Western Divide staffing gets read. I missed the Hume Lake Ranger District’s staffing, which is what I wanted. Evidently, I was not the only one as Buck Rock radio’s me if I heard who our duty officer is? Negative. But I had seen that BC31 is our duty offer.

A little while later, Wendy called about a few things. She asked that I unplug the refig before I leave, so that it would defrost for the Saturday closing of the lookout. I asked if there was anything else she would want done? Yes, if I could look in the visitor log and count the number which we have gotten this season. That is what I spend most of the day on when I am not doing lookout things.

At 1230 I have my dinner of quesadillas. I then take the weather and do a scan. After that, it was time to have a rest period. I set my time for 15 minutes, then get back into scanning. I finished counting visitors at 1430.

This makes it two and half hours until I go out of service at

Park Ridge for the season. Park Ridge Lookout will be going out of service for the season Saturday and I have things I need to do so staffing again up here is not an option. So I know I will need to wait until next year to be back on the catwalk. There is an appreciation of the time I have been up here. But also a bit of sadness that I will have to wait. I will be able to do other things during that time. Still it is a sense of sadness and longing. The other two lookouts, Buck Rock and Delilah, look like they will be going out of service by the end of the month. I probably will not be able to get to Delilah either.

  

Flag over Park Ridge

Oh well, I guess that is enough mopping around. I should start cleaning up the lookout. I do not see that it is that too beneficial to clean the windows since Saturday the lookout closes. Before I can get very far, I have two couples from North Carolina. My first visitors in two days. They are suitably impressed with my babbling. But I am more impressed with one of the wives. She overcame her fear of heights and came up to the catwalk, but quickly came into the safety of the cab. She is successful on our trip down the stairs, looking at her husband’s back.

At 1600 the weather and burn indexes are reported, but it is very staticy. Not that it really matters since the lookout will be vacant tomorrow. I work on finishing cleaning up. When I do one of the final scans, to the south, there is a whole murder of crows squawking and circling around. At 1655 my final visitor, from Medford, Oregon, came up the stairs. He sees that I have packed up and is just about out to close up. We do talk for a while, enough to give him an idea of what happens in the lookout.

At 1708 I go out of service. With the rope system, I am able to get everything down in one load. With a last look, I say farewell to the lookout. An enjoyable season, all seven days I spent up here.

It turns out that I have a bit more fun going back home-good fun. On the way out, I come across my final visitor who was at the saddle. He still needs to set up his campsite, so he accepted a ride to his car at Panoramic Point. After dropping him off, I head down to the Grant Grove Village. It seemed like every quarter mile there is a car coming up. Where are all of there folks going I wonder.

When I get down to the Village, a woman flags me down. She is by herself and her rental car dows not seem to be very reliable as far as showing how much fuel she has. After my usual disclaimer on how little I know about vehicles, we talk about the symptoms. I think she is OK that it may have to do with how the gas sloshed around on mountain roads. She is pleased and calls me “cheeky”-she is English. I think she is trying to compliment me. After this, it is a normal drive back to Fresno. I get back in time for our family Zoom.