June 3, 2026 - Park Ridge Lookout

 

Title:  June 3, 2026 - Park Ridge Lookout
Hike Info : Description :  Background : Animals 

Hike Info:

Type: Lookout

Description:

Today is the first day of being in a fire lookout this season. I am going up to Park Ridge Lookout. The past couple of days I have been gathering my supplies and think I am ready as far as being able to be comfortable up there. Monday night Wendy sent me a refresh quiz, things I should know. When I looked it over, I was thinking how much have I forgotten and how will it come back?

Burn scar on Mt Campbell from a June 2nd fire

 

I get up at 5:35. I finished loading up the car with a few last minute things, plus the food in the refrigerator. I think I am ready to go. Now to get into the car, but first I need to find my wallet> When did I last use it? After a ten minute search I found it. I cannot even say it is old age.

I left a few minutes later than I thought I would, taking off at 6:50. The drive up goes fast. I realize I have not gone this way in a while. When I get to the entrance station, I am waved through, even though there is a line. Do they recognize that I must be royalty? Probably not, they just see my Buck Rock door magnet and know that I am volunteering up here.

Source of Faucet Problem

I get to Park Ridge Lookout at 8:40. One of the things which I was going to track down was if I could determine why the cell phones were not working. I called Sherri-I can contact Verizon. At 8:45 I entered the cab and then brought my stuff up for the next 36 hours or so. This includes food and water as well as a sleeping bag and clothing. Took me at least four loads. Much better than going up and down Delilah's 80 stairs.

I looked at the cell phone, just checking on the status and I saw everything was good. I then phoned it with my phone. I got through! Then phoned Wendy on the the lookout phone. She is happy that the phone actually works! We talked a bit more

 

I have ample time to do the things which I should do before going into service, such as taking the weather and scanning for smokes. Also I got my paper work all in order. When 9:30 hits, I go in-service with Ash Mountain Fire and Porterville.

The plumbers unit

While we do not use the water from the lookout faucet-it is considered soapy water and non-potable, we do use this water for cleaning. The water is running slow. Our Buck Rock Foundation maintenance team descended on the tank and pump which services the lookout.

Neil, George, Richard and Jan work on it for much of the morning. They will replace something and call up asking if that is how the flow should be. Sometimes there is a slight improvement, other times it goes from bad to worse. This gets a bit more frustrating to the team. I wonder if the issue is up in the cab under the sink and I play with the shutoff under the sink. But Neil comes up with the solution: the screen on the faucet is clogged with rust. Once he cleans it out, there is a good flow. The team thinks that one of the parts they replaced was the main culprit, but in fixing this, it dislodged the rust which clogged the screen. It works and everybody is happy.

 

 

Marmot Buddies

While all of this is going on, I still have the tasks to do which is why I am up here. At 10:00 both Ash Mountain Fire and Porterville both did their weather and staffing-at the same time. Plus there is the background plumbing going on. Fortunately I had most of the information off of a couple web sites I know about. Shortly after they finished, Buck Rock asks, who is the Hume Lake Ranger Disrict’s duty officer? I had seen it was Division 3, but I must have sounded unsure as Delilah chimes in to confirm.

I get back to the things I look out for: looking for smoke. I also regained familiarity of being in a lookout after a eight month hiatus. There is very few people on the District, hume Lake Ranger District, today. It is easy to keep track of where they are. Patrol 33 is all over the place-down in Eshom, then up to the Chimney Rock, and over to Big Meadow. From there, Patrol 33 goes to Hume Lake and then down into the Canyon. I wonder who she is giving the grand tour to? Later on I see a Facebook post where our friend Judy has spent the day with Patrol 33.

By 11:30 the plumbing situation had been resolved. Both Richard and Jan have gone on to Buck Rock. Neil and George decide to have lunch at the lookout. George comes up to the cab and we talk out on the catwalk. We both are feeling some of the effects of age. We commiserate that after we end our time in the lookout, we need some time to recuperate. It is good to talk with him.

Flag at Sunset

Around 12:30, Neil and George left me to be the sole commander of this outpost. The first thing I do with this immense power is to have lunch. By the time I finished with lunch, I did a scan then took the afternoon weather by 13:15. Then the rest of the afternoon is doing the basics-isn’t that what a lookout’s life really is? I did more scans, more quizzing myself on the landmarks which I see, and talked with visitors.

On that last part, I had a variety of them. Each year there is an annual inspection of the power lines for hazardous trees. One of the guys recognized me from last year and I recognized him. They came up to the cab and enjoyed the sights. Then a couple from Cleveland came up. They are interested in the hikes and places to go around the Park. Of course I provide. It must have been an Ohio day as a family from Cincinnati came up. As we talked about the wildlife-and no I do not see bears up here-they mention that there was a rattlesnake on the trail.

Towards the end of the shift, a couple from Boston doing the van-life thing come up. They spent the day doing things around the Visitor Center and wanted to go for a hike. That led them to this lookout. We talked for a while and I answered questions. Evidently he has a YouTube channel which is a blend of satire and travelog. He is interested in doing a short interview with me and I accommodate. He said it will take a while for him to edit and get it up, but I can find his channel by looking for Matty Appleseed.*

Before the end of the day, I did several things. The Forest wants to know if we are staying overnight in a lookout. At 16:36 I phoned Porterville Dispatch and told them I am overnighting. They wanted to know if I am going out of service now? No, not until 18:00. Then Jeff calls and asks about propane. I find what he is looking for. While the last visitors are here, I go out of service with Ash Mountain Fire, then with Porterville. I am out of service by 17:53. The last visitors leave at 18:15.

So what do I do with the remainder of the daylight hours? Jeff had planted the idea of going out for a hike. But first, I want to have dinner. Then my calendar alarm goes off and reminds me I have a family Zoom time. There is an advantage of being at this lookout-the Verizon tower is just 50’ away so I have great reception. Family takes priority over hiking-I love it that my children want to connect with us. David, Sherri, Andrea and I talk for about an hour while I eat my quesadilla. By the time it ends and I do a bit of cleaning up, the sun is low in the sky. Time for the reward for staffing a fire lookout: the sunset! And then darkness. By 21:30, I am in my sleeping bag reading and doing those kinds of stuff.

Background

*Matty had asked me what I did in my time. I rattled off a variety of things, including leading a House Church. This led me to a question of what Bible story do I like best.Questions like this, my mind usually draws a blank and it did this time. But for some reason Jesus’ parable of Lazarus and the rich man came to mind-which I butchered. But it led me into talking about the need for honesty and righteousness in one's life. This seemed to resonate with him. Luke 16:19-31.

Animals

Marmot

May 22, 2026 - Castle Lake

 

Title: May 22, 2026 - Castle Lake
Hike Info : Description : Menu : Flowers and Plants

Hike Info:

Type: Hiking

Trail head: Castle Lake Parking Area

Trail:  Lakeshore

Destination: end of trail

Actual Destination: Just past University Nevada testing station

Distance:  0.81 miles

Start Time: 11:45

End Time:   1:33   

Travel Time: 1:47  (0.46 mph)

Moving Time: 0:33   (1.48 mph)

Elevation Rise: 160'

Descent: 112‘

Maximum Elevation: 5,466'

GPS Tracks

Description:

McCloud River at the berm

After yesterday’s evening rain, the night was pretty calm. I slept warm and I do not think Sherri got up as many times last night. Hoping she went to sleep earlier. I got up at 6:30 and went for a walk.

After talking with our neighbor last night I have a pretty good idea where the trail is, but not so sure how to get there. I start off my walk by trying to head directly south from our camp at Cattle Camp Campground. While level and clear and easy to navigate, it quickly became evident that was not the way to go.

I then shifted to looking for a path from the other campground loop. I found a little, use trail at the end of the loop. It quickly ran into the McCloud River Trail. Decision: do I go up it like how I thought of going or down it towards the Falls. I decided down mostly because I was curious about where it crosses the road. The short answer: It does not cross the road. 

 

 

Cattle Camp Swimming Hole

It is a pleasant walk. The trail is marked at certain spots with trail markers, but nothing which shouts out at you saying this is the trail you have been searching for. For about 50 yards, the trail parallels the road, off of it by about 10 yards.Close enough to see the road, but not close enough to see it from the road, unless someone is on it.

I got to the logging road we walked to last night. The trail crosses it about 20 yards in and continues on. There are a few downed trees across the path, but nothing which cannot be easily climbed over. I came to where the trail meets the river. There is a berm there and I walk the berm. There are remnants of an old dam at the end of it. I continue on the trail. The river is nice and flowing. I come to a place where there is a large swimming hole with a rope swinging. I am thinking these people around here really love these rope swings. Well, the reason why, I have come to Cattle Camp Swimming Hole.

Now where does the trail come out? By the outhouse! The one obvious place we did not look yesterday when we were here. I turn around and retrace my steps and come back to the camp. I got to the split where there is a spot to go to the campground. I then realize I must of been on automatic pilot for a ways as I do not remember crossing the logging road. I get back to camp about 7:40.Sherri is still asleep.

Sherri gets up about 8:30 and we have our oatmeal and granola breakfast, along with the add-ins of choice. We talked about where to go and decided on some trails at Castle Lake-one of the places Steve, the ranger, mentioned yesterday. We get things cleaned up and ready to go. But you know that slow camping I mentioned yesterday? We still are slow.

It is after 10:30 before we leave. The road construction is still going on today, but in two places. Fortunately we hit both of them just right and only have to wait a few minutes.Sherri gives me instructions to get to the lake. When we get there, we find a small parking area which is mostly full. A car has just left and we take the spot. Cars are parked down the road. I can only imagine what this place will look like tomorrow.

Water Quality Cabin

We spot a trail and start on it. It says Heart and Little Castle Lake, We go about 50 yards down it and Sherri does not like the look of it. Her foot is still hurting and she is wearing tennis shoes. So we went back to the car. While doing this she reads the information sheet and notes that the starting place is a few feet down the road. So we go down there and find the trail.

This is a short trail, about a mile round trip. It goes along the northern shore of Castle Lake. There is no danger of losing track of this trail. People swim in this lake even though it looks-we did not feel it-pretty cold. We got most of the way on the trail-it is only a half mile long when we saw that people had congregated at the end of it. We turned around, found a nice place to stop and have lunch.

While eating, we observed people across the lake swimming from a raft in the middle of this part of the lake. They swim over to a granite cliff. The raft has something to do with a building behind us called Castle Station run by the University of Nevada, Reno-maybe in conjunction with UC Davis. Sherri reads that they are monitoring water purity.

I rest for half an hour and then we make our way back to the car. About 1:30 we leave and stop in Mt Shasta. I had been working out how many miles we may drive in the next few days and would we have enough gas to make it back to Redding. We filled up 6+ gallons as 6.25 a gallon. This may be the most expensive gas I have ever gotten.

On our way home, there is less construction going on. I had thought about doing three things: Going to the Mt Shasta Trailhead, walking the Military Road or hiking another part of the McCloud River Trail. The Trailhead looked like it might be a long drive. It looked like there was logging going on Military Road. So when we parked, I thought I would rest for about 15 minutes before walking some more.

One note: I reached a new high in my MPG coming back: 113.8 mpg! Our car is a gas only, so no electric assist! Of course there was special circumstances. Having put gas in the tank, I usually zero out the mpg at the station. I forgot and did not discover this until we were coming back. The location? Top of a hill with my forward momentum already going forward. Who knows, I may have already had a tail wind. The next day, the mpg returned to a more normal state.

An hour and a half later, I am still resting, writing up the blog and talking with Gwen. She said they are leaving tomorrow. We are tracking Rachel and Andrea as they are traveling.

When it looks like Rachel is 15 minutes away, I go out to Highway 89 and wait for her.Shortly after I arrive there, she comes in Once she gets settled in, as much as she can since Andrea has the tent, we have dinner. The meal is quesadeas-two per person.With that we are content. Once we clean up from dinner, we go for a walk. We headed out to the McCloud River Trail and walked about ten minutes east. Then turn around and come back to camp.

 

 

 

 

 

Around 9, Rachel and I go to Highway 89 to greet Andrea. She comes in about ten minutes after we arrive. It is good seeing both of our daughters here. Once Andrea gets refreshed, we put up her tent. They then load it up with their camp stuff and it is time to go to bed.

Menu

Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snacks
Oatmeal and add-ins, such as dried peaches, strawberries, nuts, granola.	Peanut Butter, Nutella	Quesadilla	Jelly Belly

Animals

 
Flowers and Plants

May 21, 2026 - Upper McCloud Falls

Title: May 21, 2026 - Upper McCloud Falls

 
Hike Info : Description :Background : Menu : Extra Photo's : Animals : Flowers and Plants

 

 

 

 

 

 Hike Info:

Type: Hiking 

 Trail head: Upper McCloud Falls Parking area

Trail: McCloud River Trail

Destination: walking for about 15-20 minutes

Actual Destination: Lakin Dam

Distance:  .54 miles 1

Start Time: 4:00

End Time:  4:16

Travel Time: 0:15   (2.14 mph)

Moving Time: 0:15   (2.14 mph)

Elevation Rise:  66'

Descent: 64‘

Maximum Elevation: 3,527'

GPS Tracks

 ¹One way-on the return trip.

Description:

McCloud River

It was a bit cool last night. Not that I am shivering kind of cold, just cool enough that I debated putting on my socks and maybe something on my upper body. But my wanting to sleep conquered the coolness. I got up when it was well into being light, but before the sun hit our campsite, around 6:45

I track lightning for our lookouts and for some Forest Service and Park personnel. Before leaving I had sent a message saying I would be out for a week and was not sure about the connectivity. Last night I was able to see there was no lightning in the area I cover. This morning I could not get into the app. I was able to get off an email to the people. One email took about ten minutes to finally get a connection, the other about an hour.

I then went for a short walk down road 39N09. More just to walk and get a feel for where I am. If I followed the road far enough it would take me to the road which goes to McCloud Falls. But I only walked about half a mile. Just enough to get the legs stretched out after yesterday’s long drive. This area is pretty flat so walking is easy.

 I returned and read for a bit until Sherri got up around 8:45. I then made us the oatmeal breakfast-I probably over did it. Neither of us are moving very fast, just getting camping legs under us.While we are not active, the golden mantel ground squirrels are. They get downright friendly, coming on top of the table before we shoe them off.

About 11, I put forward a plan. Let's go to the McCloud Ranger Station and see what they say would be good for us to do. Then we can go for a hike this afternoon after lunch. Seemed like a good plan. Sherri does go and talk with our neighbors: Gwen and Andy from Redding, along with their grandson. I joined them. This means we do not leave the campground until after 11:30

The Ranger Station should be only a 15 minute drive. You know the road construction we ran into yesterday? We got stopped by it again today. This time for about 20 minutes. We get to the Ranger Station a few minutes before noon. There we met Steve, the ranger at the front desk, who gave us some ideas about what to do: Siskiyou Lake, Castle Lake and of course, McCloud Falls were on his list. We left and got back around 12:40.

Neither of us are too hungry-we had a lot of breakfast. Sherri had her PB&jam sandwich and I had some crackers, mozzarella cheese and nuts. Then we rested until just after 2pm.

The McCloud River Trail is close to Cattle Camp, at least that is what both some web sites and Steve indicated. We did not see it. But we did go to the Cattle Camp Swimming Hole. No, we did not swim. We thought the trail might cross someplace close to here. It did not. We thought there was what looked like a trail up the side of a 20’ embankment. If it is, we think maybe this is not the trail for us. Instead we tried to go southwest. This took along the rocky river rock next to the River-OK the sentence is not very good, but you get the idea. This did not seem to be very much fun. So we tried a bit inland. Still nothing-we did find what looked like a trail, but it could be a deer path, but no tracks.^*

Going back to the car, we decided to go back to camp. Instead of going the way we came there, we continued following the paved Tate Creek Road. It curves west and we follow it. There are some roads which intersect our route, but we keep going. I see one sign which says Lakin’s Dam-looks interesting, but we keep going. But we do stop at the Upper McCloud Falls. This is the overlook. I suspect the Upper Falls might be beautiful, from the overlook we can only see parts of it. The temperature is mid-80’s, but it seems hotter than that since the sun is directly overhead.

Resting by the River

When we got back to the car, I asked Sherri if she wanted to do any more walking? No, but if I want to I can. I think I have spotted the trail out of the Upper Falls, heading towards Cattle Camp. So I go up it for about 15-20 minutes. It is well marked. Another man close to my age exchanges pleasantries and noting that we are glad we are out here able to enjoy things. I continued on. This portion of the trail runs along the river. The rock around the trail is volcanic, but the path is mostly dirt. Only about 20 yards has a volcanic rock layer-which I pick my way through being mindful of my age.

The river is fun to watch as it flows by. I go up a ways farther until I see another waterfall. Turns out this is going over a dam. Is this Lankin’s Dam? Whatever it is, it makes for a nice place to stop, view and turn around. I am walking a lot faster going back. A bit because it has a slight downhill slope, a bit because my legs are stretched out, but more so that I had told Sherri I would be go about 15 minutes up the trail, which meant I should be back around 4:15. I get back at 4:20. Along the way, I see what looks like a colorful rubber boa sticking his head out of some rocks.

We got back to camp at 4:45. We rested a bit until I started to feel some drops hit me-not many, but enough to make me wonder if more of them were on their way. When it stops, the pavement does not really show that it rained. About 5:45 I start to make our dinner-not that it is very hard: Frito corn chips, a can of chili, onions and Mexican cheese. I just heat up the chili.

About the time we get cleaned up from eating, it starts to rain, a different rain than before dinner. We make sure everything is prepared: moving anything which would get damaged off the table, putting the chairs under trees-too late for the chair I was sitting in., and making sure the tent is secure. The concern is that we had discovered that one of the viewing panels had disintegrated, leaving a hole in the rain fly. As long as there is no wind, it should be OK.

We retreat into the car, reading and writing. It rains pretty good for an hour-the weather says there was a 4% chance of Precip-what does it know? The benefit is the weather has cleared the air and turned it a bit cooler. Everything looks good, even the tent.

We finished up the day by walking around our loop. Andy and Gwen come by from dropping off their grandchild and we talk for a few minutes. They mentioned a restaurant they like in Mt Shasta called the Pipeline-a craft brewery place. Then we talked with our new neighbor. I had seen him earlier walking by with a walking stick-he looked like he was a hiker. So I asked about where he hiked. He said a trail right outside of camp. He gave us directions to get to it. So we walked the road, hoping to spot it. We walked as far as a logging road. After checking it out on the map, this is road 39N11Y. But no sign of the trail, so we returned to camp.

We got ready for bed and I got back to sleeping bag by 9:30 and am out by 10:00. Not sure what time Sherri got to sleep, but she had got into her sleeping bag shortly after I did.

Background

*The next day, I found the trail and walked down as far as the Swimming Hole. Where it came out was by the outhouse at the hole.

Menu

Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snacks
Oatmeal and add-ins, such as dried peaches, strawberries, nuts, granola.	Peanut Butter, Nutella	Frito Boat	Jelly Belly

Extra Photo's

Night Sky

Lakin's Dam

Upper McCloud Falls

Animals

 
Flowers and Plants