Gary-Summer: June 2019

Sunday, June 16, 2019

June 16, 2019 - Delilah Lookout

Title: June 16, 2019 - Delilah Lookout
Hike Info : Description : Background : Menu

Hike Info:

Type: Lookout

Description:

I woke up at 0300 with the sky still dark, but it looks like there is a little bit of a cloud cover. But do not fear. I went back to sleep so that I could get up at 0600. After reading for a bit, it was time to go down to the other building on the premise. After that I took a lap around Delilah Lookout. Yesterday I did two, but today, I am more tired and all which I am up for is one. And then it is back up 80’ to the lookout cab-not totally unenergetic.

Cloud build up

Breakfast time-oatmeal again. But yesterday Judy brought some scones, so we get to supplement our breakfast. Because today is our last day, we ferry the non-essentials down to the truck before going into service.

But before we go into service, we hear a report that there is a fire on Watts Valley Road. It should be pretty much due west of us, but we think that it is hidden behind a hill. Not even the smoke is visible. We go into service at 0930. At 1005 weather and staff is broadcast-we have seen it on the Internet, so we just confirm what we have. A lot easier this way.

Clouds beyond Park Ridge-maybe at Buck Rock

We do our scans and listen to the radio. There is activity on Burton Road (14S02), but nothing which affects us. They are continuing to mop up the Landslide Fire caused by lightning. Also there is a prescribed burn going on. 1100 comes and we respond to Sierra’s inquiry if we are still there with an affirmative. (Maybe not in those words, but to that effect.)

1132 there is an accident by Hume Lake at Sandy Cove bridge. Sounds somewhat serious with an accident between a car and a motorcycle. We will be hearing about this for the next hour.

Distant clouds close to Goddard, maybe

Judy has joined us again today. She is up here mostly to make sure she knows the terrain. While we enjoy her being up in the tower, she is also doing a lot on her own. Back to the normal scan, radio, weather beat.

We get a call from Div3 asking for Mich. We tell him that she will be up in a couple of hours. We are on duty today. He says for her to call him when she comes in.

Then we hear P33 talking to P32 on R5 Project. There is talk about a wildfire, but we did not catch where. So we contact P33 on R5 Project to find out where. It is way out of our area-called the Rock Fire. But P33 recognizes my voice and asks if it is me. Yep, she has it.

Rare View of Kings River from Delilah

You know how yesterday Tom said that at times you can see the Kings River? Found it.

Clouds above Spanish Mountain

Close to 1600 the Landslide Fire is reported as showing no smoke and is being put into patrol status. That means that one of the patrols, probably P33 will be going past it periodically to check on it. Also if Buck Rock Lookout was being staffed, they would pay particular attention to the area. But we cannot see it as it is beyond Park Ridge, so to us, it is informational.

Brown patch on left is close to yesterday's smoke. View: McKenzie Heliport

About 1700 Mich comes along. We have several questions for her. Half of them she enlightens us on what should be done*. But the other half is more seat of your pants responses. I guess we are starting to ask more advanced questions. Judy has been playing Stump the Chump with me. I am doing OK. But there is one reading which she and I are disagreeing. So Mich gets asked. She feels it is close to where I spotted it on the map, but a little bit different logic.

We get relieved about 1730 and head on out. Sherri orders a pizza for the three of us. Then we start to head down the hill. We stop at McKenzie Heliport because we got a better view of where Friday’s pile burn was. Then on to Bear Mountain Pizza. It is ready right when we get there. Back home by about 1930.

Background

*If you are really interested in the questions we asked Mich, this is what we asked:

Who is Patrol 37?
- All four of us hear P37, but in reality, it is P47, out of our area.
How did you know where Lone Pine Canyon was?
- She knew where it was not and asked Porterville some questions about other areas which it might be associated with. (I had found it, but by using a spreadsheet I developed.)
Is Captain 32 the same as Engine 32?
- Yes
Is Davis Road open?
- No. Even though the gate is open. She will have someone go by and close it.
How about Burton Road and other things in the area?
- No
Is the Fire Finder trued up?
- Mich will check, but it should be. That was because when I did my orientation points, they all were about 10-15’ off. But Judy and Tom had different readings. So it is probably OK. The general rule of thumb is that if we can report it within 30’, that is good.
Do we have a map for Tucker Mountain?
- No. Technically, it is outside of our area.
Who is Chief 70?
- Unknown, but it could be associated with Hume Lake Christian Camps.

Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snacks
Oatmeal and add-ins, such as dried peaches, strawberries, nuts, granola.	Peanut Butter and Nutella Sandwich, Chips	Pizza At Bear Mountain Pizza	Jelly Belly, Cheese

Saturday, June 15, 2019

June 15, 2019 - Delilah Lookout

Title: June 15, 2019 - Delilah Lookout
Hike Info : Description : Background : Menu : Extra Photo's : Flowers and Plants

Trail head: Delilah Lookout

Hike Info:

Type: Lookout

Description:

Hills are alive beside Delilah

Got up around 5:45, but I was awake well before that. I woke up several times last night and just gazed at the stary sky. Of course occasionally needed to turn as well in a confined space. I must have grown a bit larger or the catwalk has shrunk from last year. There are many glorious things about Delilah Lookout. But the sunrise does not match the sunsets. You see a little bit of brightening to the east with the mountains remaining dark. If you are lucky, a bit of pink appears along with a few canyons. Nothing really spectacular though. And then there is the sun. No grand entrance, just “I am here, deal with me.”

When I get up, I go down the 80’ of stairs to the outhouse. Then go for a couple of laps around the lookout. Along the way, flowers are popping out, making the walk slow, but a lesson in praise. One gets reminded what Jesus had to say:

And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?

Sherri, Tom, Judy and Gary

We eat our oatmeal breakfast and then get cleaned up. We are having company today. Today we have our refresh training where we mutually refresh each other’s knowledge and skills. We will be with Judy and Tom. So we take down excess stuff, so there is room enough for all of us.

Tom come in first around 0915 with Judy coming in a little after 0930. We go in service at 0930 with both Sierra and Porterville. I have gotten the fire weather report off of the Internet. Also the staffing gets updated right before Porterville reads it out. So we are all set to study.

This studying/refreshing takes several forms. We go through settings on the radio, understanding how to scan for certain channels and how to set a channel as priority. All part of remembering. We also go through about 45 minutes of scenarios. What do we do? Who do we report this too? Where do we write this down. Pretty exhausting. At least we can take a quick break for lunch.

Our smoke from the burn pile

But someplace in the middle of that, Sherri spots a smoke. It is south of us. We have it plotted out and are pretty close to where it is. The one question is, "is this an allowable burn?" We are leaning towards yes it us and then how to report it. Wendy calls us about this time and identifies exactly where it is and yes, it is a burn. pile and is allowed. We would call it in to let Porterville know, but not even a smoke check. If we did not know, a smoke check would be appropriate. It is n CalFire area.

Then in the afternoon it was more about the terrain than anything else. How do we know where something is. Judy would pick out a spot which she would work out where it was. Then Tom and I would see what we came up with. Sometimes we were spot on with each other. Other times we would work through where the spot was. I think Tom was the winner.

At one point, Tom said there is a certain spot where you could see the Kings River. I had not seen that before, so I was both wondering where it was and disbelieving him^*. We did this kind of thing for several hours. Good practice for all of us.

Tom left about 1600 or 1700. Judy, Sherri and I stayed until going out of service at 1800. Then it was time to celebrate a wonderful day. Judy had made a spaghetti dinner with wine, along with an appetizer. We brought bread and dessert. Good company and good food with out of this world scenery. All days in the tower should end this way.

After dinner, Judy leaves and we get ourselves situated for the evening. Tonight we are more in tune with the setting sun. And it is spectacular-actually most sunsets at Delilah are that. Tonight I decided that I will sleep inside the cap. Not much difference warmth or comfort wise. Just a bit more wind gets me to thinking it is wiser to stay inside.

Background

^*On Sunday, I saw where Tom was indicating. I did not quite believe what I was seeing, but it was there. Only when the Kings is high and running fast can you see the river. Otherwise you see what looks like rocks below a roadbed.

Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snacks
Oatmeal and add-ins, such as strawberries, nuts, granola. .	Peanut Butter and Nutella Sandwiches	Spaghetti-furnished by Judy. Wine, carrots and cucumbers, bread, cookies	Almonds,

Extra Photo's

Dinner

View to sleep by

Sunset

Flag at dusk, right before we took it down

Receding Cloud

Evening clouds taking in the setting sun's colors

Moon over McKenzie

Flowers and Plants

Common Media

Mountain Lily

Friday, June 14, 2019

June 14, 2019 - Delilah Lookout

Title: June 14, 2019 - Delilah Lookout
Hike Info : Description : Background : Menu : Extra Photo's : Flowers and Plants

Trail head: Delilah Lookout

Hike Info:

Type: Lookout

Description:

West Looking with Coastal Range just above the haze

I got up at 0555^*. But we did not get out of the house until 0725, about 10 minutes later than I wanted to. We drove to Delilah without incident, stopping at Davis Road and see that it is open now^**. The road to Delilah seems to be more rutted than it was last month when we drove to the gate. But within the forest, it looks like the road has been recently graded. White Deer Road is now blocked off^***. I wonder what our escape route would be if there is a fire?

North with Mt Nelson and the Three Sisters

Almost all of the time when we get to the lookout, it is pretty clean. But today our initial impression is that everything is in its place and there is a place for everything. This gives the perception of “I had better not touch anything because anything we do will not be at this level of standard.” But we have three days to live in it, so I am sure Mich will have some work to do when she returns Sunday afternoon.

Afternoon Clouds above Spanish Mountain

We go into service at 0930. There is a fire which it seems like everybody has responded to called the Landslide fire. It is over by the Burton Road, 14S02, close to Landslide. It was discovered Wednesday and caused by a lightning strike. Looks like it is 5-10 acres. There was another fire report on Burton road, near Weston Meadow. Wondering if it is the same thing. (Turns out there was also a prescribed burn going on as well). This would keep people occupied all day to varying degrees.

And then we got to listen to P33 try to work out what happened to the gate at Big Meadows. Apparently someone had damaged the lock and it was now hard locking back up again. Then she found vehicles where there should not be. The road had been plowed back to a summer camp at the end of the road. Sounds like P33 had a full day.

Sherri with the meal she fixed

But how about Sherri and I? Did we free-load all day? The bottom line-no smokes sighted. But we did work at getting ourselves re-acquainted with being in a lookout after eight months of being out of it. We worked through a bunch of things. How to use the radio--without too much stumbling around. Can we name the areas around us? Where is Lone Pine Canyon near here? (And not the one next to Whitney either. Mich had it in her logs that the FAA had notified Porterville that they thought there was smoke in the canyon.) Or which Blue Canyon should we be interested in (the one near Pine Flat.) This kept us busy, except when one of us was taking a nap.

Delilah

Oh yeah, we also did the regular stuff like taking the weather and scanning for smoke.

When 1800 came along, we had our one little faux pas. I got us out of service to Porterville. But when I started checking to see about Sierra, the radio had gone dead. We quickly swapped batteries and turned on the radio. We then heard Lookouts … Delilah. Right on cue we answered Delilah “Out of Service”. Not too many days end that way.

Gary on evening walk

Sherri had prepared burritos for our meal, with carrots and cucumber. We have a sight which people would pay good money to eat in front of. We are sort of feeling like a king and queen, looking down on the world-literally. The one thing which you would not have to do in a fine restaurant is to wash dishes, but that is what we did.

Afterwards we went down for a short walk and back up to Delilah and got ready for bed. Another thing about this Bed and Breakfast, is the scenic view situated just right for sunsets. Spectacular-sorry no pictures. By 2045, it is time for bed. It is warm enough and only a little wind, so I go out to the catwalk to sleep. Sherri gets the bed. Stars are out and the moon looks splendid.

Background

^*When we are in the lookout, military time is used. Also the speech is in something called “clear text”. Both are to avoid unnecessary radio transmission, removing jargon from speech, and providing clarity of communications.

^**It turns out the gate should be closed. Unknown why it is open. But we were told that another gate about a mile further down was still closed.

^***When I asked about White Deer Saddle Road, I was told that the road was officially decommissioned. Also there is a gate when it reached private property . Unknown if we have a key to go through. Also there are currently trees across the road.