Gary-Summer: July 27, 2019 - Delilah Lookout

Saturday, July 27, 2019

July 27, 2019 - Delilah Lookout

Title: July 27, 2019 - Delilah Lookout
Hike Info : Description : Trail Lessons : Menu : Extra Photo's : Animals : Flowers and Plants

Trail head: Delilah Lookout

Hike Info:

Type: Lookout

Description:

You know what Delilah needs? A swimming pool! No I do not mean something to dive off 80’ into a little toddler pool, but something which when it gets hot, someone can just take a dip and cool off with. Sounds like a fantasy doesn’t it? And then I wake up at 0530 to the sound of my rooster alarm on my phone.

Sherri and her coffee

I get ready and have my breakfast. At 0630 I take Lydia, a friend of ours, to work. But right before I go, we discover Sherri’s backpack is wet-probably her water bladder has sprung a leak. So she dries as much as she can, but this puts us a few minutes late leaving.

At 0720 we bid the house adeu. But as a compensation to Sherri’s start of the day, we stop in Dunlap for her coffee fix. She loves that Clingans Junction’s coffee. Then we check to see the status of Davis Road-gate is closed like it should be.

Delilah's White Board when we came in

We make it to Delilah without incident or meeting a bovine-much to Sherri’s disappointment. We are a few minutes late in getting to the lookout-we try to make it by 0900. But we are still able to get the weather check in before going into service at 0930. We still are getting organized though-the white board is full of small fires and lightning strikes in the area. I know about the strikes from checking a NIFC page. But the fires we need to scan around for.

It was a quiet morning. We did the usual stuff-scans, listen to the radio, respond to Sierra’s lookout check in. I am feeling tired, so I laid down and before I knew it, I was asleep. Sherri kept the lookout standing straight while I slept-the advantage of having both of us here.

But the afternoon was a different story. It was mostly quiet on the Delilah front. But Buck Rock and Big Meadow was having lots of fun. First, there was a report of a mule which had been wandering the camp area for the past couple of days. Patrol 33 eventually found it and Buck Rock found out that it did not belong to any of the packers in the area. Then there was a report that a creek by Big Meadow had been dammed up and people where using a net to haul out the fish. Another citation. Then Buck Rock saw some off-road activity which one of the Forest Service staff needed to look out. All of this time, we were hearing one end of the conversation or the other end, but not both. You throw Law Enforcement in there and it was a regular busy time for that Buck Rock.

A few clouds towards the Middle Fork of the Kings

Bovine are the little black spots in Sampson Flat

Our turn came along, but not in as much of a dramatic way. Around 1500 we heard about a fire being spotted in the Dinkey Creek around, just outside of the road loading into Camp Chawanakee. We might see it, depending on where it was and how much smoke is being put out.But as much as we looked, nothing. Buck Rock talked with us and told us that even if we do not see smoke, let Sierra know as it can give them information about what is visible and what is not. So we did-our excitement for the day. Later on we heard it had been put out.

Looking towards Wishon and Mt Henry

Table for Two-Dinner at Delilah

At 1800, we went out of service with both Porterville and Sierra. We both seemed to need to relax a bit as neither one of us was too aggressive on getting dinner together. But when Sherri did, it was good. A cheese gnocchi with red sauce and vegetables. Now we will have something to have Judy eat when she is up here-payback for her good spaghetti dinner last month.

The rest of the evening, we just lounged around, reading-I a book by Arthur C Brooks called Love Your Enemies. It is about the political climate we are in and a better way to achieve discourse about the issues facing our nation.

By 2130 we were ready for bed. I slept out on the catwalk, hoping to catch a few stars.

Trail Lesson: Even sighting nothing can be good information.

Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snacks
Breakfast at home	Peanut Butter and Nutella Sandwich, chips, water	Cheese Gnocchi, carrots and cucumbers, croissant	String Cheese, Smoked Almonds, Jelly Belly