Title: June 10, 2020 - Delilah Lookout
Hike Info : Description : Background : Animals : Flowers and Plants
Hike Info:
Type:Lookout
Description:
I think rhythm is a good word.
Yesterday, I did not think I had gotten into the rhythm of being a
fire lookout. I always seemed to be missing stuff on the radio or
being slow in doing my scans. But maybe with a day under my belt and
a good night’s rest, I will be up to speed.
I woke up at 0530 after a
restful night’s sleep. There was a glimmer in the east showing the
coming of the sun. There is something about the rising of the sun
which gives both hope and joy as the colors change from darkness to
light. I got up just before the rays of the sun poked through. Even
then, when I glanced over, I knew I missed a prime photo opportunity
to catch the sun's rays before the sun peeked over the crest. I agree
with GK:
I enjoy stars and the sun or trees and the sea, because they exist in spite of me; and I believe the sentiment to be at the root of all that real kind of romance which makes life not a delusion of the night, but an adventure of the morning.--GK Chesterton, The Illustrated London News,
November 22, 1913, "The Fulfillment of Wishes"
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| Morning Has Broken |
And now back to the amateur writer. Once up, it is a trip down 80
steps, unlocking a gate and then another hundred feet to the
outhouse. Nothing like relief. But why waste a good morning? So I
went on a walk down the same road as last night. Only thing went up
the other side of the saddle a little ways. What a way to spend the
morning! Flowers everywhere and I am the only one up here to enjoy
it. While I know what some of these are, some names do not come into
memory. You will just have to look at the bottom.
When I got back up the stairs, I had a granola breakfast. Somehow,
simple tastes good. I then cleaned up and got my stray stuff packed
away. For such a small space and only one person, it is very easy to
get things cluttered. By now it is 0900 and time to start getting
ready for going in-service. I take the weather-still calm and
beautiful.
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| Pine Ridge at Sunrise |
Delilah’s
cabin is getting a bit warm. Sort of like being in a
glass cage, it heats up quickly. Once the sun gets high enough and
the wind kicks in, then it is very pleasant, even on hot days. So
what did I do in the meantime? Lets just put it this way. Nobody is
around for at least three mile and I am behind two locked gates, 72’
up. Who will ever know?
I go in-service with both PTV and SNF at 0930. And now it is part of
the daily routine. The duty officer calls me up today and checks to
make sure everything is good-it is. This does give me warm fuzzies in
that there are people in the Forest Service who care about the
lookout and my well being. Actually there are a lot of people who do.
Today I get both the weather and the staffing? Why might you ask?
Because I got my voice recorder on the phone to work. Also the
dispatcher who was reading the staffing was well modulated and spoke
at a normal rate. Afterwards Brent and I talk. Nothing serious. Brent
did indicate that he had not received my refresh quiz-sent it
yesterday. I sent it again this morning from Sherri’s account. And
then it is back to the normal scan and refresh cycle. That rhythm I
talked about earlier is kicking in.
Brent calls back in the afternoon. Yippee! I have aced the fresh quiz!
There is always that little apprehension of how good did I do,
hopefully I did not totally screw it up.
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| Common Dandelion |
In yesterday’s blog, I did not say that close to quitting time, the
carbon monoxide detector started chirping. Am I about to be
asphyxiated? I change the batteries and the chirping goes on. But the
relief is that I placed the detector outside and it still chirps. So
chances are I will not die because of that. I talked with Buck
Rock about the situation. So she sends PT31 with a
fresh batch of batteries. I guess I am not totally isolated. He comes
up and I talk with him. But then he needs to go off and examine a
burn line from last year’s fire over on McKenzie
Ridge.
While I was with PT31, Kathy called. Told her I would call back. We
talked for a while on our call back. She was wondering how the sanitation process went? I think pretty well. She mentioned some
things and I realized I had not sanitized the weather instruments.
Hopefully the person before me did. She had been rafting the Snake
River. Sounded like a good trip.
1600 comes along and the SNF checkin and the PTV weather/indices take
place. But I am ready. Maybe it is just a bit of catching up on
yesterday’s misshapes, Buck Rock calls me and asks about tomorrow's
burn status. I was just beginning to listen to the recording when she
called on R5. I call her back with No Burn Reporting.
Now for my final two hours in the tower this trip. It has been good
to be back up here, but I am also looking forward to returning home,
even though it will only have been a day and a half away. I know as
the season goes on I will enjoy longer stays.
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| Common Madea |
Besides looking for smoke during these last two hours, I am also
getting packed. The Covid-19 protocol calls for the cabin to be
cleaned twice during our stays. Once when we come and once when we
leave. So I am on the leaving sanitation process. There is a
twofold reason for the leaving. First, it gives time for the various
agents to work against the virus. Second is that whatever I miss,
there is a pretty good chance that the next lookout will sanitize.
1800 rolls around and I go out of service with PTV and SNF. It has
been a good day. I lower what can fit into the basket down to the
ground. The rest is packed into my backpack. I do the final look
around to make sure I have left things OK and lock up everything.
After unloading the basket and my pack into the car, I put away the
basket. I then glanced up and realized I have left one last thing
undone, about 65’ up. Do I really need to go back up those stairs?
Yea. So my day is not done yet. I go up and turn off our water supply
and re-lock the gate. I put away the keys and drove off.
For the first time out, not bad. I am sure things will go smoother
when we come up in three weeks. I get home around 2000 and had
dinner.
Background
Two days after I was up at Delilah, my replacement got a smoke,
actually it was three smokes. Brent saw the smokes right when they
were infants and nailed their locations. SNF was able to hop right on
it, even before those who were close by phoned in. This is the Hog
Fire on the northern banks of Pine
Flat Reservoir. The total acreage is 533. There is a
mixture of admiration for Brent for finding and being able to
accurately report the fire; a bit of jealousy-one never wants to have
a smoke happen on their watch, but if it does, I want to be the first
to report it; and a touch of relief that it did not happen on my
watch.
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| Tiger Swallowtail |
Flowers and Plants
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| Common Dandelion |
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| Common Dandelion |
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| Common Madea |
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| Butterfly Mariposa Lily |
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| Butterfly Mariposa Lily |
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| Butterfly Mariposa Lily |
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