Gary-Summer: August 18, 2022 - Park Ridge Lookout

Thursday, August 18, 2022

August 18, 2022 - Park Ridge Lookout

Title: August 18, 2022 - Park Ridge Lookout

Hike Info:

Type:Lookout

Description:

I got to bed later than I was expecting last night-a friend came over for dinner and we played a game-Big Thunder Mountain. I quit before it was finished. Then got up at 0500 and tried to produce a lightning report. The EarthNetworks was a bit under the weather (pun intended) last night and this morning. It was allowing me to submit inquiries, but not to receive any of the emails from them. Finally when I was about to give up, a set of emails was returned and I was able to produce the report-getting it out by 0615.

Smoke haze from Wishon Fire to the south

Had breakfast and got ready. Sherri must have stayed up really late as the dishes were washed. I finished loading the car, and got out of the house by 0710. Nobody else was up by then. I am taking the Highlander up, mostly because it has air conditioning and I think when I return I will need it as the temperature prediction is around 105 degrees in Fresno, only about 75-80 at Park Ridge.

The trip up was uneventful until just before the Park when I needed to stop for construction_I knew about it, so no big surprise, just annoying. I waited around 15 minutes until we were released. And then into the Park. I was thinking I would use my Buck Rock Foundation plaquared which is on the side of the car. But no, the attendant is not there yet. Oh well.

I stop at the Grant Grove Visitor Center before heading up. On the Panoramic Point Road, I encountered deer. Not just a doe and fawn, but four does and 7-9 fawns all together. Then there are a few more on various parts of the road-none are injuried in my travel. I go down the service road. At the Azalea Trail saddle, I see a couple SEKI trucks: C-91 and C-91A. I look around but I do not see anybody. But I am keeping a bit more of an eye out for any workers along the road.

I got into the tower shortly after 0900. Rachel has texted me to talk when I have a few minutes. But she will need to wait. I take the weather, get the logs all set up and then go in service at 0926. I then call Rachel. She just wanted to know about USB connection. It is great to have your children still think you have answers to questions.

View to the north

And then the quiet morning started. Every 15 minutes I do a scan. Only a few things on the radio which concern Park Ridge Lookout. The biggest is that there is work being done in the Indian Basin Grove to help make Sequoia groves more fire resistant. Essentially, the Forest is picking up debris from around Sequoia trees which might cause a fire to climb into its branches. Sequoias need fire to thrive. But the fires lately have been too hot and too big for anything to survive.

At 1215 I have my lunch-peanut butter and nutella sandwich with Fritos. And then I return to the routine after having a relaxing lunch. And the afternoon is pretty much like the morning. I take the weather, scan for smoke-none all day, observe clouds, and listen to the radio. When none of that is going on, I look through my list places and identify where they might be. Some of today’s places include: Meadows Ridge, Grouse Meadow, Logger’s Point-need to get the easy ones in, General Grant Tree, and Buena Vista Peak -a second easy one. This helps to keep me aware of my surroundings.

Now don’t tell those who run Park Ridge, but I also laid down for a while. As a justification, I set my alarm for 15 minutes, so I did my scans. Also the radio’s are always there, but today, they are mostly silent. I do not think I ever fall asleep, but the rest is good. It also gives me a chance to read. The two books which I am going through are Backpacking with the Saints by Belden C. Lane and The Book of Joy with the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Tutu and Doug Abrams. The latter is a book, which I needed to read for one of my book groups-I am only a week late on this. The former is one which seems appropriate. He has Julian of Norwich talking about fear. While I am not that concerned up here, one of his points is that when you are in the outdoors, there is a sense of adventure, a sense of the unknown which can lead to fear. But Julian notes that All is well. even in times of turmoil.

And when I say that things are normal, that does not mean for everybody else in the Park. Such as I hear of a person down in Cedar Grove is experiencing low blood pressure. So the Park calls in their front line people who deal with issues such as this. One thing which I realize is that even though there are only a few roads, it takes time to go to places like Cedar Grove. The Park does not have the resources stationed at each location waiting for an emergency to happen. But it is also good to know that the Park will react when something does happen. In this case, I do not hear them calling in an ambulance nor a helicopter, so the person must have recovered.

Clouds to the east-a favorite lookout pastime of mine-cloud watching

In the late afternoon, I finally get visitors. Least somebody thinks I was sleeping when they came, I was not. I was looking up places close by and figuring out where they are, when I heard a creaking. And there they were. This couple was from Monteleiller, France. She spoke English and translated for me. I showed them the various sights to be seen from Park Ridge. Also talked about the KNP Fire from last year. Then showed them the Osborne Fire Finder. They were dutifully impressed. The next place where they are going is up Highway 1. So I got asked about what to see. Being the tour guide I am, I rattled off various places. They were impressed and noted I must be a native Californian, which I am.

After they left, it was business as usual. Sherri had sent a hamburger up with me, so that was dinner. Then started cleaning up the place. At 1800 I went out of service. As I make my way back down the Panoramic Point Road, I spot something stripped beside the road. I stopped and looked-a good sized rattlesnake. Judging by the flys around its head, I think it is dead. And back on the road again. By 1950 I was safely back at home. Glad I went up there.