August 31, 2022 - Park Ridge Lookout

Title: August 31, 2022 - Park Ridge Lookout
Hike Info : Description : Background :  Flowers and Plants

Hike Info:

Type: : Lookout

Description:

I must have been a bit concerned about today-got up at 0515. But this should give me plenty of time to get to Park Ridge Lookout. I checked for lightning yesterday and there was none, as I expected. Then I finished packing. This left me some time to read. I left home a bit after 0700. Wendy asked me to meet her at the Hume Lake Ranger District office. I pulled up a few minutes before 0800. She is already there. We chat for a few minutes and she gives me a replacement binoculars for the lookout.

I am off and get to the Park entrance. The entrance ranger sees my Buck Rock Foundation magnetic sign on the side of my car. and waves me in and wishes me a safe day. I briefly stop at the Grant Grove Visitor Center and then I am on my way. I turn onto the service road near Panoramic Point. Here I meet some of Sherri’s favorite beasts-bovines. They should not be in the Park. They scatter when I approach.

Burn area along Big Baldy Ridge with Mt Silliman

I get to the lookout a few minutes after 0900. This gives me time to move a few things into the cab, including three bottles of water. I take the weather and get the lookout ready for the day. At 0930, I go into service with Porterville and then with Ash Mountain Fire. With the latter, I let them know about the six head of beef I saw. Then for the first time, I talk with Park Dispatch, repeating the information given to the fire dispatcher. I suspect they will contact the bovine’s owner to come and pick up their cattle.

When I do my first scan, I use the new binoculars. I like them! I gave Wendy a call about the status of the outhouse and how much I like the new binoculars. At 1000 I listen to the weather and staffing, and then the day falls into the routine of scanning, listening to the radio and brushing up on the area around us.

Haze and smoke

Wilsonia Smoke

The day is clear with blue skies above. But when I look to the west, there is a layer of haze. In the morning it does not hamper the visibility for my area. I can still make out the outlines of the Coastal Range, barely. But as the day progresses, the haze thickens and reduces what I can see. While it is not as ugly as I have seen it, it leaves me to wonder where it is coming from. Also the afternoon brought heat. Even though it only got up to 85, it seemed warmer since the sun shone directly through the west facing window. After our 1600 indices and weather, Buck Rock and Delilah had a discussion about where is this smoke coming from? They conclude it is from the fires up in Yosemite.They could see the smoke column this morning The Buck Rock radios me and asked if I had seen the cloud-negative. But I gave a bit more information about the size and location of the fires. Still throughout the day I can gaze to the east and enjoy the mountains close by.

 

Evening Sun

The other thing to add is that I had three sets of visitors: a lady from Boston, a couple from San Antonia and a mother, father, daughter from Illinois-Park Ridge to be more specific. They are sprinkled throughout the day, so I get some breaks in between them and am able to do what I am “paid” to do. The Boston lady is visiting her parents in Wilsonia. We talk about various places to go to. Also let her know about the open house this weekend. The San Antonia couple is here for a couple of days then going to Yosemite as camp-hosts. They are trying to escape the heat of Texas, Ironically they are going from the frying pan into the scorching heat of Yosemite this weekend. But they are enjoying their time here. The Illinois family stayed with me the longest. Or did I keep them here? Either way, they kept asking me questions on Sequoias, trails, spotting and reporting fires and more. I seemed to answer them to their satisfaction. Visitors, in sporadic intervals, are a blessing. I think I missed my calling. I could have been a tour guide.

 

 

 

Mountain Traffic Jam

As 1800 approached, I ate dinner, then cleaned up. Come 1800, I went out of service. then packed the car. Off I go. On the way out, I glanced over into Wilsonia. There is a smoke. But I think they are allowed to burn since they are a private enclave and it is above 6,000’. And then I continued on. You remember those cows I talked about coming in? There they are on the road, blocking my way out. A man on horseback was trying to herd them. I managed to get out of the way and the cows passed by.

Then it was down to Fresno. Along the way, I got in on our family’s Zoom meeting. Towards the end of the meeting, I was in Fresno and filled up our Highlander with gas at Costco. Then on to home by 2000. I am a bit tired, glad to be home, in a cooler environment.

Background

Today Park Ridge Lookout got a new-binocular-a Vortex Crossfire HD 10x50. One of the first things you understand right from the beginning of using binoculars, particularly as much as fire lookouts do, not all binoculars are the same, even with the same power of magnification or field of vision. The Vortex has three qualities which puts it above my Bushnell 10x50. 1) The clarity of what you are seeing is so much better. It is like the difference between a VGA and HD monitor on a computer. What you see is a lot more crisp. While the colors seem to want to emphasize the browns or greens, it does help distinguish what I am looking at. 2) The hand grip is non-slip, making for more sure grip. 3) I thought the weight was lighter than the Bushnell, but I think they are the same, they are far less bulky. So from a non-technical use of the Vortex, it looks and feels good.

 
Flowers and Plants

Sugar Pine