Gary-Summer: September 3, 2023

Sunday, September 3, 2023

September 3, 2023 - Delilah Lookout

Title: September 3, 2023 - Delilah Lookout
Hike Info : Description : Extra Photo's : Animals : Flowers and Plants

Hike Info:

Type:Lookout

View from my walk

Description:

I woke up a little after 0600. I checked for lightning and there was lightning reported, even the ones missing from yesterday! It took me about two hours to produce the report. The turmoil and trauma of using a small laptop. But if this is the worst my life has, I will not complain.

During producing the lightning report, the skies went from having a high cloud ceiling to enveloping us. Also there was some precip which blessed us. By the time we went into service at 0930, we reported .02” of rain and limited visibility.

Lookout view

When I finished my report, we had breakfast-oatmeal, granola and a cinnamon roll.The same as yesterday. While Sherri went downstairs, I washed dishes. It is going to be that kind of day where you get to hear about the minutiae of life in a lookout. Sherri heard some voices-turns out there were three motorcycles down by some trees at the start of the loop around Delilah. They do not come up-I do not blame them with our visibility.

Delilah in a cloud

When Sherri came back, I went down. I also went for about a half an hour walk down into our saddle, beyond and up. Usually there is two to five deer wandering around the lookout. On this trip, I saw only one and he crossed my path on the walk. Even though it is a bit late in the season for wildflowers, there still was a couple

Lunch

When I got back, we settled into life in white out. That is, I have my quiet time and work on my blogs. We listen to the radio and wonder how a car got stuck in Abbott Creek last night. But then even more so, how did it get beyond a place where a tow truck got stuck today? The things we hear. As a note, later in the day, we heard that another tow truck was sent to bring out the first on. The car? I think they will wait until things get dried out to bring that one out.

And then there is the continuing saga of the Province Fire. The firefighters brought down a 100’ fir tree which was burning on top and now are dealing with the fire on the ground. They could not bring in aircraft because, you guessed it, no visibility--too much cloud cover. We were then hearing about activity around a Lost Meadow. After searching for this meadow on a map, we found it. The question in my mind is, if we found Lost Meadow, is it lost any longer? There is smoke reported back in there as well-it is only about 2 or 3 miles southeast of the Province Fire. In looking at my lightning report, there is also a strike someplace in that area.

The Outhouse View

We decided that since we are not doing anything, lets have dinner now. Sherri heats up soup and fries us a grilled cheese sandwich. A pretty good meal to have on a cold day.

Surprisingly, we have had two sets of visitors-one person from Clovis and two from San Jose. There is some disappointment in traveling all this way just to see the white of the inside of a cloud. They both had been to lookouts before, without our view, I am left to babble and there is only so much I can say before they look at me and I look at them.

After the last couple of days, we are a bit lethargic. We read and write and just enjoy the down time. There is something hypnotic about being surrounded by a sea of white. No temptation to dive in. Maybe if it was a bit warmer. With the temperature outside hovering in the low 50’s, there is not much temptation to go outside. I do take a nap, which terminates about the time the San Jose visitors come up.

Around 1700, the clouds start to part and we get to see the land again. Even though we have seen this land for many years and have had no reprieve the last two days, it looks different now that we have been deprived of it. Is this true of what is common becomes desired if we cannot have it?

With the land visible, I start to do scans. I do not expect to find any fires. First, with all of the clouds, there has not been lightning in our area. Second, the area has been pretty moist, so it will be hard to start a fire without human aid. It is Labor day weekend, so there is bound to be someone who doesn't believe they could be the villain. Part of our task to find if this happens in Delilah territory.

At 1900 we go out of service. Even with the lack of visibility, I enjoyed the relaxed nature of the day. We finish out the day with a peanut butter sandwich. Then we go on a short walk.down to the saddle . Sun sets when we reach the saddle and in the fading light we make our way back up to the lookout for the night. It is dark, but it seems too early to call it a night. So we read and talk. I lay down around 2115 and fall asleep at 2200-Sherri is making sounds like she is asleep well before me.