July 2, 2025 = Park Ridge Lookout

 

Title: July 2, 2025 = Park Ridge Lookout

Hike Info : Description :  Menu 

Hike Info:

Type: Lookout

Description:

The light flashed on this morning in the kitchen about 0515. Korra, Steven’s dog, must have wanted out. After a few minutes the light goes off. Either Korra now has new skills or Steven has gotten up to let her out. I got up shortly afterwards and saw that there was no lightning in our area, but there was some north of Yosemite.

It was then time to get ready to leave as well as have breakfast. I left our house at 0650. Sherri decided not to come up. It has been a hectic couple of days without rest. I understand well. For the most part going to a lookout is mostly a time of peace for me, a time which I can recharge myself.

I get to Park Ridge Lookout about 0830 without issues. The lack of issues then ends up being getting into the lookout. The trap doors are secured through a heavy chain and a couple locks-one for us and one for NPS. There have been improvements made so the door is easier to lift and the chain set up is not as intrusive. But I did not recognize what was being done, so I tried to undo their work until I realized the reality. Not sure I put together everything how it was.

I got in and then made several trips bringing up food, water bottles and personal items for the three days. Even as I go into the cab, I notice smoke coming up from the Big Stump prescribed burn. By the time I got everything up, it was 0905. Time to do the weather. Usually I forget about this until right before I go in service, so getting it done at 0908 is an accomplishment. Even before going in service, I had my first couple of visitors. They are from Mountain View, my home town. Actually, they do not live very far from where I used to live.

I go into service with both Porterville (Sequoia National Forest) and Ash Mountain Fire (King Canyon and Sequoia National Parks) at 0929. The visitors leave and I start doing routine stuff. Or at least try to get into a rhythm to do the routine. I do my scans and then remember to look up the weather online. This is before the 1000 weather and staffing.

It is mostly a regular day. But not quite. On our base radio, we have it scanning several channels. There is a channel, R5 Project, which people communicate back and forth on a bit less formal basis than command. I was not hearing anything on R5. Then when I checked, the indicator was not showing that R5 was being scanned. I asked Buck Rock if she had gotten any traffic from Park Ridge on R5 recently. Yes. I tried to set it up, but the radio would not let me set up the channel. I discussed the situation with Wendy and she came to the same conclusions as I did. Then Greg calls me and we walk through the radio. Same thing. But as I am about to hang up on him, I saw that R5 was chatting on the radio. So the radio is scanning, just not showing.

When I had looked at the NOAA Connectivity chart this morning, it showed that there was a good chance of lightning on the eastern side of the Sierra Crest. But there are clouds which are accumulating beyond Mitchell Peak this afternoon. Around 1435 I got an alert that there was some lightning within 15 miles of Buck Rock. So I notified her. Then a while later there is lightning north of Delilah, which I dutifully notify hat lookout as well. But me? Nothing around me. Around 1700, the wind came up and blew and blew. I got out the andrometer and measured the wind as being 20-25 mph with a few drops of rain. This kept up for at least three hours. I only saw one flash of light towards the end of the evening before I went to bed. But this was a major lightning break. In tomorrow's lightning report there were over 550 strikes in our area and most of them east of Mitchell to the Crest, South of the South Fork of the Kings.

One of the things about Park Ridge Lookout is that it looks straight down on the Big Stump area. Last week there was a prescribed burn there and now a crew is mopping it up, putting out the last vestiges of the burn. I hear the Incident Commander (IC) say that there is some creeping fire, but the lines are holding and there is no smoke. About an hour before I had seen a small smoke pop up for five minutes. So I let them know. I talked with the IC and he thinks it was because a tree had fallen. I told him that I am seeing a light smoke now from around where the dry creek is. About half an hour later, the IC reports he is having 25 mph winds with some snags falling.

Around 1800 I heated up the enchiladas Sherri had in the freezer for lookout. Not bad with the ambiance of looking to the east with the mountains surrounded by storm clouds, but to the east a good view of the Sierra foothills close to me.

Because of the lightning, Sequoia NF has us in service through 2000 instead of 1800. I have already closed the windows and door into the cab and only done my scans from inside. Sherri and Steven are sweating in the Valley below, I am putting on my long-sleeve shirt. At 2000, I go out of service with Porterville. I had already gone out with Ash Mountain at 1751.

It takes me about an hour to get everything settled down. I don't even go downstairs to take care of things as the wind is still blowing hard. But with the cab all closed up, I am comfortable, particularly when I get into my sleeping bag. I talked with Sherri for about 45 minutes before going off into slumberland.

Menu

Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snacks
Home	Peanut Butter and Nutella Sandwich	Enchilada	Crackers, granola, jelly belly

June 13, 2025 - Park Ridge Trail

 

Title:  June 13, 2025 - Park Ridge Trail
Hike Info : Description : Animals : Flowers and Plants

Hike Info:

Type: Hiking

Trail head: Panoramic Point

Trail: Park Ridge

Destination: Park Ridge Lookout

Actual Destination: Saddle about a mile before the lookout

Distance:  3.24 miles

Start Time: 1:09

End Time:  4:08

Travel Time: 2:59  (1.09 mph)

Moving Time:  1:46  (1.83 mph)

Elevation Rise:  605'

Descent: 595‘

Maximum Elevation: 7,720'

GPS Tracks

Description:

A month ago I fainted. I was hoping to be able to stress myself during this time just to see if my body reacted or came close to reacting the same way to the stress. Unfortunately, today is the first time I have had the opportunity to do so. A couple of weeks ago we went to Big Stump for a short walk which showed I could at least hike OK.

We have a few things we want to do before we go up to Panoramic Point and start our walk. I do my lightning stuff, take Friday for a walk, and spend time weeding. Sherri works around the house and does some trimming of the lavender out in front. By 10:30, we have done the needed chores and we get ready to go. We leave our house about 11:15 with Sherri driving.

She drives all the way up, including the narrow road up to Pan Pt. This may be the first time she has driven it and I am happy that she is doing it. She parks the car and we find a log in the shade and have our lunch. As I wait for Sherri to return from the bathroom, I talk with a couple who;we license plate holder says Drink Coffee. Read a Book. Be Happy. I comment on it and we talk for a while. They used to live in Coarsegold and now are in Ventura. It is their first time in Kings Canyon and are wondering about some easy hikes. I give them the Indian Basin Grove Interpretive Trail. I guess I cannot help being a tour guide.

We start our own hike at 1:10. We have walked this trail so many times, you can see the description on my other blog entries. What seems different today is how I am affected by both the altitude, about 7300’, and the uphill. I am glad when we reach the bench at Pan Point where we can enjoy the view. Many of the peaks we know, such Mt Goddard or Spanish Mountain. What catches our attention is Buck Rock. I think our friend Kathy is there, but we do not see her-she would look smaller than an ant from this distance.

Now we start on the Park Ridge Trail. As we go up this trail, I can feel that I have not been at altitude enough and feel the lack of oxygen in the body. But then there is the thing that my body has not done much uphill and it shows. I stop and take pictures of flowers and butterflies. And also a few of the scenery. Anything to give my body a rest.

Fortunately, not all of the trail is uphill. As we head to the saddle, the trail goes on a long downhill. I do much better on this stretch. I would really hope that I would do better. Sherri has noticed that I do not have a bounce in my step.

When we get to the saddle, we find that our favorite logs have been moved around and are in the sun. But there is a stump which will suit our needs. We have our lunch and sit for a while, a long while. We have decided that we are turning around here instead of going on to Park Ridge Lookout. 

 

As we are thinking about doing our return trip. A mom and her adult son came up the Azalea trail. They look like they are wondering what to do now. I, being every so helpful, tell them about how far away the lookout is. We talk about and find out that they are from England-that part was obvious. They give us some recommendations for our July trip to Ireland. They suggested the Guinness Factory Tour, the Blarney Stone and Castle, and the Ireland Eye.

They take off and so do we. We take the service road back. There is more uphill than what I remember. But this is gradual and I do not feel like I am struggling. The road can be a bit exposed, but today it is good for our strolling pace. We got back to the car about 4:10.

Once we get settled into the car, Sherri allows me to drive down to Grant Grove Village. We have decided to have dinner at DNC before going back to Fresno. It is a good choice. DNC is practically empty, so we get served pretty fast. Which means that Sherri gets us to Fresno about 6pm.

I cannot say that it was a good hike, but it was a hike that I am glad we did, if for no other reason than to let me know what kind of status my body is in

Animals

Tiger Swallowtail

 
Flowers and Plants

Buck Brush

Philox

Indian Paintbrush

May 30, 2025 - Big Stump

 

Title: May 30, 2025 - Big Stump

Hike Info : Description : Background :Flowers and Plants

Hike Info:

Type: Hiking

Trail head: Big Stump Parking Lot

Trail: Big Stump Trail Loop

Destination:  Loop

Distance:  1.74 miles

Start Time: 10:20

End Time:   11:52

Travel Time:  1:36 (1.09 mph)

Moving Time:  1:05  (1.60 mph)

Elevation Rise:  331'

Descent: 272‘

Maximum Elevation: 6,375'

GPS Tracks

Description:

It is fire season again and I am getting up early to do my lightning report. No lightning to report, so this is easy. We are talking about hiking the Park Ridge Trail

to the Lookout. So I eat breakfast, get packed and am ready to leave by 7:45. Everybody is up as well and we take off by 8:15. Rachel is driving. But before we really hit the highway, we need to stop at Costco to fill up with gas.

Now we are ready to go. The rest want to stop at Clingman Junction to get coffee. I have them drop me off at the Hume Lake Ranger District office. I found an old book about fire detection which I think Division 3 would enjoy. He is not in, but I leave the book for him. A short time later the gang pick’s me up.

The general mood is to do something lighter than Park Ridge. The Big Stump Trail loop fits that. We pull into the parking lot and start walking at 10:20.

At first, I was slightly disappointed since I really want to push myself. But once I start walking I realize that this is the right walk for me. Two weeks ago I fainted on our backpack trip and I do need to get out and make sure my body is 

 

 

We have walked this trail several times, so we know it well. You can look at other blog entries for the details on the walk. Today I am just enjoying being out and walking. I can tell I am enjoying this walk not only by the lightness of my step, but that I frequently lag behind to look at something. There are not too many flowers out yet. But just the Sequoias then a dogwood. Rachel has seen a couple of birds fly by, but when i catch up to her, they are gone. In one of the pictures I notice a couple of specks which almost look like geese.

Rachel and I walk together, taking the trail through the feather bed. I go into pontification mode-Sherri’s term-talking about feather bed. Rachel is quite patient and plays the good daughter, waiting out her father’s long windedness. We rejoin Sherri and Steven at the Mark Twain tree. There we spent about 15 minutes talking with a retired couple from Arizona, comparing notes about their travels.

Then we are off again. The trail crosses highway 180 just inside the Park from the entrance station. It does a short climb before leveling off. We walked for a while, enjoying the trees and the feel of dirt under our feet. There is a branch off of the trail with a sign saying SAWED TREE. I have been there before and there is not much to see or experience. But Steven and Rachel race up the trail. Steven makes it up to the tree; Rachel decided it was not worth it. Sherri and I stayed behind.

One of the good things about walking with others is that you can talk. Sometimes the conversation lends itself to things about which gets beyond our daily woes and concerns. When you are mostly alone on a trail, this is a good place to explore the nature and need to sometimes to have times of silence and being alone. Silence is also the natural context from which we speak. As Cornelius Plangia said,

A loss of silence is as serious as a loss of memory and just as disorienting. Silence is, after all,the natural context from which we listen.

This was a short hike which ended by going under highway 180. Nobody, including myself, is interested in taking another walk down to Hitchcock Meadows. We arrived at the car at 11:50. This is good timing as it is a 35 minute drive to Bear Mountain Pizza. Sherri orders us a pizza and Steven takes us down the road. 40 minutes later, our face is full of sauce, toppings and dough. A good way to end our hike.

Steven then drives us home. For as little as we hiked, we all seem to be needing a rest this afternoon. Some of us read and some of us sleep. All are pretty content.

 

 

Background

Feather Bed. Sequoias are a brittle wood. When they were felled, there was a tendency for them to shatter. In order to soften the fall, a trough was dug and lined with pine boughs and other materials. While the concept was good, it did not do much to prevent the splintering of thousands of tons of Sequoia landing.

 

Flowers and Plants

Snow Plant

Dogwood

Dogwood

Fern

Bitter Cherry

May 16, 2025 - Yosemite Backpack

 

Title: May 16, 2025 - Yosemite Backpack
Hike Info : Description : Menu : Extra Photo's : Animals

Hike Info:

Type: Backpacking

Trail head: Bridalveil Creek

Trail: McGurk Meadow Trail, Pohono

Destination: McGurk Meadow Trailhead

Distance:  2.01 miles 

Start Time: 10:47

End Time:   12:33

Travel Time: 1:45  (1.15 mph)

Moving Time:  1:13  (1.65 mph)

Elevation Rise:  539'

Descent: 221‘

Maximum Elevation: 7,087'

GPS Tracks

 

 

 

 

Description:

Bridalveil Creek

I woke up at 5:50 and must have fallen asleep again as I really got out of the sleeping bag at 8. It being pretty cold outside could have also been a factor. I took a walk down to Bridalveil Creek. I enjoy a time just watching the water rush by me like lemmings ready to go over the Valley rim. Somehow the picture of lemmings is not right because the water seems joyful in its travels.

It is Steven's birthday. I am glad he chose to go backpacking with Rachel and I. We have our Oatmeal breakfast, is this really a birthday breakfast? We talked about plans for today. Obviously we are walking out today. Originally I was going to give Rachel and Steven the option of walking to Glacier Pt and I get the car. But for obvious reasons, that will not happen. Also, there is a spring with a great overlook of the Valley about a mile and of half east on the Pohono trail. Or just go back to the car. We decided to just go back.

 

 

 

 

Our camp deer

Rachel sees something off in the distance. Turns out it is a deer-maybe a year old. It moves cautiously closer to us and we just watch it while it watches us. Something startles it and it scampers away. But a few minutes later it brings back some friends-three of them.While they never came through camp, they did get near. Great entertainment for us.

But then we do not need to get an early start, so we leave at 10:45. I have almost all of the pack I came in on-both Rachel and Steven were willing to take some of my load considering yesterday. They already have the food and our tent. The first quarter mile is a steep climb up to the junction. I am already huffing and puffing. Fortunately, the rest of the trail is more of a gradual up. We still have the snow patches and logs to contend with. This just gives an excuse to catch my breath. This definitely a leisurely walk.

 

 

 

Crossing a snow patch

 We get to the car about 12:30. Steven drives us to Washburn Point. There we do the appropriate oohs and ahs of the country. I tell Rachel about what we are seeing. I notice somebody listening in, so I told about the Indian legend concerning the creation of Half, North and Basket Domes.

We decide that we are ready to go home. When we reached Oakhurst, we decided to try a new place to eat at: Los 2 Carnales. As it turned out this was a good move. Rachel and I shared a chilli relleno burrito while Steven had a steak fajita. I think we will add this place to our list of eating establishments. While there I give Sherri a call about what happened yesterday.

Then Rachel drives us back to Fresno. When we get into a stable cell service area, I give Kaiser a call to talk about what to do. Just as we cross the river, Kaiser recommends going to ER to get checked out. Rachel comes in with me while Steven takes the Highlander back home and fills in Sherri.

Kaiser runs all kinds of tests on me. Most of them show I am good. There is some concern about a protein which may indicate a heart attack may be coming. So I get admitted for observation overnight. The next day I have a stress test and ECG. Eventually they come out showing that the heart does not have an issue. I get released Saturday afternoon. 

 

You know I said that it was good we stopped in Oakhurst to eat? With everything else, I did not get to eat until close to noon Saturday. Also when I got home, it really felt good to have a shower.

Menu

Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snacks
Oatmeal and add-ins	Los 2 Carnales		Jelly Belly

Extra Photo's

Steven at Washburn Point

View from Washburn Point

Another snow patch crossing

The backcountry with Nevada and Vernal Falls

Animals