July 4, 2025 = Park Ridge Lookout

 

Title: July 4, 2025 - Park Ridge Lookout

Hike Info : Description :  Menu 

Hike Info:

Type: Lookout

 

Description:

Chuck's Flag

Maybe I learned my lesson from yesterday. I got up a few minutes earlier. But that was futile as there was no lightning to report. I am glad of that. I got up and started packing as today is my last day in the tower. I get about a third of my stuff down. At least that is a start. Wendy had asked for a new US flag to be put up. Her late husband had wanted that to occur each 4th of July and I am happy to be the one this year to carry on that tradition. I wanted to get a picture of it at sunrise with the wind unfurling it. But the wind did not cooperate. Later it unfurls.

I am able to go for a short walk, maybe a third of a mile. But this feels good. Then back to the tower where I have my breakfast. At 0800 I went into service with both Porterville and Ash Mountain Fire. About 30 minutes later I realize I have not heard either Buck Rock or Delilah go into service. I phoned over and had a conversation with Jeff. Both have gone into service. Maybe they got lost in the static. Or maybe I need to clear ear wax out of my ears. Then it is off the normal duties of a lookout.

 

Early Morning light

 

Bluebird sky days are a joy to a lookout. When you have haze, it is tough to make out anything and your eyes strain to discern objects. The white of the smoke blends in with the dinginess of the air. But today is a day which I can see almost forever. I can see the foothills of the Coastal Range plainly along with its tops. I suspect if I was at Delilah, I might be able to see into Yosemite. A day to love being up here.

On this kind of weekend you get to hear interesting stuff. At the Crystal Springs Campground a cooler and trash can was impounded. I am assuming that foodstuff was not put away and people were not around. Sounds like a bear hazard to me. Or then there are maybe too many people in a place at one time. The Wolverton Road was closed to traffic due to both congestion and too many people parking alongside the road. Just heard that Lodgepole road is closed as well, except for those going into the campground.

Then this morning as I was doing a scan, I noticed a marmot eyeballing my car. It seemed hesitant to approach it. Yesterday someone asked about marmots and I talked about how cars over in Mineral King had to take preventative measures. So I watched him pretty closely. When he goes under my car, I hurry down the stairs to scare him off. But he emerges from the other side and eyeballs me, like he should be the one who is concerned about me. He runs off to some rocks and I resume my lookout activities.

Coastal Range

 

Wendy called me up and told me that my relief is expected to be here around 1700 or 1800. He will call me up. Also talked about some wildlife Buck Rock saw this morning. Things could get interesting if this sighting is verified.

My Favorite Marmot

Fuzzy's Bench

Now I am hearing a woodpecker tapping out his staccato beat on a tree. Another joy of being up here is seeing and hearing the sounds and sights of nature. I wonder what the woodpecker is going to hide and will he remember where he has hidden it?

Lunch, or dinner, is the remains of a couple enchiladas which Sherri made for lookout. I cleaned up the dishes in preparation for leaving this afternoon. This is just the start of cleaning up the cab, not that I had created a huge mess or anything. Still crumbs fall and things get spread out.

 

 

Yesterday there was a fire near Marvin Pass. Yesterday when I looked on WildCAD I saw it as the Gammon Fire. Usually fires are named after some landmark around it. But there was nothing in the area we saw with Gammon nor could I find it on GNIS. Today I was hearing the Incident Commander Trainee calling himself the Gannon IC Trainee-with two N’s. I looked on WildCAD and it said Gannon. There is a Gannon Creek there. When I looked on GNIS, it had been named in 2000. Most of our maps are pretty old, so it is no surprise that we could not find why it was called the Gannon fire.

The last two hours of a shift, particularly on leaving day, are the longest. I am expecting that call saying when my relief is coming. And as that is not coming, the time is even longer. Still there is only 7,200 seconds to count. During that time I get the fire indices, clean the floor and countertops and pack the last of my stuff.

This has been an unexpected day. It is the Fourth of July. I was expecting a ton of visitors. Instead, there was not a single one. At 1800, I go out of service, and start back. I meet my relief on the road. We exchange greetings and I relay some information to him. And then we are both on our way. A short way further I realize there were a couple more things to tell him and leave a voicemail. It is an uneventful drive back home, arriving shortly before 2000.

Menu

Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snacks
Granola	Enchilada	Peanut Butter and Nutella Sandwich	Ritz Cracker, Granola, Jelly Belly