August 30, 2025 - Park Ridge Lookout

 

Title: August 30, 2025 - Park Ridge Lookout
Hike Info : Description : Trail Lessons 

Hike Info:

Type: Lookout

 

Description:

That seemed like a short night's sleep. First my CGM went off this morning saying I had a low. I did not. Then woke up at 0530 with it starting to get light. As long as I was awake, I checked to see if there was lightning yesterday-as expected, there was none.Shortly afterwards, I got up and went down stairs. Last night I spotted some of our stools on a rock, so I retrieved them. The spot would have made a nice area to just sit and meditate at.

When I got back in the cab, it was 0700. Time for my breakfast of granola. I cleaned up and Park Ridge Lookout went in service at 0730 with both Porterville and the Park. I had low visibility, about 3-4 miles.

I should say another aspect of last night. When I went to sleep, I started smelling smoke. When I woke up at 0230, there definitely was smoke in the cab-the doors and windows were closed.Then at 0530, I was greeted with a layer of gray outside of my window. At this point visibility was about a mile. By the time I go in service, there has been some lifting of the smoke. 

 Then it is the normal stuff going on. I was up here about three weeks ago for a day. But before that, It was the Fourth of July weekend. I feel like I have not really gotten into the rhythm yet of being in the lookout.

Around 0920, E42 came up with the toilet pumping truck. Our outhouse is getting serviced! Yea! Actually, it was not too bad, but could get a lot worse. E42 also checks the water and then they are off. I will be hearing their ID called all weekend as they check out various fires. Then it is back to the routine. There are some reports on the fires in Sequoia and the Park. But they are just monitoring these, rather than fighting them.

Stock photo of plane above

One of the benefits of working at Park Ridge Lookout is that there usually is at least one incident throughout the day which is worth pausing and hearing. Today’s incident was at the restaurant at Grant Grove. Apparently someone was being disruptive there and smoking pot inside of the restaurant. Law enforcement was asked to intervene when the person would not cease smoking. The draw back?.I usually do hear the resolution of an issue. So it left to my vivid imagination to guess what happened. Of course, there was the normal stuff like medical emergencies, missing persons, and a bear deciding it owned the road-refusing to budge even if hazed.

Flag unfurled

In the 13 Summers I have been a fire lookout, I have never felt that this was a place to meditate or contemplate. Maybe because you really only get 15 minute chunks of time, with many interruptions from the radio or visitors-even though the last three days I have been up here there has been no visitors. I wonder how the lookout writers of the last century were able to do their writing?

Dinner

But I have found that I can do a bit of thinking of more prosaic things. Such as how for the last year I really have not done much physical outdoors, except some up in the lookout towers. We did a camping trip in January and in February, and went to Atlanta and Ireland, as well as an overnight backpack trip in May. The only one which really pushed me was the backpack trip. I am realizing that I am losing my conditioning. That really brings the question to mind, can I get back into condition to really enjoy myself in the mountains? Do I have the will power to do it? The mental will to do it? That is what having a few months will do to you.

Not all the time is taken up with these kinds of thoughts. As I was doing a scan around 1640, I saw a low flying tanker going north to the east of me. It may have passed over Buck Rock. I did not have my phone so no pictures of that plane. But looking it up under Flight Aware I saw that it was a contractor plane from Erickson. My guess is that it is going to the Garnet Fire. I grab my phone and resume my scan. A couple of minutes later a second tanker from Erickson came flying by, a bit higher and a bit further east. Just Wow!.

 

Evening sun with smoke plume

Flag before going to bed

Then the rest of the afternoon was sort of normal, except this is extended hours, until 1930-a long, 12 hour day. At times I am wondering if I am getting a bit too old for these kinds of hours. I did make dinner-a two egg omelet. Simple and easy and quick. I think I will add this to my lookout menu.

I talked with my relief, who will be coming in on Monday evening. Sounds like I might be let go an hour or two early. That sounds good to me. 

I go out of service a few minutes before 1930, right after Buck Rock does. I clean up a bit, go downstairs and get a few things, then forgot to lock up and so I make a second trip down. By the time I rattle Sherri's cage about our evening talk, it is 2015. Sherri and I talked until 2130. Then I read until 2200 and get to sleep then.

Trail Lesson: Those who say that age is just a number are in the lower number range.