Tag: Plaskett Ridge

Campers with Campfire

Sunday morning, I went down the mountain to the coast to get my mail and saw people having a campfire. I didn’t think to get a photo of the campfire as I was completely flummoxed. I did report them to the USFS, as I found several at the station. So, on the way home, glad to see the campfire was out, I got photos.

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They drove by this sign just about 100 yards before the area where they made camp. (Sorry for the dirty windshield, but that’s what happens out here.)

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These were the two vehicles. Look at all that dry grass.

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This shows their tents, the wood they had gathered for their fire, in the branch out in front of the orange ten, and the campfire was right on the other side of that large log, dragged out presumably to sit on. Again, note all that dry grass around their campsite.

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This shows a whole lot of trash, which to their credit they did pack up and take with them, I am told. The two guys are watching me photograph them, and the two gals are to the right of them, shown in the next photo. Again, lots of dry grass.

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Not wanting to be photographed, it would appear. Now these campers were polite and did put out their fire when I pointed out the error of their ways, and they did clean up their trash. But I still can’t understand why they felt it was okay to have a campfire when it was so hot and they were camped in the grass – regardless of the sign. I vow to have a dialogue the next time so I can understand the mentality, and maybe find a way to change that.

At a loss for words…there is no limit to humanity’s stupidity

imageOld Fire, 2003

This photograph was [NOT – see correction] taken at the Lake Fire near Lakeport. It is pretty graphic. It was sent to a friend from a ff up there. He noted, “This could easily be Highway One, if people aren’t careful.” I wish I knew the photographer. If you do, please let me know.

CORRECTION: A friend, Jean LeBlanc, sent me a link to the REAL STORY behind this photo above. It was arson and caused 5 heart attack deaths. This photo shows The Old Fire jumping Highway 18 in Oct 2003 and was taken by Troy C. Whitman of Cypress, CA. Click on the link just below the photo for the rest of the story.

The stupidity I refer to is in reference to the fires mentioned below. The first was a campfire that Rock Knocker spotted on the way up yesterday. The people were out and about, but left their campfire burning, and their “stuff” was still there. He poured what water he had on it, and when he got up here, I called the USFS at PV Station. It was 2 miles up Plaskett.

08/11/2015 10:45 LPF-2408
New Wildfire PLASKETT RDG CG M . . . . . 35.932 x 121.431

then there was this one:

08/11/2015 17:35 FHL-2416
. Wildfire CONE PK LO M . . . light flashy fuel 5 [acres] 36.077 x 121.282

I do not know the source, but I’m willing to bet next month’s wages it was human caused.

Saving a life

I saved a life, today … With some help from Jon Knight, BSVFD, Casey of the USFS, PV Station, an amazing CHP helicopter pilot i think named Joe, a CHP paramedic, Danny, and a CHP patrol officer, whose name I didn’t catch. I have photos of the helicopter landing which I will upload.

There are so many technological things I am thankful for, but today it was my iPhone and my iPad. I was able to give them my GPS coordinates because of the compass app I have on my iPad – didn’t know my address, which is meaningless anyway, but had my GPS coordinates! And with the iPhone and cellular booster, I was able to talk to the helicopter pilot before he took off to tell him where the evac needed to take place. Thank you Steve Jobs.

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I am pretty exhausted, so more tomorrow – plus one who wasn’t saved but passed on at age 78. The life I saved will be 51 tomorrow.

Dog Found Me – lost dog

Well, I had quite the surprise this morning.

My routine is that when the sun comes over the hill, I get up, let the dogs out, and pee … In that order. On nice mornings, like this am, I leave the door open so any of the dogs that want to come back in, can.

After I pee, I get back in bed. Sometimes I go back to sleep, but mostly, I don’t. This morning, I heard a dog next to my bed, looked down to see which one it was, and was surprised to see a new face greeting me. Surprise, surprise …

This is the face that greeted me this morning:

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She is very skinny and covered with tics. She is very sweet, comes up to me, whether I am standing or sitting, and immediately sits. I fed her two cups of dry food, which she scarfed. She would have eaten the whole bag, but I don’t want her barfing, so I’ll give her another two cups later this afternoon. We are working on the tics.

She is a border collie mix, possibly with terrier, as her coat is wiry, not silky like a BC. She has a collar, but no tags.She does not bark, and seems to come from a one dog household, as she snarls whenever one of my dogs gets near her. She has very long legs, but probably only weighs 20-25 lbs – not sure as I haven’t tried to pick her up. She is patient with the tic picking, so far, and doesn’t object, at all.

If anyone recognizes this dog, please call me at 831-818-8026. I am sure there is a heartbroken owner somewhere. She immediately took to me, so she seems to be well-loved – or just so grateful for a place and food out of the wild. Pass the word. I will post this to FB and Wild Big Sur, also, so it can be easily shared. Much as I am taken with this dog, and would easily add her to my pack, I am happy to reunite her with her owner.

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Weather, road repair, and photos

First, could the weather be any more beautiful? But watch for a major change. According to several reports, I could have a sprinkling of snow by Friday morning – so time to stock my wood box, while the weather is so wonderful.

“The rain won’t be widespread, with most of the shower activity developing along the coastal mountains where snow levels will drop to 2,500 feet by Friday morning. Modest accumulations
of snow (2- and 4-inches) are possible Friday across the Sierra foothills with a dusting also possible in the coastal mountains of the Central Coast.”

And this is the view that greeted me at the bottom of my road

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Then I got to Alder Creek … You know the place, where that major slide happened? Was that just last year? Anyway, Cal Trans has put netting up along the whole slide, but was working it again. I stopped and took these two photos … Note the draping, the rock-catching drapery walls, and the two climbers in the bright yellow on the left.

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Further down the road, the new chip sealing between the lighthouse and elephant seal beach was tying up traffic for 15-20 minutes. At least there was cell phone signal, so I could check email, surf (which I had not been able to do since Sat am at home) and all I had missed for a day and a half, so the time went by pretty fast.

Full Moon over Plaskett

I am recovering from some oral surgery yesterday … Doing much better than expected, so I am sharing some photos my friend Barbara Woyt sent me. Thanks, Barbara!!

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20120621-063901.jpgBy the way, for those of you who wonder, my place if off to the right of the full moon!

Unofficial Fire Watch

Soaring isn’t here any more. No “official” fire watchers exist. I am here and care. So, I watch.

I came up tonight to note a “huge” group at Hard Rocks driveway. Partying. Young kids need a place to party that is safe. As long as they have no campfire. So, I see about 8 to 12 vehicles parked at Hard Rocks.I must come out after dark and check. Is that a light or is it a fire? We luck out. No campfire, and I don’t need to call it in. I check Prewitt Ridge, Willow Creek, and all the areas I can see for campfires. None. Good Friday Night.

Tough, being on Top O’ the World.