Tower Log - June 10 & 11, 2006
"I need this time"

June 10, 2006

1412 hrs

Susan takes my picture as me and Smoky Bear are ready to climb into the rig, and head into the San Gabriel Mountains.

Vetter Mountain Lookout has a telephone line that was installed late last season.  While at a long red light, called the Tower and let the Lookouts on duty, Kermit and Mik, know that I was on my way and should be there in about 90 minutes.

The flowers are in bloom on both sides of the road.  It took me a little longer to get up the mountain because I was behind a flat bed tow truck, then this woman that was going about half the speed limit allowed me to enjoy the scenery.  Not like I'm one to rush up Angeles Crest Highway anyways.

Charlton Flats is still closed, but the Forest Service is talking about opening it up this summer.  When it opens we will get many visitors so I hope it happens this year.

There still is a lot of wood cuttings in the area.  I would assume this would have to be cleared out before the area is open.

I come upon 3 backpackers that were hiking from Angeles Crest Highway over the Silver Mochison trail.  They asked if there was a campground nearby and I told them about Chilao.  They didn't have a trail map, so I looked in my truck for a map they could use.

Not finding one, I tried to give them basic directions, but figured it would be easier to do that from the tower, and they could see the entire area without taking them too far out of their way.

I give Randy, Randy & Don, a ride to the tower where from the summit they can get their bearings. This was a friendly and cheerful group and I took them to the cab to show them the trail map, and how they can get to the campground.

After awhile they had their bearings and set off on their way.  I hope they had a good trip and maybe they will email me about their adventure.

Kermit (right) has taken over the duty as tower leader for Vetter Mountain this year, and he is giving an "in-tower training session" to Mik, that just joined the Association this year.

Volunteer Fire Lookouts take 3 days of ground training, and one day in the tower before being certified to staff a tower.

They were up all day and I will relieve their shift and stay the night.

Just as I arrived to the tower, there was a report of a fire down by the Tujunga Dam, later to be known as the "Plantation Fire".  The alarms were sounded and fire crews headed to the location.

After awhile, the call over the radio said, "This is Crew 5, the fire is showing extreme behavior and we are pulling back to the highway."

A second alarm was called for more resources, and Air Support.

Looking East, the sky is much clearer.  There is just a hint of snow on Mt. Baldy.  There is a trace of smoke in the air due to a fire burning in Big Bear near Baldwin Lake over the weekend.

Just as Tanker 25 coming from Hemet flew past Vetter Tower, they got a call to abort.  Since they were going to fly to Chico, California, they requested permission to dump anyway but then later decided to fly to Fox Field.

Tanker 25, a P3 Orion from the Aerounion company. This plane supplies 3,000 gallons of retardant to fires throughout the nation at a moments notice. The retardant is a mix of dry compound, similar to fertilizer, and water. Retardant is mixed and loaded at the Hemet, or Fox Field tanker bases under the direction of the mixmaster.

A visitor enjoying one of my favorite sitting spots.  It is really nice rock outcropping, but watch for snakes!

Before the guys head down the mountain, I thought I would take a look at the water level in the tank.  This water is used for fire, or for the cisterns but not for human consumption.

The tank level was recorded in our log books.  Mik told me a story that a body was found in a similar tank.  They found the shoes, and shirt folded neatly on the top.  Once they guy got in the tank, he would be floating and there is NO WAY to reach for the top of the tank to get out.

Time for some coffee.  For this year, I needed a new stove and these butane canister stoves work really well.  They run from $16-25 in the stores and the gas cans are inexpensive too.  They auto light just like a real stove.

Susan and I got the old style coffee pot at Randsberg, a real working "ghost" mining town that is located in the Mojave desert.

At 1700 hours, Mik made the call, "Angeles, Vetter Mountain out of service... one lookout overnight with radio on."

And with that they packed up and headed down the mountain.  Even though the tower was out of service, I was still looking about and could call in a smoke if I saw one.

Oh look at this... the sister to the Yucca plant from two years ago is in bloom, located just four feet from that plant.

There are lots, and mean lots of lizards this year, more than I have ever seen.  You could not walk down the stairway without these guys zipping across the walk.

Looks like Mom & Dad Squirll are still doing good, and they have two sets of babies.  The little ones from last year are running around like teen agers, and their seems to be some smaller babies from this season too.

One of the teen agers I call "Scraggle Tail" because his tail has not filled out yet and is very scraggly, is doing his impression of a Peirie Dog.

Scraggle is funny and always near the tower.

Ahhhhh this is the life.  Tower is officially out of service, so I take some tie to kick back, relax and read the June issue of National Geographic (of which I am a card carrying member).  

The lighting was just right to get a photo of the flowers.  Don't know what they are but I'll look it up and edit this later.

Portable and flexible, I cook up some Stagg Chili in a box.  I like this brand, and the box opens by hand so I don't need a can opener (but Susan packed one for me anyway).

After supper, the magic hour begins as the moon rises in the East and the Sun starts to set in the West.  The colors were fantastic as night begins its climb into the sky.

This is what I need.  The quiet, the peace, and the beauty.

Sun setting in the West over Mt. Gleason.

There is just a slight sliver of snow on the summit of Mt. San Antonio (Old Baldy).

This is by far my best shot of the moon with a hand held camera on full zoom.

Although I am relaxing, I could not help but run around the tower enjoying the magic hour sunset.  This is a view from outside the tower looking in to the Osborn Fire Finder and the setting Sun in the background.

WOW!

2030 hrs - no picture

I settle in for the night.  I get undressed and lay on the bed reading my books by a small battery lantern.  In the distance I thought I could hear a voice so I got up and looked around the tower.

Sure enough, there were people approaching the tower in the dark so I got fully dressed in uniform.  

A group of 13 people made their way up to Vetter Mountain in the dark, or I should say, in the Moon Light.  This group didn't want to startle me, or bother me but I told them it was no problem and I invited them up to the tower.

I told them about the tower and what I do as a Fire Lookout and they told me they often climb the Mountain Peaks during a full moon and have a pot-luck dinner.

They asked where would be a good spot to have dinner and I told them about the table by the water tank.

They went down to the table and set up their dinner, when I heard a call from them inviting me down for some food.

It is my tradition to bring something, but all I had was water and a whole package of star mints, so I took them down and joined them.

It turns out that this group lives in the Los Angeles area but they are all from mixed locations, India, Pakistan, Lebanon, & Iran.  From young kids to grandmothers they pre-prepared the food and hiked it up the mountain.

I asked for small portions and ended up with a generous helping of food.  They told me about each dish and they laughed because they knew I would not remember what each one was, and so it is.  hehehe

However, I do remember the pink stuff.  It is plain yogurt with red beats, almonds and walnuts.  I liked it all and it was a special treat and surprise.

I told them about this website and also told them that nothing like this has happened to me, and that I really enjoyed their visit.

With thanks and a very full belly, I said goodbye and returned to the tower.

After being in the tower for awhile, the phone rings.  It is my wife Susan.  She too is a Fire Lookout but she stayed at home to prepare for a party we are having next weekend.  She called to see how I was doing, and I told her about all my adventures.

She said she was on the computer so I told her to go to the Mount Wilson Webcam (one of my favorite sites) and to see what direction the camera was pointed.  She told me it looked like it was pointing near Vetter Tower on the far left of the image, so I had an idea.

I took out my 2 Million Candlepower spotlight and fired it for about 30 seconds towards Mt. Wilson.

While I was on the phone, the image updated and Susan said, "There you are!! I see you, I see you!  There is a new bright light on the far left of the image, the second light is the one that was there before (which is the youth camp on the far ridge).

We played around a couple times with the light and camera and we had fun.  Susan really enjoyed the fact that not only could we talk, but through the Internet she could see me from 5 miles away as well.

That was fun.

June 11, 2006

0542 hrs

It was a cold night and as usual I got up long before the Sun did.  I keep my shoes, radio, and flashlight nearby on my makeshift night stand which is the lightning insulated stool.

Sun comes up over the right of Mt. Waterman.

Using my new stove, I make hot water for some instant coffee and oatmeal.  The apple and cinnamon rolls were compliments of my mid night guests last night.  Thanks again!

I'm always facisnated by the shadows of Mount Vetter in the distance.  In this shadow, Mt. Vetter is very dark black, while there is still a lighter shadow of Mt. Waterman a slightly bluer shade to the left and right.

Another effect that I notice is the Sun light is brighter exactly 180 degrees from the sun where it reflects back.  In this case you can see a "halo effect" near the summit of the shadow.  I have seen this effect from multiple angles, and even from airplanes when looking at our own shadow.  I like window seats, because after all, I am a Lookout.

View looking directly East.  The Plantation Fire is out, but there is a slight trace of smoke left.

The morning wildlife crew starts to report in, while the fire crews are still quiet.

Ah yes, spring is still in the air as Mom and Pop get frisky.  The following picture I did not post would be something you would see on the "Nature Channel"

Grin

Seems its couples day on the Mountain as another Mom and Pop stop by the Mt. Vetter Wildlife Vegetarian Restaurant.

Ok, this guy is what happens when a mosquito mixes with a horse fly.  Got to look this one up too.

Speaking of flies, wow there were about a hundred in the tower cab.  It took me about 10 minutes to pick them all up and sweep them out.

Normally we would call into service about 0800 hours.  Since some of the Fire Crews started to report in early due to the Plantation Fire mop up effort, I decide to call in service too.  Not like I'm going to get overtime.

The city is socked in with a marine layer.  The winds push the clouds up over the mountains and they end up flowing over the ridges like ocean waves.  Nice.

Several visitors stop by and so does Cub Scout Pack 160 from Temple City.

One of the young cubs introduced himself as "Charley", and the other "Joseph" told me that the best part of the lookout tower was by far... "THE BED!"

Group shot of Pack 160 on the catwalk of Vetter Mountain Lookout.  The pack was much larger, but a group of the "older boys" turned around and went back.  We spent a lot of time together and I told them all about the lookout tower and the job I do.  They all got Smoky Bear buttons.

The cloud fall still is going on in this view facing Mt. Monrovia.  The Yucca is blooming now but it will be dead by September.  The roots of Yucca can make soap, or can be boiled and mashed into a food source.  However, getting to the roots is hard because they go very deep and you have to get past all those spines.

To learn more about the 56 types of Yucca plants in the United States and Canada, click on this link to Benny's Yucca Page.

The mountain chickadee actually found a way inside the bird feeder house.  I tried to get a picture but he was back outside in a flash.

Scraggle Trail was doing his tricks.  He also was trying to get inside, yet at the same time he was watching me.

I kept my camera on him and I was ready to fire a picture if he moved.  Suddenly he jumped down and I was able to catch him in mid jump.

He needs more practice to be a flying squirrel.

I take a walk around the lookout and shoot a few shots from seldom seen angles.

This is Vetter Mountain Lookout from the lower road.

Nice little succulent.  Have to look this one up too.

I have called out of service, locked up the tower and started to head down the mountain.  I swept the floors, cleaned the glass, shined the brass parts of the Osborn and followed all the procedures but forgot one thing.  I usually pack up the trash can at the bottom of the stairs but I forgot about it this time, until I looked at this picture when I was back at home.  Oh well, hopefully the next lookout that comes up tomorrow will bring it down, as there was not that much.

Was a really good weekend.  I enjoyed my stay at the tower.  The July schedule is booked for overnights with all the new people that have joined this year, so I will be limited to working a day shift, at least for awhile.

After getting through the jurasic gate at the bottom of the hill, this fellow asked me about Vetter Mountain.  I told him I was the Fire Lookout there and he proceeded to tell me that for 9 years he was a volunteer at the information booth (now closed behind him) at Charlton Flats.  He and his daughter worked there and he knew Ramona Merwin.

When I told him that I know Ramona, he was very excited and gave me his name, address and phone number to forward to her.  Working for the Forest Service as a volunteers or staff, one develops relationships that can last a lifetime.