My Mountain Trail

You can see for miles

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

Looking NW from the Mt. Tamalpais lookout.

This afternoon I am working my first shift as a lookout on Mt. Tamalpais.  So far I have reported the weather conditions twice, eaten lunch, looked for reported fires (all have been false alarms so far), listened to folks describe what they see and where it is, and well, looked out.  It’s peaceful from the perspective that one is all alone in the little lookout box.  It’s also a bit busy at times too because of all the action on the radio and all the noise from the hikers congregating at the base of the building.  Not busy for me of course, just busy sounding. 

Listening to folks describe what the see is one of the more interesting things to do in the lookout.  I heard one guy taking another stranger through all the major sights, and a number sights not visible due to the coastal fog covering Southern Marin and San Francisco.  What made it interesting?  Well, he used a lot of names of things that are visible from here (and some that are not visible or don’t exist), and pointed in the wrong direction almost every time.  He sure sounded like he knew what he was doing, but “clueless” doesn’t even begin to describe his story.  The person he was talking with obviously knew even less (or was VERY polite), so it didn’t seem to matter.  I figured if the person asking didn’t know what they were hearing was wrong, it wouldn’t matter one way or the other anyway – they weren’t likely to remember anything when the got home.  And, whatever they did remember, they would probably just figure they got it confused somehow.  

Of course, it is important, as a lookout, to actually know what you are looking at.  I have a lot to learn.  As calls come in over the radio I try to place the events on the landscape.  If forces me to think about what I see now vs. what I have seen from the ground level.  It’s a different, and not always easy, shift in thinking.  I have also been studying the maps, learning ridge and hill names, identifying fire roads and trails, and generally learning more about Marin.  All, in all, plenty of things to do to get good at this relatively simple job.

In the photo above you can see Lake Lagunitas, Bon Tempe Lake, and Alpine Lake – all part of Marin’s water supply.  You can also see Pine Mountain and Pine Mountain fire road; the Barnabe lookout is on Mt. Barnabe behind Pine Mountain.  You can see the Meadow Club (golf course), White’s Hill, Black Hill, the fog stacking up behind Bolinas Ridge, and Inverness Ridge off in the distance just in front of the fog bank.  Oh, and no smoke.

OKFree gets expensive.

Monday, June 29th, 2009

Well, we finally have a good diagnosis on Lori’s OKFree crash injury.  The initial x-ray was negative, but the pain was not.  As a result, Lori requested an MRI scan, which she had late last week. 

We had the photos over the weekend, but if you don’t know what you are looking at (and we didn’t), you just don’t know what they mean.  The are very intersting photos anyway!

It turns out that Lori has three fractures.  Two in her pelvis and one in her hip.  She has minimal (given her injuries) inflammation, and no displacement. 

This is probably good news.  We now know the extent of her injuries, and we know that bones heal.  She just needs to take some time off her body and rest.  And now she has the medical opinion she needs to actually take that difficult step. 

It’s Vacation time for her!  Only, she can’t do the things she wants to do.  So it is a time for physical healing and mental growing.  I think it will be a good, and interesting, few weeks for us…   Oh, and fortunately she can still swim and ride her bike on her indoor trainer.  Sanity is still in reach!

Hey, I have a woodworking shop!

Sunday, June 28th, 2009

Knot:  25mm dia.  55mm loft.

It’s been about six months since I have had time to pick up a tool at the lathe.  This shave brush was the result this afternoon. 

I also assembled this chair. 

I completed the parts and the base over a year ago.  I just needed to get it done, so I cleaned the garage and got it done.  It turned out pretty nice.  Any flaws you might see here (aside from design flaws of course) will be corrected during finishing.  I’ll post a picture when I get it done…  Don’t hold your breath on the timing.

The Heat of Summer

Sunday, June 28th, 2009

Friday afternoon we drove up to Middletown, CA to visit friends at their ranch.  It was in the low 90s when we got there, and it was projected to be even hotter on Saturday.  After a little run and then dinner, we relaxed under the wisteria arbor and enjoyed the sunset. 

Lori has been thinking about putting together a website for here personal training business.  Along with thinking about what she wants to say, she is thinking about what types of images to put up.  Since this sunset was so nice, we took a few pictures under the arbor.  Lori says this one looks “too yoga” to her, but I like it.  Since this is my website, I’m posting it too!

We came home yesterday afternoon and it was 100 degrees in Mill Valley and about 85 degrees at home on the mountain.  It cooled down to 72-82 over night, depending on the direction of the variable winds.  Finally, this morning the wind has steadied out of the southwest, and we have a cooling breeze and a perfect 70 degrees with sunshine.  Paradise on the mountain again.