Fire!

Wow, much has changed since yesterday. My cloud picture was the beginning of a batch of dry lightning that must have happened after I left the lake. I never heard any thunder while I was there but I was watching the Reno news this morning and they said there was a big fire near Antelope Lake. Being the old fire dude I had to go check it out.

So off I go to the bottom of Janesville Grade and starting up I see a flashing sign saying that because of the fire the road is closed. OK, now I can see it if there is a public safety issue here or something, but that fire is a good 20 miles in and in a fairly remote area. So I drive up the grade to crash this party and soon I come to the closure and there is a CHP there. I pull up and ask her just where is this fire? She says south west of Antelope Lake. I tell her that it's a long way from here and I was going up to ride my bike. "Oh well," she says. So I ask her if Milford Grade is open and she says she thinks it is, so back down and out to Milford.

The ride out to Milford, up the Milford Grade and out to Dry Flat was another trip down memory lane for me. I can't tell you how many times I have made that drive... MANY!!

I ended up parking my truck on Babcock road and riding the Babcock loop that I rode a while back. I wanted to get to where I could see the fires to see where they were. I rode up to the top and around the mountain to above the Indian Creek drainage. The biggest fire was still off in the distance from me but as I came around I came across an unstaffed fire. I walked out and looked at it, I couldn't tell how big it was but multiple acres for sure, I just couldn't venture a guess. It was backing across the hill and torching trees every so often, I took some pictures but they didn't come out like I wanted them to. I started down the road kind of expecting to meet a fire crew on the way to this but I never saw anyone all day.

The top picture was taken in the afternoon after the fire really started getting active. The middle one is one I took of the fire I went to, with lots of fresh retardent on the rocks. And the bottom one is from Dry Flat. That's one of my bike riding areas that is on fire! More pictures on my Web Album

More fires!

So, we are in a heat wave out here. Actually I'm quite loving this heat and yesterday I went up to Antelope Lake and rode my bike around the lake, stopping for a swim at the swimming rocks along the way.

After my ride I walked down to an out-of-the way spot I like to go swimming at and stayed there the rest of the day. While I was there I started seeing a few whispy clouds form above me and some of them started coming together. I was hoping that they would either not build to thunder storms, or would bring some rain with them. I'm not sure if it rained or not after I left, but I didn't hear any thunder either. Unfortunately I heard this morning on the news that lightning started a series of fires south of the lake, they said something about 1000 acres and that the campgrounds at the lake had been evacuated last night. Major bummer! Most of my lake has been burned up and I only hope that the rest of it doesn't get burned. Needless to say I'm heading up there today to do some more bike riding and I'll check it out for myself. I have my fingers crossed that the fires stay south of the lake. We'll see!

Outside always

Riding in the hills around Susanville continues to be my favorite thing to do. North of town is mostly private property, the majority seems to belong to Sierra Pacific Lumber Co. They have gates across the roads in places and that keeps most motor vehicles out so I hardly ever see anyone. I did see an atv the other day but he didn't see me. This picture was taken from near the top of the ridge in the old Eagle Lake burn looking back toward Susanville.


Another cabin? Yes, this one is called Wemple Cabin. Rode up there today on a 21 mile loop which is about as flat as any of my rides ever get. It's really not flat at all but the ups and downs are spaced out far enough that the slopes don't work me very hard. I went up to Thompson Peak first thing today so this ride was a nice way to finish the day. Tomorrow... swimming at the lake!!

Funny find

OK, so I'm having a really cool bike ride up in the Frazier Cabin area near Antelope Lake and out in the middle of nowhere I see this blue thing on the ground. I stopped and checked it out and I couldn't believe it was a blue rapala fishing lure. The bite marks on it make me wonder about the story of how it got there. Almost as if some animal was pulling it off it's fur or something. Anyway, I'll never know for sure but it was a weird thing to find in the place I found it.


This picture of my bike is the spot I found that lure... see any water anywhere?

As I was riding down this road I kept remembering all the times I had driven a fire engine out there in that area over the years. I rode by one fire that I found a stuffed parrot on. Somebody had sent a stuffed parrot sitting on a perch into the air with balloons and it had landed right near a spot that got hit by lightning.

The lightning had started a small fire and as I was walking up the hill to it with my crew, I found this parrot laying on the ground. That thing ended up in my office after a patrolman brought it in and gave it to me and I had it for years. It was still there recently in my old office according to my friend Rene' who works there still. Anyway, I rode right past that fire on this ride and couldn't help thinking about it. This cabin is called Frazier cabin and it isn't habitable now. Must have been a line shack or something for coyboys.

Fence lizard?

I guess it's a fence lizard since it was sitting on a fence post. Had a visit today from an old friend so I had such a late start bike riding that I just had a short 8 mile ride up the Susanville Ranch Park trail system. It was nice, a little windy but nice and cool and I didn't see even one person. I love that, being so anti-social and everything. Since it was a Saturday I really expected to see somebody, but I guess there must be a football game on or something, nobody was out there but me.

Tomorrow it's off to my 30 mile ride up on Diamond Mountain. I love that one and by the time I get home I'm usually ready to get off of my bike for a while. Go figure!

Crystal

Crystal Peak, that is. Yesterday my friend Chris and I did a little bike ride from Frenchman Work Center up to Crystal Peak and back. It was a pretty good climb, around 2000 feet from the lake level to the top of Crystal Peak. The weather was about perfect for that ride, a little windy but cool enough so that the exertion didn't overheat us. Crystal Peak is right on the escarpment between the mountains and the desert. Nice views in every direction. Of course the downhill part was pretty cool, and a nice payback for the climb.

Ya just had to love a day like yesterday, and needless to say, I did.

Wildlife sighting!

Ok, it's not like I don't see my share of wildlife when I'm out and about. I came around a corner on the Babcock Peak road a while back and there was a bear walking down the road about 100 feet away. I stopped my bike and said "whoa" out loud and it stopped, turned and looked at me for a minute. Now I've seen bears in the woods before and I usually try to get as close as I can to get a good look at them, but I also usually have a large amount of metal around me from the vehicle I'm in. When you see an animal like that and you have nothing between you and it, the perspective of the situation changes. Fortunately after looking at me momentarily, this bear ran the other direction. (Which is exactly what I wanted it to do.)

Anyway, today the wildlife was a little smaller and slimier. Heard some big bullfrogs calling in this beaver pond today too. Oh, no picture of the bear, unfortunately.