Christi was able to get us a PO Box in Independence, so my "new address" is:
Kris Ratzlaff
PO Box 15
Independence, CA 93526
However, if you sent anything via general delivery, it gets forwarded to my PO Box, so no worries :)
Monday, July 30, 2012
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Dragon Pass
Throughout the week Christi had expressed an interest in taking a
different route to the front country than we usually take, and asked the
ranger about Dragon Pass, which is all off trail and goes between
Dragon Peak and Gould Peak, on the other side of which is Golden Trout
Lake, which once-upon-a-time had a trail that went back to the Onion
Valley trailhead, where our cars are always parked.
So the ranger looks out the window of the cabin and describes the route to Christi - left around that grey knob, up to that grey triangle, behind that white triangle. Average time to trailhead: 5-6 hours. I was lost at the grey knob, but Christi nodded along and seemed to know what he was talking about. I didn't think it was safe for her to go along, so I agreed to come along, with the Park Radio.
Let me start out with saying: DO NOT EVER DO DRAGON PASS. If you decide to not heed this warning, please talk to me, because I can probably give you much better directions to not make the mishaps and wrong turns that Christi and I made, making it the worst, longest, hardest, most scary hike I've ever done.
The short version: 13.5 hours, 1 pm to 2:30am, took the wrong direction three times, up and down steep and loose rock/scree/boulder fields that were 500-1000ft long, doing some 5-class rock climbing moves up and down rocks with a heavy, bulky bag when I am scared of heights and hate rock climbing, night time hiking down boulder fields, rock landslides, really poor trail conditions. There was much prayer and many answered prayers, and some really good teamwork between Christi and me to make it out safely and unharmed. At several points we called the ranger for directions when we took a wrong turn, and got yelled at by dispatch for talking on the radio while they were evacuating someone that afternoon, but I think that there was a great potential for our trip to become a search a rescue mission at any point. Guardian angels were working overtime, and I am most grateful to still be around and unharmed.
Photos of the Dragon Pass trip - note there are none after we go over the pass, because it got dark soon after. It's too bad - I'd've liked to have gotten photos of the boulder field we scrambled down for 3 hours in the dark with only our headlamps. :) Anyone ever go to Golden Trout Lake on the really crummy trail (maybe it's better in the day time) - I want pictures of the mountains behind it to the north and north east.
So the ranger looks out the window of the cabin and describes the route to Christi - left around that grey knob, up to that grey triangle, behind that white triangle. Average time to trailhead: 5-6 hours. I was lost at the grey knob, but Christi nodded along and seemed to know what he was talking about. I didn't think it was safe for her to go along, so I agreed to come along, with the Park Radio.
Let me start out with saying: DO NOT EVER DO DRAGON PASS. If you decide to not heed this warning, please talk to me, because I can probably give you much better directions to not make the mishaps and wrong turns that Christi and I made, making it the worst, longest, hardest, most scary hike I've ever done.
The short version: 13.5 hours, 1 pm to 2:30am, took the wrong direction three times, up and down steep and loose rock/scree/boulder fields that were 500-1000ft long, doing some 5-class rock climbing moves up and down rocks with a heavy, bulky bag when I am scared of heights and hate rock climbing, night time hiking down boulder fields, rock landslides, really poor trail conditions. There was much prayer and many answered prayers, and some really good teamwork between Christi and me to make it out safely and unharmed. At several points we called the ranger for directions when we took a wrong turn, and got yelled at by dispatch for talking on the radio while they were evacuating someone that afternoon, but I think that there was a great potential for our trip to become a search a rescue mission at any point. Guardian angels were working overtime, and I am most grateful to still be around and unharmed.
Photos of the Dragon Pass trip - note there are none after we go over the pass, because it got dark soon after. It's too bad - I'd've liked to have gotten photos of the boulder field we scrambled down for 3 hours in the dark with only our headlamps. :) Anyone ever go to Golden Trout Lake on the really crummy trail (maybe it's better in the day time) - I want pictures of the mountains behind it to the north and north east.
21 Days in the Backcountry
Photos from the past month or so
It seems like I have been out in the back country for a long time this time. Yes, I know there are trail crew people who will stay 4+ months out without ever hiking to the front country, but that life is not for me - I need a shower, to do laundry, to apply for jobs, download the next set of Bible classes, etc., and could not wait to get out by the end of this last hitch.
I am mainly better from my cold - when I hiked in I was probably at 85% with medication, went to about 90-95% with medication for most of the past three weeks, decided to stop taking medication mid last week, and am now at about 97% without medication. I still have a sore throat, with some drainage that makes me cough once or twice every few hours, and I blow my nose 2-3 times a day (too much information?) but am generally ok. I considered seeing a doctor, or calling a nurse when I came back out (5 weeks sick and counting!), but figured they would probably just tell me what I already know - I'm on the mend, it's taking forever.
While I was out sick, my boss Isaac hiked over from mobilizing the Kern site to help Christi until I could hike back in. So when I did hike in, Isaac stayed and electrofished with us the next day before hiking out. What a blast it was having Isaac there for an unexpected period of time - and what fun it is to electrofish with two dip-netters! Isaac was also there when we checked a net that we had placed in the small pond of our new lake's outlet stream, and we caught a whopping 98 fish in one net - 98 very nasty, gooey, fish, that I had no problem handling because my sense of smell was still completely gone. :)
Christi hiked out for the weekend, and I stayed in (not wanting to do another 28 miles of hiking in 4 days), thinking I would get some reading and frog surveys in. Unexpectedly I was invited to a trail crew party at the Rae Lakes area, attended by the Rae Lakes trail crew, Charlotte Lake Trail crew, and the rangers from both areas. What I wasn't told was that it was open-mic-night, and everyone brought out their musical instruments and singing voices and poems and jokes and shared around the campfire. I had nothing to share but my elephant/Safeway bag joke, which was okay, but I think I came off as very bookish and boring. Alas.
The next day I was invited to go with some of the party-goers to Dragon Lake, where we flew kites (and got them quite caught in trees), threw rocks in the lake, and watched one of the guys fish. The fishing guy killed his fish by hitting them on the head with his Leatherman, and never did it right the first time - we could hear him go "thunk thunk" with kindof a squish to it - not fun. So they wanted to know how we killed our fish, and if I could demonstrate. So I took the next fish that was caught in my two hands, one hand holding the head, the other grasping the fish behind the gills near the vertebrae, and applied pressure/twisting until I broke the neck - its very fast in small fish, slightly harder in large fish (this one was a large one at 6 inches). Trail crew was impressed. Suddenly I was not so boring anymore.
This past hitch was mainly characterized by the weather, which was cloudy and storm-threatening for most of the hitch, though it only rained with thunder and lightning for two of the days. I very much dislike stormy weather in the Sierras - it makes work pretty miserable or impossible, and all you do is wait for it to go away. I'm waiting for the days when it is warm enough (to an Arizonan) to at least bathe a little in the lakes during the hitch - I'm hoping August. :) A definite plus to being stuck in your tent for 3-4 hours during a thunderstorm in the back country? You get a lot of letters written (seven!), which may not have been written otherwise. Sunsets are also at their best when there are a ton of clouds in the sky.
On our last night in Sixty Lakes Christi and I hiked over to the Rae Lakes Ranger Station and had dinner with the ranger and two of his friends (who had hiked in to visit him). We spent the night in the cabin in the loft, which was pretty cool - my second time spending the night in the new cabin!
It seems like I have been out in the back country for a long time this time. Yes, I know there are trail crew people who will stay 4+ months out without ever hiking to the front country, but that life is not for me - I need a shower, to do laundry, to apply for jobs, download the next set of Bible classes, etc., and could not wait to get out by the end of this last hitch.
I am mainly better from my cold - when I hiked in I was probably at 85% with medication, went to about 90-95% with medication for most of the past three weeks, decided to stop taking medication mid last week, and am now at about 97% without medication. I still have a sore throat, with some drainage that makes me cough once or twice every few hours, and I blow my nose 2-3 times a day (too much information?) but am generally ok. I considered seeing a doctor, or calling a nurse when I came back out (5 weeks sick and counting!), but figured they would probably just tell me what I already know - I'm on the mend, it's taking forever.
While I was out sick, my boss Isaac hiked over from mobilizing the Kern site to help Christi until I could hike back in. So when I did hike in, Isaac stayed and electrofished with us the next day before hiking out. What a blast it was having Isaac there for an unexpected period of time - and what fun it is to electrofish with two dip-netters! Isaac was also there when we checked a net that we had placed in the small pond of our new lake's outlet stream, and we caught a whopping 98 fish in one net - 98 very nasty, gooey, fish, that I had no problem handling because my sense of smell was still completely gone. :)
Christi hiked out for the weekend, and I stayed in (not wanting to do another 28 miles of hiking in 4 days), thinking I would get some reading and frog surveys in. Unexpectedly I was invited to a trail crew party at the Rae Lakes area, attended by the Rae Lakes trail crew, Charlotte Lake Trail crew, and the rangers from both areas. What I wasn't told was that it was open-mic-night, and everyone brought out their musical instruments and singing voices and poems and jokes and shared around the campfire. I had nothing to share but my elephant/Safeway bag joke, which was okay, but I think I came off as very bookish and boring. Alas.
The next day I was invited to go with some of the party-goers to Dragon Lake, where we flew kites (and got them quite caught in trees), threw rocks in the lake, and watched one of the guys fish. The fishing guy killed his fish by hitting them on the head with his Leatherman, and never did it right the first time - we could hear him go "thunk thunk" with kindof a squish to it - not fun. So they wanted to know how we killed our fish, and if I could demonstrate. So I took the next fish that was caught in my two hands, one hand holding the head, the other grasping the fish behind the gills near the vertebrae, and applied pressure/twisting until I broke the neck - its very fast in small fish, slightly harder in large fish (this one was a large one at 6 inches). Trail crew was impressed. Suddenly I was not so boring anymore.
This past hitch was mainly characterized by the weather, which was cloudy and storm-threatening for most of the hitch, though it only rained with thunder and lightning for two of the days. I very much dislike stormy weather in the Sierras - it makes work pretty miserable or impossible, and all you do is wait for it to go away. I'm waiting for the days when it is warm enough (to an Arizonan) to at least bathe a little in the lakes during the hitch - I'm hoping August. :) A definite plus to being stuck in your tent for 3-4 hours during a thunderstorm in the back country? You get a lot of letters written (seven!), which may not have been written otherwise. Sunsets are also at their best when there are a ton of clouds in the sky.
On our last night in Sixty Lakes Christi and I hiked over to the Rae Lakes Ranger Station and had dinner with the ranger and two of his friends (who had hiked in to visit him). We spent the night in the cabin in the loft, which was pretty cool - my second time spending the night in the new cabin!
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Getting Better?
I woke up this morning, and for the first time in 2.5 weeks felt like I might be getting better from my sinus infection. Yes, there still is a sore throat, congestion, a cough, etc, etc, but they aren't as bad as they used to be. I am actually considering hiking back into the backcountry tomorrow or Tuesday. Health wise, Tuesday might be a better day to hike in, but I'll see how I feel tomorrow.
Fact: there is no place between Bishop and Lone Pine where you can buy Sudafed on Sundays - isn't that weird? All pharmacies are closed, and the one non-pharmacy store that also carries it is also closed. The east side of the Sierras just isn't that big.
Yesterday as I was leaving my motel in Big Pine a bunch of emergency vehicles drove by me (heading south!) - one after another - ambulance, police, fire, Forest Service - the whole shebang! I thought nothing of it, and went along my day in Bishop - hanging out in coffee shops, watching TV and movies and maybe actually getting a little tired of Chai Lattes. Around 5:00pm I thought to look at the news to see what was going on earlier in the day, and discovered that there was a sage brush fire south of Big Pine, headed towards Big Pine, and that there was an order for a voluntary evacuation of Big Pine. Yikes! My motel was in the southern part of Big Pine! What if all my stuff burnt up? So I drove to Big Pine and discovered that traffic was backed up for a quite a few miles north of town - apparently the powers that be were only letting one way of traffic go through at a time, and would switch the way of traffic (northbound vs southbound) about every 30 minutes. So an hour later I made it to inside Big Pine, where I parked and walked the rest of the way to my motel, where I packed up what was most important to me, and went back to my car. Turns out the evacuation order (voluntary, of course) was lifted around 9:00pm, and all was well. When I drove by the area today, it looked like the fire paralleled the road for a mile or two, and was stopped a mile or so south of town.
This is what excitement is on the east side. :)
Tonight I am staying at a hostel in Lone Pine which is actually quite plush - beds with clean sheets and pillows, showers, refrigerators, and free WIFI that works off and on - what more do you need? All for the low low price of $25/night. I wish I had stayed here the past three days instead of the motel in Big Pine!
Anyway, if I leave tomorrow or Tuesday, this will be my last blog post until July 28th or so.
Fact: there is no place between Bishop and Lone Pine where you can buy Sudafed on Sundays - isn't that weird? All pharmacies are closed, and the one non-pharmacy store that also carries it is also closed. The east side of the Sierras just isn't that big.
Yesterday as I was leaving my motel in Big Pine a bunch of emergency vehicles drove by me (heading south!) - one after another - ambulance, police, fire, Forest Service - the whole shebang! I thought nothing of it, and went along my day in Bishop - hanging out in coffee shops, watching TV and movies and maybe actually getting a little tired of Chai Lattes. Around 5:00pm I thought to look at the news to see what was going on earlier in the day, and discovered that there was a sage brush fire south of Big Pine, headed towards Big Pine, and that there was an order for a voluntary evacuation of Big Pine. Yikes! My motel was in the southern part of Big Pine! What if all my stuff burnt up? So I drove to Big Pine and discovered that traffic was backed up for a quite a few miles north of town - apparently the powers that be were only letting one way of traffic go through at a time, and would switch the way of traffic (northbound vs southbound) about every 30 minutes. So an hour later I made it to inside Big Pine, where I parked and walked the rest of the way to my motel, where I packed up what was most important to me, and went back to my car. Turns out the evacuation order (voluntary, of course) was lifted around 9:00pm, and all was well. When I drove by the area today, it looked like the fire paralleled the road for a mile or two, and was stopped a mile or so south of town.
This is what excitement is on the east side. :)
Tonight I am staying at a hostel in Lone Pine which is actually quite plush - beds with clean sheets and pillows, showers, refrigerators, and free WIFI that works off and on - what more do you need? All for the low low price of $25/night. I wish I had stayed here the past three days instead of the motel in Big Pine!
Anyway, if I leave tomorrow or Tuesday, this will be my last blog post until July 28th or so.
Friday, July 6, 2012
Address
So it turns out that you need an actual physical address in order to get a PO Box - I had thought, for some reason, that PO Boxes were also for those who didn't have a physical address - like me!
Because of this, any mail to me this summer (until Sept 28) can be sent to:
Kris Ratzlaff
Independence Post Office
General Delivery
Independence, CA 93526
Because of this, any mail to me this summer (until Sept 28) can be sent to:
Kris Ratzlaff
Independence Post Office
General Delivery
Independence, CA 93526
Sick
It's funny sometimes how God works life.
This past Monday I hiked into Sixty Lakes Basin - taking a whopping 9 hours to do what is usually a 7 hour hike. Tuesday Christi and I actually had a good field day, checking the gill nets in three of our lakes. Wednesday we started checking the nets in a forth lake, and by mid-day I was through - I was tired and exhausted mentally and physically from my cold and really had no desire or physical ability to work anymore - just hiking around the lake seemed like too much work, not to mention getting into a float tube for the rest of the day. Christi and I discussed, and decided that we needed to hike back out to the front country for me to see a doctor about my "cold", which we both decided had likely turned into a sinus infection that was lingering due to living at a high elevation.
So Wednesday we hiked out - a grueling 7.5 hours, and made it to the trailhead by 8:30pm. This meant, coincidentally, that we got to see fireworks as we drove away from the trailhead, which was pretty cool (I'd been a little bummed that I'd miss the 4th of July this year).
Thursday I went to a doctor in Lone Pine and, long story short, the doctor there decided that I did have a sinus infection, but that it was viral, not bacterial, and thus could not be treated. She told me to take some Sudafed, which would only make me feel a little better, not get rid of the infection, and basically to have a good life, goodbye. I was not impressed. So I am now in the front country until at least this coming Sunday, with the hopes that a longer stay in the front country will make me feel well enough to go back to work. A half day or so has passed since my doctor's appointment and I am not feeling much better - a second opinion will be obtained if I am not better at all by Sunday. Sigh.
So this isn't how I planned to spend my third pay-period, but here I am, on the East side of the Sierra Nevadas, waiting to get over a sinus infection in order to get back to work. I wonder if this will be one of those things where I'll have to wait until I'm in heaven to find out what this all was for, if it was for any specific reason.
This past Monday I hiked into Sixty Lakes Basin - taking a whopping 9 hours to do what is usually a 7 hour hike. Tuesday Christi and I actually had a good field day, checking the gill nets in three of our lakes. Wednesday we started checking the nets in a forth lake, and by mid-day I was through - I was tired and exhausted mentally and physically from my cold and really had no desire or physical ability to work anymore - just hiking around the lake seemed like too much work, not to mention getting into a float tube for the rest of the day. Christi and I discussed, and decided that we needed to hike back out to the front country for me to see a doctor about my "cold", which we both decided had likely turned into a sinus infection that was lingering due to living at a high elevation.
So Wednesday we hiked out - a grueling 7.5 hours, and made it to the trailhead by 8:30pm. This meant, coincidentally, that we got to see fireworks as we drove away from the trailhead, which was pretty cool (I'd been a little bummed that I'd miss the 4th of July this year).
Thursday I went to a doctor in Lone Pine and, long story short, the doctor there decided that I did have a sinus infection, but that it was viral, not bacterial, and thus could not be treated. She told me to take some Sudafed, which would only make me feel a little better, not get rid of the infection, and basically to have a good life, goodbye. I was not impressed. So I am now in the front country until at least this coming Sunday, with the hopes that a longer stay in the front country will make me feel well enough to go back to work. A half day or so has passed since my doctor's appointment and I am not feeling much better - a second opinion will be obtained if I am not better at all by Sunday. Sigh.
So this isn't how I planned to spend my third pay-period, but here I am, on the East side of the Sierra Nevadas, waiting to get over a sinus infection in order to get back to work. I wonder if this will be one of those things where I'll have to wait until I'm in heaven to find out what this all was for, if it was for any specific reason.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
2012 - Week One in Backcountry
I am back in Bishop, CA until Monday morning after spending
the last 10 days in the backcountry mobilizing Sixty Lakes Basin with most of
the rest of the crew. I wasn’t homesick
until about day nine, and it didn’t really hit me until this morning, when I
woke up and realized that yet again I was in a situation where I wouldn’t see
my AZ friends or family until October (and my CA coworker friends until
August!) and may not sleep in a real bed until that time either. My parents sent me some lovely updates on
what went on at home in the past 10 days, and it makes me sad that I missed
those events.
Alas, enough lamenting – how about what I did for the past
ten days?
June 19th – Cleaned our house at Ash Mountain (in
Three Rivers), got the cleaned house approved by the Park Service Facilities
guy, and then schlepped all our Sixty Lakes stuff to the helibase. The gear/food ended up weighing quite a bit
more than last year because this time we were sending up nets, and the crew who
would be mobilizing the site with me and Christi sent out just gobs of food for
the 10 days. It made me concerned that
we would have to leave some stuff back (not have it flown up), but in the end
it all worked out. We then drove to the
east side of the Sierra Nevadas and were treated to pizza by our boss before
spending the night at the Onion Valley Trailhead. Note #1: my car does not like going up the
Onion Valley Road. Note #2: my car is
not long enough to make sleeping in the back of the car comfortable.
June 20th – We hiked up today, and initially I
was the slowest of the group (my worst fear, see the hike from last year),
until Christi came down with altitude sickness – dizziness, nausea, headache. We ended up camping two miles shy of the
Sixty Lakes Base camp, which suited everyone just fine.
June 21 – My sister’s birthday! The lakes here are very
mosquito ridden, and mosquito head nets are necessary, especially at dusk. We hiked to camp, dug the boomer (boomerang
shaped ditch for bathroom needs), and greeted the helicopter, which came with
all our food and gear. The next problem was that all the food didn’t fit in the
Bear Box or action packer (lockable tote-bin) that we had at camp, in part
because the mobilization crew brought too much food and in part because we were
going to be in Sixty Lakes ~20 extra days this year, compared to last
year. My boss Isaac solved this problem
by hanging his food and all the camp trash from a tree in camp.
June 22-27 – Mended a bunch of gill nets and set nets in all
of our lakes. One lake, Tulip, took two
days alone to finish. Fjord took a
little more than a day. We were able to
finish Cotter, SL-10, and SL-5 in one day.
We also started a new lake in the basin this year, dubbed Clarence
(after Clarence King Peak, also in Sixty Lakes), and took 298 fish out with the
gill nets in two days alone. During this
time Emma and I got to go on some neat hikes around the basin after work, one
to the upper valley at the base of Mount Cotter and another to the northern
side of Fin Dome. We also spent one
afternoon speed bathing (because the water is so darn cold!). I sure like hanging out with Emma –she seems
to share my ideas of how to enjoy time, and doesn’t seem to mind my taste in
music or movies, which is cool.
Everyone but Christi and me hiked out on the 27th
– they had to hike out and drive around to Ash Mountain again to get their next
shipment of food and gear ready for helicopter flights out to their own
sites. It was sad to see them go
(especially Emma!), but it sure was nice to only have two people using the bear
box and screen tent!
During this period of time I also came down with a pretty
bad cold (from my boss, of all people), which made me feel dizzy and achy and
included congestion, sore throat, runny nose, and a pretty bad cough. The symptoms were always worse in the morning
and gradually got better as the day wore on, and then started all over again
the next day. I still have it, and can’t
wait for it to be done with. Being sick
in the backcountry is not fun.
June 28 – Christi and I electrofished (e-fished) the outlet
of our new lake and ended up with ~80 fish, seven of which were deemed large
enough to be eaten, so we had fish tacos that night – pretty darn good!
June 29 – Christi and I cleaned up camp and then hiked out
to the Onion Valley Trailhead. Hiking
14ish miles with a cold is not fun, let me tell you, but I could not wait to be
in the front country again and take a shower and eat food that I didn’t have to
prepare myself – milk, cheese, meat, fresh vegetables and fruits, salad, chai
lattes, and so on! I want to drink water
that didn’t have to be filtered first, and not have to burn my toilet paper
after visiting the boomer. Some of the
things that are easy to take for granted until you go to the backcountry. Christi’s friend Dan surprised her by hiking
up and meeting us up near Kearsarge Pass on our way down, which was pretty neat,
and he plans on hanging out with her for the rest of the weekend.
Anyway, I am having fun, despite the homesickness. This year is pretty different from last year,
but Christi is a good partner, and we get along, so that’s cool. I aim for an hour of Bible class a day, and
trust that everything else will happen the way it is supposed to.
The Independence post office is closed until Monday, so I
will have to get my PO Box address before I hike in then. If I do get one, I will at least tell my
parents, and maybe they will comment on this post with that address…. J
I hope everyone is doing well, wherever you are reading
this. I would love to hear (email? letter?)
from anyone about what is going on in their life. Kris.ratzlaff@gmail.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)