How'd it go today?

Found a couple military duffels I had no idea I had. Those will make good rope bags. Amazing the crap I bought and forgot about. I have about 6 rocket crates in the basement. I go down one time, look over on that side, and think "WTF?! Why do I have so many rocket crates??" Early senility?

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Update #3

Thought "Maybe it's in the jeep", and went out to check the jeep I haven't been in for 6 years. There's a wasp nest in the tree by the drivers side, so I open the rear passenger side door, and there's a wasp nest in there. Guess I won't know if my compass is in the jeep for a couple months...
 
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Well this started up and got going, now at 5000 acres approx, zero containment. Bad area, full of camping for the weekend. Roads are often tight and even single lane. Mammoth pool folks had to just move to the water as there was no way out. Spot fires miles ahead of itself. Normally these fires move south east. This one running north west. Crazy. FB_IMG_1599348163802.jpg FB_IMG_1599348161040.jpg
Air is quite smokey, been that way. Worse now again. Mammoth Pools, Shaver Lake and Beasore Meadows area in the sierras if you want to map it.
 
Dumb question Stephen; are those vehicles occupied, and is it a problem to have hot embers blowing around you like that? Seems like that would be a problem.
 
I think the idea is to have at least one to fall back on when the other three break down. Who would schedule break-downs on all four at once???
 
I think the idea is to have at least one to fall back on when the other three break down. Who would schedule break-downs on all four at once???
Sometimes I am guilty of what I have heard called politely, deferred maintenance. That seems to be something that can make multiple things all break down at once.
 
That was the perfect time to reach the grandson how to skin a rattler, Gary!

My neighbor killed a 52” timber rattler up the hill from my house last week. They’re becoming more plentiful it seems.
 
Hahaha. Been there, done that with his father. About 25 years ago I had to shoot a big rattler like that near our cabin when a bunch of kids were out playing on the dam where the snake was. Alex wasn't around at the time, he was at a cousin's house. I took the rattler and tossed it back in the woods at the back of the field. When he came back that evening and I told him about the snake he wanted to see it so I took him back to look at it. Then of course he decided he wanted the skin. Uh oh. So I took it back to the cabin and skinned it and found inside of it a rat in the process of emulsifying. if you haven't seen that, it's one of the most sickening things you can probably see. Hollywood has undoubtedly seen such a thing before because some of the gross things Hollywood produces looked like that rat. Anyway I was able to take the skin home with me on ice and did research on how to cure it and we have still got that skin mounted.

Trust me... Once was enough. I was happy to watch this one and then let it go.

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Update on the "creek fire".
There were some injuried.10 maybe so far. The helo is was able to get them at the waterfront and evac.
Numbers stranded was reported too high. More like 150.
More evacs tonight. Now reporting 36000 acres and a town gone at Huntington lake.
Making its own weather. Lightening and two vortex generating clouds.
 
Amazing that those people didn't have the smarts to get the hell out of Dodge in time.

Or is there something I don't know?

I'll be gone from here for the next 4 days.
I'm going to have my dead hand operated on next monday.
That'll keep me out of work for 3-4 weeks and put a great dent into our logging scedule.
Richard is going with me next week and we'll try to put a LOT of trees on the ground, to make up for it.

We've found an old inn, where we'll be staying.
After WW2, Denmark put in a ferry harbour in Gedser and made a road north. It is known as "Fugleflugtslinien" The bird flight line, because it was simply made after a line drawn on a map, the shortest way.
There used to be lots of gas stations, inns and stores along it, then came the freeway and that all died off.
This inn is a remnant from the fugleflugtslinie time.
The decor is like stepping into a time capsule, and when I told the cook, I am a vegetarian, he reacted like a Jehova's witness confronted with Satan.

Anna, my " On loan" apprentice is coming with us, her boss wanted her to have that experience.

So, we'll do four 11 hour days and take friday off.

I'll log in on my phone and see what is going on here, but writing anything on a phone with 3 dead fingers is not going to work too well.
 
Sounds like a good trip stig. I like the sound of that inn. I find relics from the glory days of auto travel interesting, and also general nostalgia. I just like old shit :^D

Day's been somewhat productive. I wanted to give footlocking another go, and work on my rope/saddle setup. I think I've got my hitch tender sorted out, but I have to try it in more scenarios. Dicked up a piece of new hitch cord. I measured it against my old beeline, but didn't account for the extra girth, so I can only use it as a 2 wrap prussik instead of my preferred 3 wrap. Alternately, I might be able to use it as a 3 wrap hip prusik for a lanyard, but it's kinda overkill for that. It's pretty beefy cord.

The footlocking was semi successful. No progress in getting shit done I don't think. It's still taking me awhile to get in the tree, but it's a lot easier than hip thrusting. I'll get a couple good footlocks in, then lose the rope, or I'll have it wrapped wrong, and it'll slide through the heel of my boot. Hopefully that'll get better with time, but at least I know I can get in a tree now without access to the stem.
 
Amazing that those people didn't have the smarts to get the hell out of Dodge in time.

Or is there something I don't know?
What you dont know.......
In as much as this particular lake has power and a tiny bit of internet and a couple phones, it is quite remote. Two roads in and out. One road is mostly slow going, rough, one lane. Other road two lanes but goes toward the fire. Fire was moving fast and throwing spot fires miles in front of itself. The sherrifs and forest personnel had about enough time to drive in and tell them to get to the water front to shelter in place. Exits were blocked, miles out. They were frigged just being there.
 
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