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All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible. This I did.
- T.E. Lawrence
One of the sub-district rangers is out of town this week, so I have use of her unmarked car. The Powers-That-Be don’t like me driving the marked cruisers around, though I transported one through the park a week or so ago. The reason they give me is not that I may misrepresent a federal agent, take advantage of the lights or sirens, or speed off with a few thousand dollars worth of government property – none of those logical reasons. What they tell me is that the stripes are provocative, and I may be shot at. Personally, I think the unmarked vehicles are more provocative, what with their GSA plates, antennas, and hidden lights barely visible through the windshield. It has that sort of undercover I’m-stalking-you look to it. But, I’m glad to have use of the car, instead of burning my own gas or relying on rides from the other Rangers. (Not to mention, everyone pulls over and lets you pass when they notice the plates.)
Today, I drove myself down to the Lodgepole area, with intention of taking a jaunt down to Alta Meadow: a respectable 5.7 mile (one way) hike, with 2,000 feet elevation gain. At the junction where the trail splits, the right heading to the meadow and the left to Alta Peak, I decided it was still early enough to give a try for the peak – despite the protestations of my trail map (“very strenuous…don’t undertake this trail unless you are in good physical condition…one of the most strenuous trails in the western half of Sequoia National Park.”) From the junction, the peak is only about 2 miles away, but in those two miles awaits 2,000 feet of rocky elevation gain.
I did make it to the 11,204 feet summit and the views (this being my first time in the high Sierra) were stunning, despite the haze of pollution from the West.
For your enjoyment are some pictures and videos taken along the way (any chattering in the background of the videos is my radio).
Having seen the film, I had been familiar with T.E Lawrence, the man and his story, before reading Seven Pillars of Wisdom: but I had no idea of his skill with the pen. This book – excelling not only in historical and military account, but also in literary merit – establishes himself as one of the greatest men and truly one of the most talented writers of the 20th century.
A recommended read, Lawrence’s book is a crucial work in understanding the conflicts in Arabia today.
In these pages the history is not of the Arab movement, but of me in it. It is a narrative of daily life, mean happenings, little people. Here are no lessons for the world, no disclosures to shock peoples. It is filled with trivial things, partly that no one mistake for history the bones from which some day a man may make history, and partly for the pleasure it gave me to recall the fellowship of the revolt. We were fond together, because of the sweep of the open places, the taste of wide winds, the sunlight, and the hopes in which we worked. The morning freshness of the world-to-be intoxicated us. We were wrought up with ideas inexpressible and vaporous, but to be fought for. We lived many lives in those whirling campaigns, never sparing ourselves: yet when we achieved and the new world dawned, the old men came out again and took our victory to re-make in the likeness of the former world they knew. Youth could win, but had not learned to keep: and was pitiably weak against age. We stammered that we had worked for a new heaven and a new earth, and they thanked us kindly and made their peace.
The wilderness pilgrim's step-by-step breath-by-breath walk up a trail, into those snowfields, carrying all on back, is so ancient a set of gestures as to bring a profound sense of body-mind joy. - Gary Snyder
The Giant Sequoias here are some of the most amazing creatures I’ve seen on this Earth. Though beaten in height by their Coastal Redwood cousins, these Giants excel in both width and majesty. Peter Jackson got it wrong: these are the Ents, the shepards of the Forest. They instill in one a sense of scale and reverence not achieved by other visions, real or digital. Even the fallen retain their regal nature.
There’s a certain madness in walking across the most heavily land-mined country in the world, in the middle of winter, during a war – but it clearly would make for a wonderful book. Rory Stewart’s The Places In Between is just such a book. The portrait of Afghanistan, it’s people, landscape and cultures in awe-some. It is a rare look that focuses not on the military history of the land, but of the people. The tale should be read by all.
After surviving two nights in Eugene, followed by two in San Francisco, I arrived last Thursday in Kings Canyon. I’m living in a two room cabin in Grant Grove. It seems that half my time will be spent in the Visitor Center and half doing wilderness trail patrol. Technically, I’m working under Law Enforcement (which means I’m the only who doesn’t CCW and I’ve been riding around in a car all day with a shotgun and loaded assault rifle of some sort sitting next to me).
Yesterday, I was offered a chance to go with my supervisor and supervisor’s supervisor to attend the last day of an EMT refresher course and help out as a victim. Of course, since EMT training usually starts around $600 and I was being offered a chance to be payed to attend, I went.
My acting skills were lacking, but I think they sufficed. It was a strange experience – I discovered that, as a WFR, my skills were on par with this room full of experienced EMTs. It would seem the most noticeable difference was their superior use of acronyms. I’m not sure whether this is praising WMI or criticizing NPS EMT training.
Today I was given the grand tour of the park. A lot of place names and people names that I’ll have trouble remembering, and discussion of which trails are where and are good for what. Toward the end of the day, the Ranger I was with was dispatched to chase down a speeding vehicle, so I was involved in what I’ll call a Kings-Canyon-high-speed-pursuit. (The guy hid from us and got away into Forest Service land before we could turn around.)
My battery is dying.
Being a member of the genetically defective, it’s hard to find eyewear that both offers protection and allows me to see. Products from ESS, Wiley-X, and other top brands don’t fit my prescription. Frames from Oakley would kill my budget before even ordering the prescription. Most everything else in the big-wide-world-of-eyewear is concerned only with looks, not with that inevitable situation of a projectile flying at 1300 feet per second straight at you with intent to gorge your cornea.
This dilemma led me, after some time, to choosing the Revision Sawfly Military Eyewear System.
At first, I thought the glasses had a definite I’m-going-to-kill-your-family look to them, but now I’m telling my self it’s just cyberpunk. (No word yet if Revision is planning to make mirror-shades.)
On top of the usual ANSI Z87.1 certification, the Sawflys are able to withstand a shotgun blast from 16 feet. Sure, if someone is firing a shotgun at your face from 16 feet, you’ve got other problems to worry about, but that’s quality.
There are three lenses for the system: smoke, “high contrast” (yellow), and clear. (Polarized smoke lenses, pictured above, can also be purchased). High contrast lenses, while certainly frightening the masses and screaming “shoot me first!”, are an important form of protection from advertising, mind-control, and other-world-entities.
The prescription insert is available for just $20 more. After hearing about Revision’s great customer service, I decided to take a chance and have Revision also fill my prescription. It took about 4 weeks for them to get it to me, and I’m just as happy with them as I have been with any lenses purchased from a local optometrist.
It’s too early for a review, but my first impressions are positive. The “regular” size, with the adjustable arms, is a perfect fit for my face. The coverage is excellent – my eyes no longer tear from cold air when screaming down hill at warp speed on my bike. As of yet, my only complaint is the large, plastic nosepad. It takes a little getting used to and, when sweating, I’ve found the glasses slip ever so slightly down my nose. Snapping on the included retention lanyard would fix this, but I would like to see Revision take the same rubber padding from the inside of the arms and adding this to the nosepad. I think this would increase both comfort and traction.