On one of my recent hikes, I hiked to a beautiful waterfall in Hetch Hetchey. The mist from the fall created this beautiful rainbow.
Monday, August 2, 2010
My Ranger Duties
I guide five different trails around Glacier Point and discuss natural things with visitors. It's a lot of fun for me and the visitors. I have anywhere from 2 to 50 people on my hikes. It's educational and fun.
Part of my duties is to rove the sidewalk at the point to answer questions and perform mini talks. Occationally I will break out my spotting scope to show visitors climbers and hikers on the walls and domes around the point. Most people are blown away to see what all is out there that can't be seen by the unaided eye. The two pictures below were taken through the scope so you can view what the visitors view.
Hikers who have summited Half Dome. (2.7 miles away)
Mountain climbers on the shoulder of Half Dome. This course is called Snake Dyke. It's about 1800 feet of prominant quartz vein. Experienced climbers can climb it in four to five hours. The record climb time is 17 minutes. Awesome.
My favorite duty is to perform "Sunset Talks" at Glacier Point. I start about 30 minutes before sundown and talk for 30 minutes. The sunset color is projected behind me on the face of Half Dome as I talk. Each night we typically have between 200 and 500 people here for the talk and sunset. It's a lot of fun. I talk about the "History of Glacier Point", "Rivers, Waterfalls and Mountains" and "Some Rocks Have It and Some Rocks Don't" (Half Dome).
I like to have visitors ask to have their picture taken with me. Sometimes I feel like Mickey Mouse at Disneyland, but in this particular case...I love France. The best part of my day right here. ;-)
Bad Squirrel
There are lots of squirrels and chipmonks living with me around my cabin in the forest. Most are very good, but there is one particular squirrel that likes to get in trouble. He chewed my little travel trailer to pieces. One day recently I caught him eyeing my truck. I approached him and made a deal with him. I gave him my folding chair if he would leave my truck alone. So far it's working, but my folding chair is trashed too.
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Squirrel damage on my trailer. Squirrel eating my folding chair in exchange for not eating my truck. |
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Bear Kill
I witnessed a most awesome natural event today. I observed a bear taking down a deer. Please read my story.
I had read in all of my Black Bear text books and I had been teaching for years that Black Bears were not good hunters. I taught that they were mostly lazy opportunists who would eat meat when they discovered some carrion. Today I learned differently first hand.
I had just returned to my cabin from guiding a hike to prepare some lunch for myself. As I walked from the government vehicle to my cabin I had to have walked very close to these animals but I never saw them. I opened the door to my cabin to let some fresh air in like I frequently do. As I opened my door I noticed a local resident deer that I had not seen in a while. She had her new offspring with her. The new deer was larger than a fawn but was not yet full grown either. I thought I would get a picture so I went for my camera. I always keep it close by.
About that time, I noticed a bear with two cubs that I knew. They were sneaking around my partners’ cabin stalking the deer. I could see that the bear was teaching its cubs to stalk. The mother bear would look at her cubs as if to say, “Watch this.”
Then suddenly the bear made a fast mad charge for the young deer. This bear was really moving fast. It must have gone from a stand still to 35 MPH in no time. The bear charged the deer and hit it in its flank with its head, raising its head as it hit the deer. On impact the deer made a horrible sound. The wind was knocked out of the deer and many bones were instantly broken. The deer was thrown 15 to 20 feet up in the air and the bear moved under the deer and just waited for it to come down out of the air. The bear caught the door at the shoulder and dragged it off into the forest. The captured deer was crying, the mother deer was crying frantically and the cubs were screaming. It was a dramatic moment for everyone, including myself. The mamma bear was the only calm one.
The deer didn’t have a chance. The deer’s mother was running around screaming like a human woman. I had never heard a deer cry like that before. When the captured deer stopped crying, the mother deer exited the scene never to be seen again.
The bears settled in and began to consume the deer just yards from my cabin. I began taking pictures. They ate eagerly for 90 minutes. The cubs fought over the meal like wolves competing for position. They made little bear cub sounds as they ate.
They seemed to be eating every part of the deer. I could hear them breaking bones and I could see them tearing skin and fur. Once the bears had each had their fill, they rambled off into the forest to go do other bear stuff.
After the coast was way clear, I moved in to the consumption site. I discovered nothing. There was not a drop of blood, not a bone, not a tooth and not a hoof left behind. Every part of the deer was consumed by the bears. I was amazed. It would be interesting to see the bears scat in a day or so to see how much of the deer was actually digested.
Then I moved back to the kill site to track the event on the ground. I found no bear tracks except when the bear was running the last 20 feet to hit the deer. I photographed a couple of tracks but there was literally nothing remaining anywhere from the entire event. No blood, no body parts, just a couple of bear tracks in the sand and they are probably gone by now. Gone without a trace.
I will never again teach that bears are not good hunters. I have witnessed for myself first hand that they are indeed superb and swift hunters. I will share this story with many people in my bear lectures in Yosemite. Bears are amazing animals. I learn a lot from the bears.
The message in this story is… “Always clean your plate.” “You snooze, you loose.” “May the best man win.” “No mercy.”
That was a truly awesome experience for me. I will never forget it.
PS As I thought about this event, I believe the bear hit the deer with its head instead of biting the deer in hopes that the bear could kill the deer with no blood shed. The bear was planning on the impact killing the deer. The reason a bear wants no bloodshed is because there could be other bears in the area and the other bears could easily smell the spilled blood and quickly become competitors for the kill. Also the bear could have just as easily killed the doe instead of the does offspring. The doe was really more than the bear and two cubs could eat at one sitting. Bears are great conservationists so they won't kill more than they can eat and waste it. Also by sparing the doe, she will give birth to another deer in the spring whick will be another opportunity for the bears.
I had just returned to my cabin from guiding a hike to prepare some lunch for myself. As I walked from the government vehicle to my cabin I had to have walked very close to these animals but I never saw them. I opened the door to my cabin to let some fresh air in like I frequently do. As I opened my door I noticed a local resident deer that I had not seen in a while. She had her new offspring with her. The new deer was larger than a fawn but was not yet full grown either. I thought I would get a picture so I went for my camera. I always keep it close by.
About that time, I noticed a bear with two cubs that I knew. They were sneaking around my partners’ cabin stalking the deer. I could see that the bear was teaching its cubs to stalk. The mother bear would look at her cubs as if to say, “Watch this.”
Then suddenly the bear made a fast mad charge for the young deer. This bear was really moving fast. It must have gone from a stand still to 35 MPH in no time. The bear charged the deer and hit it in its flank with its head, raising its head as it hit the deer. On impact the deer made a horrible sound. The wind was knocked out of the deer and many bones were instantly broken. The deer was thrown 15 to 20 feet up in the air and the bear moved under the deer and just waited for it to come down out of the air. The bear caught the door at the shoulder and dragged it off into the forest. The captured deer was crying, the mother deer was crying frantically and the cubs were screaming. It was a dramatic moment for everyone, including myself. The mamma bear was the only calm one.
The deer didn’t have a chance. The deer’s mother was running around screaming like a human woman. I had never heard a deer cry like that before. When the captured deer stopped crying, the mother deer exited the scene never to be seen again.
The bears settled in and began to consume the deer just yards from my cabin. I began taking pictures. They ate eagerly for 90 minutes. The cubs fought over the meal like wolves competing for position. They made little bear cub sounds as they ate.
They seemed to be eating every part of the deer. I could hear them breaking bones and I could see them tearing skin and fur. Once the bears had each had their fill, they rambled off into the forest to go do other bear stuff.
After the coast was way clear, I moved in to the consumption site. I discovered nothing. There was not a drop of blood, not a bone, not a tooth and not a hoof left behind. Every part of the deer was consumed by the bears. I was amazed. It would be interesting to see the bears scat in a day or so to see how much of the deer was actually digested.
Then I moved back to the kill site to track the event on the ground. I found no bear tracks except when the bear was running the last 20 feet to hit the deer. I photographed a couple of tracks but there was literally nothing remaining anywhere from the entire event. No blood, no body parts, just a couple of bear tracks in the sand and they are probably gone by now. Gone without a trace.
I will never again teach that bears are not good hunters. I have witnessed for myself first hand that they are indeed superb and swift hunters. I will share this story with many people in my bear lectures in Yosemite. Bears are amazing animals. I learn a lot from the bears.
The message in this story is… “Always clean your plate.” “You snooze, you loose.” “May the best man win.” “No mercy.”
That was a truly awesome experience for me. I will never forget it.
PS As I thought about this event, I believe the bear hit the deer with its head instead of biting the deer in hopes that the bear could kill the deer with no blood shed. The bear was planning on the impact killing the deer. The reason a bear wants no bloodshed is because there could be other bears in the area and the other bears could easily smell the spilled blood and quickly become competitors for the kill. Also the bear could have just as easily killed the doe instead of the does offspring. The doe was really more than the bear and two cubs could eat at one sitting. Bears are great conservationists so they won't kill more than they can eat and waste it. Also by sparing the doe, she will give birth to another deer in the spring whick will be another opportunity for the bears.
Two bear cubs consuming the deer. while the mother bear watches.
Poor picture. Sorry. This is a area where the bears consumed the deer. There is not a drop of blood, a bone, a tooth or a hoof left to be seen.
Footprint of the bear as it was running for the kill. The foot print is about 7 inches wide.
Indian Rock
This is the only arch in Yosemite. It is a few hours hike to access it, but it is worth it.
Canoe Trip
Canoeing an alpine lake is awesome when you can enjoy the remote views and catch supper too. Things can change quicking though when the wind comes up and blows your canoe across the lake and you have to hike back to the truck. Next time I will start earlier and finish earlier before the winds come up.
New Record
I broke a new personal record today and I am proud of it. I went out in the mountains this week on a multi day hike. It was boring. I didn’t see any wildlife. It didn’t take long to learn why. The mosquitoes were out in full force. Since I was the only idiot in the area, all of the mosquitoes easily located me. I was very murderous today. I killed hundreds of mosquitoes and let them drop to the ground. That’s ok. The ants have to eat too. The ants had a feast today.
My personal record of killing 5 mosquitoes in one swat is now history. Today I killed 8 in one deadly swing of the hand. OK OK. It was a slow day in the wilderness. I had to do something to occupy myself. The insects are taking over the world.
My personal record of killing 5 mosquitoes in one swat is now history. Today I killed 8 in one deadly swing of the hand. OK OK. It was a slow day in the wilderness. I had to do something to occupy myself. The insects are taking over the world.
Swearing In
Swearing In
I have experienced a couple of opportunities to swear people in recently in special ways that I want to share with you.
Yosemite Junior Ranger
Part of my duties as a Ranger is to train and award badges to Junior Rangers. Last year I had a family from Israel attend on of my guided nature walks. During the walk their children fulfilled all of the requirements to become a Yosemite Junior Ranger. When I award the Junior Ranger badges and swear in the new Junior Rangers, I like to draw a big crowd and invite all of the visitors on the sidewalks in the area to participate. I sometimes can draw in over a hundred visitors or so to listen to the proceedings. We had a very large crowd when I swore in the Israeli family children. The mother was taking lots of pictures as I swore them in.
Well, this year the family returned to Yosemite and they looked me up. It was great to see them again. The mother who took all of the pictures told me that she entered the best picture into a national photo contest. She said many Israeli people viewed our picture. I thought that was cool.
Swearing in a new military officer
I was roving the point one day in my class “A” uniform when a couple of military officers entered the point in their class “A” uniforms. They approached me to ask where they could conduct a short military ceremony. I lead them to an ideal location and asked them what they were planning to do. A USAF Captain was going to swear in his brother as a new second lieutenant in the US Army. I asked it I could participate in some manner so they asked me to hold the US flag for them as a back drop. I was eager to assist in any way I could.
The ceremony was short but very professional and definitely military quality. Many hundreds of people had gathered to listen to the proceedings. Following the ceremony I announced the new officer to the observing crowd and the officer received a huge and lengthy ovation. It was a very special impromptu event that was very well received. I was just proud to be part of it. I love my work as a Park Ranger.
I have experienced a couple of opportunities to swear people in recently in special ways that I want to share with you.
Yosemite Junior Ranger
Part of my duties as a Ranger is to train and award badges to Junior Rangers. Last year I had a family from Israel attend on of my guided nature walks. During the walk their children fulfilled all of the requirements to become a Yosemite Junior Ranger. When I award the Junior Ranger badges and swear in the new Junior Rangers, I like to draw a big crowd and invite all of the visitors on the sidewalks in the area to participate. I sometimes can draw in over a hundred visitors or so to listen to the proceedings. We had a very large crowd when I swore in the Israeli family children. The mother was taking lots of pictures as I swore them in.
Well, this year the family returned to Yosemite and they looked me up. It was great to see them again. The mother who took all of the pictures told me that she entered the best picture into a national photo contest. She said many Israeli people viewed our picture. I thought that was cool.
Swearing in a new military officer
I was roving the point one day in my class “A” uniform when a couple of military officers entered the point in their class “A” uniforms. They approached me to ask where they could conduct a short military ceremony. I lead them to an ideal location and asked them what they were planning to do. A USAF Captain was going to swear in his brother as a new second lieutenant in the US Army. I asked it I could participate in some manner so they asked me to hold the US flag for them as a back drop. I was eager to assist in any way I could.
The ceremony was short but very professional and definitely military quality. Many hundreds of people had gathered to listen to the proceedings. Following the ceremony I announced the new officer to the observing crowd and the officer received a huge and lengthy ovation. It was a very special impromptu event that was very well received. I was just proud to be part of it. I love my work as a Park Ranger.
Yosemitescapes
Half Dome, Yosemite as viewed from North Dome.
North Dome and Illilouette Fall, Yosemite
More Yosemitescapes
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Mount Conness, Yosemite. Named after a politician who was instramental in developing Yosemite National Park. North Peak, Yosemite   North Peak, Yosemite |
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