Memorial Day

We have been without our computer for over a week so I got a bit behind on our Blog. I wanted to share our pictures from our backpacking trip over Memorial Day weekend. It was so nice to get away from the chaos of the park and town on the busy Holiday weekend.

Molly and I made the long, curvy drive up the Mineral King Road (a drive I will make countless times this summer) and started our hike at Atwell Mill on Saturday morning. The hike is 11 miles one way, but only about 1000 feet elevation gain. It was a fairly warm day, especially considering we were hiking at over 7000 feet in elevation. We took lots of breaks, though, and weren't in any rush to get to the Ranger Station. We even had some leftover homemade pizza from the night before that made for a great trail lunch.

One of the perks of being a backcountry ranger is having access to all the cabins before the season starts. Because of a very light snow year it was easy to get out to the Hockett Ranger Station, also known as the 'Hockett Hilton' because of all its perks. The station has 2 bedrooms, a large kitchen and dining area, a woodstove, and a oven/stove and fridge powered by propane. We didn't fire up the fridge, but the 2 stoves came in handy.


Sunday I had some work to do around the station to get it ready for the ranger who is stationed there for the summer. Since we didn't have any hiking to do we had a relaxing day around the station. There is a large, beautiful meadow in front that is great for wildlife watching. We watched a coyote enjoy a snack of a fawn and later on a bear came by and carried off the carcass. It may sound gross, but it was fascinating to watch.

That night we had a good dinner, played cards, and warmed up with cocoa and a fire in the woodstove. We both slept well knowing we had to hike out the next morning.

The walk out was fairly uneventful although we did see a rattle snake near the trail. I think we both walked a little faster knowing a shower and a good meal was ahead of us. It took us almost 2 hours less to hike out than it had to hike in.

We both had a quiet week of work. Molly has been such a trooper. She hasn't missed any work and has powered through the bouts of nausea she has had. Its getting really hot around here which doesn't make anyone feel good. Even the dogs didn't mind their baths today because the water was cold.

Mol and I went to Fresno yesterday to check out baby and maternity stores. We saw a lot of things we liked, but we were a bit overwhelmed by Babies "R" Us. It was a fun day though.

I'll try to keep everyone updated, busy week ahead, I have BC ranger training.