July 25 - North Fork Rescue and Mary Beth's Week

 Mary Beth held her week at the cabin.  Her friends from school and past that came up for Swimming, Kayaking, Tubing, Mountain Biking, Hiking and other fun.  She had two groups visit during the week and had more than enough food to feed an army (or a reunion).  On the final weekend, Katie brought up her godson, Oliver for kayaking and hiking.  I am sure Mary Beth took lots of photos that may, or may not be added to this site later.

There was some smoke on the final days of her week from the fire up near Quincy. We arrived at lunchtime on the 25th and all of her friends had left for home.  The smoke was very high and smelly - creating a thermal layer and making the midday very muggy and hot.  Katie decided to take Oliver down to the falls at the North Fork of the North Fork prior to heading home.  About 2 1/2 hours into her trip i got concerned because she was just doing a short hike and had wanted Jim to take Oliver on a Polaris ride before they left for home.  There was a good reason for the concern.  See the story below (which I also posted on Facebook).  

We have 4 new heroes here at Emigrant Gap. Yesterday, Katie and her godson Oliver went down to the NFNFAR falls to hike down to the pool. They met up with our "schoolhouse" neighbor, Adrian there. He scuba dives the pool below the falls and returns people their lost cell phones, go pros, etc. (truly a good guy).

There were a lot of people jumping off the boulders into the falls gorge and into the pool below. We have had many accidents at the falls and a few fatalities over the years. Anyway, while Katie and Oliver were there, this guy climbed up the face of the pool boulder (which has a nice flat ridge to climb along and handhelds to climb higher) and jumped off. Unfortunately, he did not clear the rock and hit his leg on the way down. He came up (luckily) but was swimming with only one leg. Adrian knew right away that he was in trouble. Adrian swam across the pool, rescuing the guy off a rock he had swum too on the far side of the pool. Then he pulled the guy to shore. He and another hero assessed the damage, there was a lot of blood and the knee looked to be broken. They got the blood to stop gushing by tying a towel around the guy's knee, which also kept his leg stabilized.

B y the way - there is no cell service back at the pool, Luckily for this guy, Adrian had his satellite phone and texted Jim (up at our cabin) to call 911. The response time for emergency services up here can be 40 minutes to 1 hour. Since Adrian could not tell if we got his text and we could not text him back, Adrian and the other hero carried the injured guy about 1/2 mile to the road. Oliver and Katie walked ahead of the rescue crew and removed debris and rocks from the path. Then they put him in the back of our truck, readying to drive him slowly out.

That is when the Cal Fire rescue guys arrived (4 rescue trucks). We are not sure the injured guy took the rescue truck to the hospital ($$$) - we think he must have since his leg looked pretty badly broken.

With all that, Jim and I are here for a few days working on the siding.  We hope to be ready to prime and paint during the month of August. Then, of course, September is the beginning of football season and also it is time to get ready for tree cutting and firewood for the winter.  Ah, the idle life of cabin owners. 

July 4th - Visitors as the Pandemic Softens

 For the 4th of July (and prior) we had a few guests visit us in Emigrant Gap.  And now that we all have our COVID shots, we are feeling a bit safer venturing out.  First, my mom (who is almost 92) came up for a week.  She has now decided that she will most likely not visit the cabin in winter - but likes it in spring, summer and fall (as long as there is not any snow on the ground).  Luckily for her, and unluckily for us, California is back in an epic drought, so I think it will be easy to accommodate her wishes.  

Jim's sister, Carol was driving back from a visit to Utah and stopped off for several days.  She and Jim took a drive over to visit Jim and Laura at their Lakeside cabin at Lake Tahoe. I stayed home with Taylor the terrible dog and my mom.  They spent the afternoon at one of the beaches on the east shore.

Carol left the day before the 4th of July and Katie, Mary Beth, my sister Mary and her husband Lynn came in for the holiday.  On July 3rd, Mary, Katie and I drove down to Colfax and went to one of my favorite small thrift stores.  I found some items we needed for the camper and the cabin - but Mary found a wonderful sewing machine that works perfectly!!!!! Later that evening, Katie, Mary and I went to Colfax for their fireworks.  We watched from the upper hill (where we always watch) and then headed back to the cabin.    Lynn, Mary, Katie and Jim went to the 4th of July parade in Dutch Flat (always a soaking experience) while I stayed home with mom, Mary Beth, Clinton and Taylor.  Then the night of the 4th, Lynn, Katie, Jim and I drove up to the summit to watch the fireworks over Donner Lake.  It was a beautiful evening and the sunset was lovely - but little known to us, the fireworks over Donner were canceled  due to COVID and fire danger.  So we drove back down the summit and called it a night.  Luckily no one started any fires in our area over the 4th and most of the campers where pretty respectful with their driving speed and no littering. 

A couple of things that did happen prior to the holiday.  On the 28th of June, a car was driving back to North Fork Campground and said they saw a deer, went off the the side of the road, and hit a tree (and a bit down the cliff).  Sheriff Taylor was out walking with Jim and found it necessary to investigate the scene (see photo). On the 29th  just after Mom and I returned from a quick trip up to Truckee,  and Carol arrived from Utah, a semi truck slammed into a pickup that was parked on the side of freeway by Laing Road (changing a tire).  The chain reaction resulted in another semi crashing and spilling 300 gallons of diesel fuel which caught on fire and started a small grass fire on the side of the freeway.  They had to close down I 80 westbound for a few hours as they cleaned up the mess. Since things usually happen in 3s we are counting the freeway mess as two incidences.  Luckily no one was injured in these accidents. 

And on another note, one of the Fulda Creek homes went up for sale recently and it is currently in escrow.  We are hoping the new neighbors (Mark and Amy) love Emigrant Gap as much as we do. 

Finally, we had a brief visit with Jim White, the current sierra photographer and former game warden near Emigrant Gap. Jim and his wife were dating in 1943.  Jim's wife is a young 96 while he is a bit older (we are guessing 98). He is still driving up to Emigrant Gap to photograph the wild flowers. He shared some of his memories about the Monumental Lumber Mill Railroad on Texas Hill Road and how people used to take the train up from Auburn to ride the railroad to a tram that took them up to Big Valley Bluff to view the Royal Gorge.  He and his wife have also hiked down into the gorge (from Big Vally Bluff) and back in one day.  He talked a bit about the train that derailed at the MLMR (which is supposed to still be back there) and how he removed some of the steel rails from the old railroad later for the war effort in WW2.  We hope his next visit will be longer so that we can capture more of his history on the upslope. 

Mary Beth is using the cabin with her friends the week of her birthday.  Jim and I will return to the cabin after her departure.  We are still working on sealing the siding (prior to priming and painting) and getting the window trim ready for installation.  August is a busy month, but we are hoping to get this project (residing the east side of the cabin) done soon.