At just around noon the phone rang and it was Hilary’s clear-as-a-bell voice on the other end. “Where are you,” I asked. “On top of Turret Peak” she answered. If you’re not familiar with where that is, it’s way off in the middle of the John Muir Wilderness of the Sierra National Forest. If she were flying an unpressurized airplane, she could only stay at that elevation/altitude for a half hour before needing supplemental oxygen. The only time I was on Turret Peak, there was no such thing as a cell phone, so this was an odd experience for me.
She listed the points of interest she could see from there which included the entire Muir Trail Ranch of course, the stone hut on Muir Pass, Paiute Pass (where our horses will be in just a few days), and myriad other things that I’m sure existed when I was at that same spot decades ago, but were unknown to me. The air was clear so the view was incredible.
I asked if she had taken her “real” camera. No, this was a pleasure trip, not a photographic assignment. She and two of the other women had decided to take a day off and do some horseback riding. Just one of the perks you get when you work at the ranch, like having your own goose down pillow and all the cool spring water you can drink and hot spring baths you can soak in.
3 comments:
We have missed you, Tom. Thought maybe you'd gone to Tahiti or some such. How high is Turret Peak? I can't read the print on your picture, even with my Sherlock Holmes hand lens.
Speaking of lenses, we are still holding one for you down here. Also a lathe if you want it.
Makes you wonder what the cell phone connected to. I once made a phone call from Italy Pass. There were only jagged mountains stretching to the horizons. Where was the cell phone tower?
Turret Peak is just a shade over 12,000 feet. The cell tower is probably the one at Mount Givens, which Hilary said she could see. It serves the Edison Lake and Mono Hot Springs areas (but not Florence Lake unless you use an expensive Yagi antenna).
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