Look Out Dixie!!

Sometime last week, while I was vicariously flying in the Google Earth plane, I spotted a strange white splotch on a mountain north and slightly west of Frenchman’s Lake. Upon closer inspection I discovered a road traveled all the way to the top of this mountain. On the topographical map the mountain was identified as Dixie Mountain and there was a fire lookout on top of the 8300 foot mountain. That explains the road and the white splotch was probably the roof of the building. What a cool place for another mountain top cache!

Sunday we packed a lunch and the ammo can cache into the Jeep and took off for Frenchman’s Lake and Dixie Mountain. The plan was to pick up the four caches around the lake and then go up to Dixie Mountain, find a good spot for the cache and see if the lookout was operational. If there was a ranger/rangerette at the lookout we would explain about geocaching and get permission to hide the ammo can somewhere near the top. After that we would then cache our way over to the Gold, Silver, Salmon and Sardine Lakes area.

It was a good plan…if we had had more time. All four caches at the lake required a short walk or hike and the gorgeous scenery demanded our time and the usual photos were taken. Once we were done at the Lake we drove north for a short distance and turned west onto the road to Dixie Mountain. The sign told us it was 8 miles to the lookout and our GPSr’s said 4 miles. We knew then it was going to be a very curvy ride.

Actually, we were surprised at how good the road really was. There were a few rough spots and the usual rock or two that needed to be avoided, but any SUV could make the trip easily. The last hairpin turn led to a small parking area and, from there, a narrow trail took us to the lookout. There were no vehicles but we were pretty sure the lookout was still in use because there was a propane tank near the parking area. Once the lookout came into view from the trail it was obvious it had seen better days. The black lab on the catwalk answered the question about anybody being home. I took the lead and handed the ammo can to Cynthia. I wasn’t sure how black labs react to scary old men carrying ammo cans. Come to think of it, what would the ranger think? Oh well, too late now, we’re either about to be a Scooby Snack or not.

Simultaneously, as the dog charged down the stairs barking, a little old lady about our age appeared above us on the catwalk. She didn’t have a weapon in her hands and the dog was just happy to see us so I knew we would survive. She invited us up and once there I asked if it was OK for us to visit and she said, “Yes”. I asked if she gets many visitors and she answered, “No”. Something in the tone of her voice prompted me to ask, “Do you like to have visitors?” Without hesitation she replied, “Not really”. Apparently the dog was the only one happy to see us.

She did warm up to us a bit after we explained we were geocachers (was that an eye roll?) and that we wanted to hide a cache on the mountain for other geocachers to find. She blurted, “You mean more people will be coming!” The dog got excited but I could tell she wasn’t. So GeoJeepette quickly stepped in and reassured her that only…maybe 6 or 8 people a year would visit. That seemed to settle the rangerette down a bit but she did make it clear that she only entertains guests (not her words) between 9:30 AM and 6 PM, otherwise, she’s in her jammys. I quickly changed the subject to the Antelope Fire that could be easily seen to the north.

The rangerette told us that the Antelope fire was started by lightning and that prompted me to ask what she does on top of a mountain when there’s lightning striking all around her. She told us that the structure is grounded but, for good measure, she stands on her stool. Yes, her stool, but it’s no ordinary stool. Her stool has old antique glass insulators on the feet, effectively protecting the stander from any stray electricity. Hopefully, electrical storms don’t last too long. After taking some pictures of the magnificent view, we quickly said our goodbyes and left. For a moment I sensed the dog wanted to come with us. You couldn’t really blame her; she didn’t have a special stool.

Anyway, we found a great place to hide the cache (we named it “Look Out Dixie"), ate lunch and then headed down the mountain. We picked up a cache in Portola before deciding that time was running out and the precious metal and fish lakes would have to wait for another day.