After a three day weekend, I was ready to get back out in the field. Ranger Artiga was my ride today and he took me to Franklin Canyon for the first time. It was so beautiful. It’s a bit tucked away, so not many people driving down the road will see it as they go about their day. I feel as though its seclusion adds to the serenity of the park. The trees are tall so it’s a shady area, and there’s a lake with several picnic tables around it so visitors can have a scenic lunch. Turtles and fish inhabit the lake and ducks float along the surface. Ranger Artiga and I did a foot patrol around the lake and so many ducks and turtles approached us, unfortunately, that meant that visitors were feeding them. Visitors feeding the wildlife inhibits animals from learning how to find their own food sources. When you’re on the trails there is always something to look at, Ranger Artiga said it’s a great place for a jog.
After the foot patrol Ranger Artiga and I decided to do some traffic stops at a three-way intersection with stop signs. He said that people would run the signs or do rolling stops all the time, so we parked the car along the road and waited. I wasn’t expecting much to come of this since we were in plain sight and could be seen from all directions. Lo and behold, we had to pull two people over in a very short span of time. The first person was a teenaged boy who claimed he didn’t notice the stop sign. Ranger Artiga was skeptical of his claim because he slowed down for a few seconds and then sped back up, but he gave the driver a warning and told him to enjoy his day. The second person we pulled over was a woman who also ran the stop sign. She pulled off into this dirt lot when she saw us behind her. Then she did something completely unexpected…she got out of her car! She thought we stopped her because she couldn’t park in the dirt lot. Ranger Artiga gave her commands to stay in her car and she complied by getting back in her vehicle. While he was running her license and registration, another visitor who was driving down the road stopped behind the patrol vehicle and watched for a few seconds. Ranger Artiga told the driver to move along, she asked him if she could park in the lot. Ranger Artiga replied that she can but told her to park in the main visitor lot to get her away from the scene. In the end, Ranger Artiga gave the driver a warning.
Instead of patrolling I went to a CPR and first aid class. Ranger Cooper asked me if she should sign me up for a certification class and I was grateful for the opportunity. I know I’ll receive more advanced training when I become a Ranger but it’s always nice to have a foundation. Aside from standard CPR, I learned how to respond to other injuries like snake bites, stroke, frostbite, spinal injuries, broken limbs, etc. I also learned how to use a CPR mask, an AED and administer an EPIpen. At the end of the course I was allowed to keep my CPR mask so I could use it in a real situation. Now, I’m CPR certified!
I was patrolling with Ranger Braten, and I got to see more areas of Circle X Ranch because that’s where Ranger Braten focuses his patrols.
At around noon, we got a call over the radio about a woman missing in Cheeseboro, reported by her husband. Ranger Braten and I responded and met with Ranger Johnson on scene. We questioned the husband to get some more information about what happened. He told us that he and his wife went for a walk around 8 AM and she wanted to break off for a jog. She's an avid runner and has a route through Cheeseboro that she uses almost everyday. They set up a meeting spot and time, she never showed. Worried, the husband called her and got her on the phone long enough for her to tell him that she deviated from her normal running route, can’t find the trail, and doesn’t know where she is. The line then went dead, Cheeseboro has poor reception in some areas. His wife had been missing for three hours before he reported her, so when we got on scene it was a little after noon and at the hottest point of the day. We also found out the wife had no water, so she had been out there for three hours, with no water, during a heatwave. Thankfully, there was a cyclist waiting with the husband, who had found the wife and given her water. The cyclist reported that she was conscious and coherent but was too exhausted to move. He said she was about two-and-a-half miles down the trail near Sulfur Springs. He then took some water back out to her to buy us some time while we figured out how to get to her. Because of the heavy rains earlier this year, there were washouts in the fire road so the vehicles couldn’t get down to her. Ranger Braten and Ranger Johnson decide to take the E-bikes out to her and go from there, while I stayed at Morrison Ranch with the vehicles. The cyclist was able to motivate the wife to walk back, and she walked past the washouts so Ranger Braten came back to drive one of the patrol cars to her. We brought her back to the trailhead where LA County EMS was waiting for her, they cleared her and let her go home with her husband. Ranger Braten warned me that this would be the first of many search & rescues and they don’t always end as quickly as this one.
I had never been to a gun range before so this was a brand new experience for me. I was unable to shoot anything but I still turned the day into an unforgettable learning experience. The Rangers had to take their qualifications so everyone was there. Qualifications are an examination that Rangers take twice per year to renew their qualifications to carry their firearms. On top of that, I observed how each Ranger shoots. They have different postures, stances, and forms when they shoot. For example, one Ranger leans as far forward as they can and fully extends their arms and shoulders when shooting their pistol. Another Ranger leans back and keeps their arms tucked while firing their rifle. I got to learn how to sight a rifle too. One Ranger was having problems with their sights so I observed while they and Ranger Kuja worked to readjust it. Ranger Kuja tacked a grid paper to the target and had the Ranger fire three shots. After each set of three they would examine where the bullet holes were located on the grid and adjust the sights accordingly. Sometimes it can be a lengthy process, but they got it adjusted and the Ranger passed their rifle qualifications.
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