Dan's Outside

Meeting the Ranger at Calero

Yesterday I completed a short “photography walk” at Calero, mainly photographing some oak trees in the dry and brown early winter conditions. (We need rain!) At the end of my hike I arrived back at the parking lot and was taking off my pack in preparation for loading the car and heading home when the ranger truck drove up to me and stopped. It seemed like the range was intent on talking to me, so I wondered what I might have done.

The ranger, Fernando, got out of the truck and asked about my hike, and then noticed my photographic equipment. It is hard to miss it. I often travel “heavy” when I day hike there. The load I carry weighs about as much as the packs some of my ultralight backpacking friends carry on a weekend trip.

It turns out that he is also a photographer, so we spent some time talking cameras (he uses Minolta, now bought out by Sony) and good places to shoot at the park. He shared some interesting advice about photographing coyotes that I’ll try out the next time I encounter one. (I’ll keep it a secret for now…) He also confirmed my assumption that there are indeed mountain lions in the park. Given the terrain, I was already pretty certain this is the case – and the fact that I’ve never seen one despite logging many miles on park trails probably testifies to their natural inclination to avoid contact.

November 24, 2007 - Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary