Shift Report for Ron Ross

On Friday, April 8, we set up a communications trailer near the lookout to help support radio communications to this weekend’s Sea Otter Classic bicycle event. Every year, under a permit from the US Forest Service, our amateur radio club sets up a repeater and coordinates the 96 mile bike ride that starts at Laguna Seca and travels down River Road and then loops back via Arroyo Seco Road and Camel Valley Road. We camped the night and worked the event all day Saturday from the trailer.

On Saturday, Jess Mason came up and I was able to break away to help with some maintenance at the lookout. I donated a new deep-cycle battery to replace the current smaller battery and Jess donated a new solar controller. We now have a much more robust electrical system for charging the radios and to provide power for lights for overnight stays. Jess also constructed a new bed for overnight stays that is longer, wider and does not sway every time you turn in your sleep. I’ll let Jess discuss his fine work in the next Chews News.

The lookout looked fine and the road was fairly good. Despite the lack of rain since December, I was surprised that things looked fairly green, but fire season is just behind the corner.