My Brains would be blown out across a Yosemite Sky: Yosemite You Copy Me?

Yosemite National Park, 2015 -14

22 Months living in the Woods

Radio Chatter

Do You copy me Yosemite ( For our men and Women in the Field) NPS,USFS The Work In the Parks Comes with Many Memories and Hardships. That is the life we live.

It is not all bad on the radio at times, I remember in July calls coming in!

“Yosemite we have a Mountain Lion asleep next to the ice machine.”

“Yosemite we have a bear jumping up and down on a car.”

“Yosemite we have a Marmot stuck in a Tent.”

Earlier in the Season, I think July. It was so hot, I was just sweating in the shade. I was not moving. I heard the radio going with basic calls. Then Boom! “Yosemite, this “Ranger..… on Huffman, He just fell past me!””

“Yosemite who, fell past who?!”

“Yosemite he, fell past me, just fell, we are at Mathews Crest!”

“Yosemite, caller, How far did he fall?”

“Yosemite, he fell over 200 feet! Jesus he fell right past me!”

I thought about that. You fall 200 feet in to granite and you explode. Shit!

Then on a night, so cold it hurt to have your hands outside your pockets. I think it was September. There was hale and snow coming in. The winds were blowing. People in my camp, were freezing in their Walmart Gear. I spent the day trying to get people ready for the night. I taught them how to use duff to insulate under their tents. I taught them how build fires, and if they had two tents to put one inside the other. I had a group of South East Asians in from LA. They brought no, ground matts. They had 4 children. I was lucky I had gathered discarded gear, so I was able to get them some old car thermarests. I was by my fire warming my ass. I heard a call from Yosemite, report of woman running naked through the woods. Then boom! “This is ranger L, on Huffman, do you copy Yosemite?”

“This is Yosemite I read you!”

“Yosemite, we see her, she running across the snow, we are in pursuit.”

I could hear hard breathing at the point they stopped to talk.

Yosemite, Ranger L on Huffman, “We got her! But we cannot get a hold of her!”

I could hear the woman screaming, moaning, yelling!

“Yosemite this is Ranger L, on Huffman, she is covered in her own excrement, and wet we, we!”

I heard more screaming. Yosemite called over the line. Ranger L, “What is the situation?”

“We have here, Jesus!”

The rest of the call was about America — for no one wanted the woman, not one hospital from Mammoth or Mariposa, no one. The woman had to be taken all the way down to Sacramento with two park rangers in tow.

Ranger L, I thought about her. It is funny how the first image of person sticks in your head of person, when all you hear is the voice on the radio. I could see her, on her horse at White Wolf. She was a strong looking 25 year-old woman with long brown hair that was put up in a pony tail. She had a nice face, long jaw line, good cheeks. Her eyes were brown and fierce. I saw the strength in them and the wounds of life. I remember looking a bit too, close at her, and she snapped her head round and said,

“Is there something you want to say!”

I looked up at her into her eyes and said, “Well I got to be honest with you! I am late for meeting — got to go!” Then I walked very calmly away, sweating a bit from my temples. You need rangers, and on your side! All of them!

I watched her ride away, that brown hair bouncing upward, her strong legs, flank holding that horse. It hit every nerve in me, but I looked away before she threw her head around and made my way fast into the white wolf employee housing. Sometimes you got to think of Road Runner: MEEP, MEEP!

My Calls I entered into the Story, to apart of, the narrative of Yosemite that goes untold.

Yosemite, This is Yosemite campground, Camp Host Blash… On Huffman do you copy?

“Yosemite Greek we copy you!?”

“Yosemite I have a problem woman screaming, Send Rangers!”

“Yosemite Creek, what is the problem?””

“Yosemite — I have a domestic issue, bad!”

“Yosemite Creek, where is the female? “”

“Yosemite she is running through woods East of camp screaming, I am in pursuit!”

“Yosemite Creek where is the male?!”

“Yosemite, Yosemite, I do not know what ïs happening he is screaming like an animal — I am trying to get to the woman Yosemite Do You copy me!?

“Yosemite Creek, is he armed? “

“Yosemite, I am losing contact, I am operating in the blind, I think he is armed!”

“Yosemite this Tamarack Camp, Camp Host Blash, on Huffman, do you copy me?”

“We copy you Tamarack , what is the situation?”

Yosemite, I have 8 men in a fight, it is all gone sideways, cannot contain it. I am heading South West into the woods.

“We copy you Tamarack get clear of the event!”

“Yosemite Host Blash Do you copy me?”

“I copy you, You Yosemite!”

“Evacuate Camp Yosemite Creek now, get out, fire coming in!”

Yosemite, this J on Huffman, I got crowning every 10 seconds! The String is going out!”

Yosemite this is Tamarack Camp, Blash on Huffman, do you copy.

We copy you Blash, what is the situation?

“Yosemite I have fire on the West Side of Camp, it is underground, cannot contain it!””

One morning I was in dream I could hear the radio calling in. In the dream I was at Tamarack, this guy hit me in the stomach, he was an American Separatist. I remember him saying, “You want another 6 inches of that?” I had said, “Why kinky motherfucker,” but his friend I saw put his in the car on gun. It was all one decision away. So yelled out, “Brother if you gun me down, you will never get out of here alive.”

When I awoke, I could hear the man they called Joe Bear squeaking the radio.

I thought of Ranger G, for she asked, me why did you not call that in?”

I said, there too, many men like that; and I am alone in the woods. I would just take a bullet and no one would could do shit!”

My Brains would be blown out across a Yosemite Sky

I listened to Joe Bear, he trying to give out his location, then there was nothing, just me and the trees, sun, animals and feelings of time.

I sat there, too much had happened to call it all in. It would take two hours for a response. I remember the two Austrian men who were so drunk so hateful of women. I tried to talk to them. I tried to get them see how lost they were. They blew me off as an old man. But I knew they were more animal then human. At 0200 I was in the woods above two American Girls camp, they were the only single women in camp. I knew they would try to get to them. Then they came. I saw them, move like Hyena’s. The wind was blowing hard, dirt flew in the air. They started yelling at the girls from the boundary of their camp. They screamed like animals at them and then cunt and bitch came out. I waited. I was thinking, I can’t lose this fight. There young, but not trained, but there is two of them. I had the jump on them though and the experience. I heard the girls crying in the tent. Then they entered their camp. I came out of the darkness at them screaming a war scream. I was moving so fast, one jumped in the air, fell backwards, the other tried to run, but feel on his face. They tried to get up, it was too late for them. I did what was necessary. They begged at my feet. I recall screaming at them, “You think can assault girls in my camp?” You want rape them motherfuckers?” “”DO you?!” I could not call it in, did it matter? What was the point? No one would come for hours and was I wrong? I overstepped my role.

Yet, it is the voice on the radio, that connected me to world and to others.

The season passed this way and the voice of Yosemite dispatch was all I had, alone in the woods. It was everything to me. To hear what was happening, to have one chance to call out for help. There was a point where I just wanted to call in: “Yosemite, I am so exhausted, I am so cold, I have not seen anyone for days, I am feeling a bitterness inside. The radio voices is what kept in tied in to world outside and then the seasons was over, but I never forget it:

Yosemite? Do you copy me?