Berkendara Bersama Ranger Tomas

Polly terbangun di pagar shuttle saat matahari terbit. Seorang pria berseragam coklat sedang membuka kunci kantor kecil di seberang lapangan. Nama di seragamnya tertulis T. RODRIGUEZ. Dia melihat Polly dan tersenyum. "Kamu bisa ikut denganku," katanya.

Polly woke up on the shuttle railing as the sun came up. A man in a brown uniform was unlocking a small office across the lot. His name patch said T. RODRIGUEZ. He looked at her and smiled. "You can ride with me," he said.

Begitulah cara Polly menghabiskan pagi di truk ranger.

That was how Polly spent the morning in a ranger's truck.

Tomas sudah menjadi ranger di Yosemite selama empat belas tahun. Dia membawa kopi dalam termos, papan klip, dan radio yang berderak. Dia mengemudi perlahan. Dia sering berhenti.

Tomas had been a Yosemite ranger for fourteen years. He had coffee in a Thermos, a clipboard, and a radio that crackled. He drove slowly. He stopped often.

Pemberhentian pertama adalah padang rumput basah. Tomas berjalan ke rumput dan mencari tanda-tanda bahwa beruang pernah ada di sana. "Di bulan Juni, bunga lili jagung tumbuh di sini," katanya. "Beruang menyukainya. Kami menandai padang rumput tempat mereka makan."

The first stop was a wet meadow. Tomas walked into the grass and looked for signs that bears had been there. "In June, corn lilies grow here," he said. "Bears love them. We mark the meadows where they feed."

Polly melompat ke jendela truk yang terbuka. Bunga lili jagung belum muncul. Mereka baru berupa tunas hijau kecil.

Polly hopped to the open truck window. The corn lilies were not up yet. They were just small green spears.

Jalan menanjak. Udara menjadi lebih dingin. Di tikungan tajam, Tomas berhenti dan menunjuk. Seekor elang peregrine sedang duduk di atas batu. Kepala merah Polly miring. Elang itu melihat mereka, lalu meluncur dari batu dan menghilang dalam sekejap.

The road climbed. The air cooled. At a switchback, Tomas stopped and pointed. A peregrine falcon was sitting on a rock. Polly's red head tilted. The falcon looked at them, then dropped off the rock and was gone in less than a second.

"Mereka bersarang di tebing," kata Tomas. "Kami punya enam pasang di lembah tahun ini."

"They nest on the cliffs," Tomas said. "We have six pairs in the valley this year."

Polly memperhatikan bagaimana elang itu melipat sayapnya. Dia ingin mencoba terjun seperti itu. Mungkin besok.

Polly watched how the falcon had folded its wings. She wanted to try that drop herself. Maybe tomorrow.

Di pemberhentian berikutnya, Tomas berjalan sendirian ke hutan. Dia kembali dengan sebuah silinder logam. "Lemari makanan tahan beruang yang seseorang coba kubur," katanya. Dia meletakkannya di bak truk.

At the next stop, Tomas walked into the woods alone. He came back with a metal cylinder. "Bear-proof food locker someone tried to bury," he said. He put it in the truck bed.

Saat tengah hari, mereka sampai di Olmsted Point. Daerah pegunungan tinggi terbentang di depan mereka. Danau Tenaya jauh di bawah. Half Dome dari belakang. Puncak abu-abu memudar ke dalam kabut.

At noon they came to Olmsted Point. The high country opened in front of them. Tenaya Lake far below. Half Dome from behind. Grey peaks fading into haze.

"Ini," kata Tomas, "adalah bagian yang kebanyakan orang lewati begitu saja." Dia menuangkan kopi ke tutup termosnya dan meletakkannya di dasbor di sebelah Polly. "Tinggallah sebentar."

"This," Tomas said, "is the part most people drive past." He poured coffee into the lid of his Thermos and set it on the dashboard next to Polly. "Stay a while."