2 Rangers Are Riding High in Their Careers : Palm Springs: To get to work atop Mt. San Jacinto, they take the aerial tramway to an elevation of 8,400 feet.

They’re the only park rangers who ride a tram to work.

It’s either take the Palms Springs Aerial Tramway or hike eight miles to their ranger station.

There are no roads and no vehicles are allowed in the wilderness.

Jerry Frates and Eric Hanson are stationed at Long Valley Ranger Station, elevation 8,400 feet, on the eastern slopes of Mt. San Jacinto above Palm Springs.

It’s the highest ranger station in the state.

“I have been a ranger 12 years in several different state parks. This is the kind of assignment rangers dream about,” said Frates, 41, chief ranger in the 10,000-acre Mt. San Jacinto State Wilderness since last December.

“We’re out of doors in the pristine mountainous backcountry every day. It’s the remoteness, the fact that only hikers, backpackers and cross-country skiers come here. The wilderness is alive with wildlife, deer, coyote, cougars, raccoons, ring-tail cats, a lot of birds. . . .”

Frates and Hanson are the only rangers permanently assigned to Mt. San Jacinto State Wilderness, one of seven state wilderness areas.

They patrol 29 miles of trails here, each hiking 5 1/2 to 20 miles a day. They maintain the four wilderness campgrounds, Round the Valley, 2 1/2 miles from the ranger station; Tamarack Valley, 3 miles; Little Round Valley, 7 1/2 miles, and Strawberry Junction, 6 miles.

Round Valley at 9,100 feet and Little Round Valley at 9,700 feet are the two highest overnight camping areas in the wilderness.

Hanson and Frates regularly hike the trail to the top of the 10,804-foot San Jacinto Peak, the second-highest mountain in Southern California.

“People get lost, some suffer heart attacks, some slip and fall on the ice, rocks and cliffs,” said Hanson, 32, stationed in the wilderness off and on for the last 12 years.

On their patrols, the two rangers maintain the backcountry camps. They answer visitors’ questions and give directions. They give medical aid to injured hikers and carry them out on litters if necessary. They also lead searches for overdue hikers.

“Every year there are a few fatalities up here, from falls or heart attacks,” Hanson said.

There is generally year-round snow in the high country, sometimes six to eight feet deep.

It may be hot at the bottom of the mountain when Frates and Hanson arrive at the tram for the 2 1/2-mile, 14-minute ride to the top, but they always wear warm clothing.

“The temperature is often 40 degrees colder on the mountain. Below-zero temperatures are common in winter. I’ve seen it -63 degrees with the wind-chill factor,” Hanson said.

Long Valley Ranger Station is only a quarter of a mile from the Mountaintop Tram Station. Anyone going beyond the ranger station is required to obtain a wilderness permit.

Park aides and volunteers are on duty at the ranger station when Frates and Hanson are out on patrol.

The two men frequently stay overnight at the ranger station when storms and high winds shut down the tram or they are involved in search-and-rescue operations.

Tram passengers frequently ask the two men in ranger outfits what they’re doing in the cable car heading up or down the mountain.

“Heading for (or from) our heavenly roost,” Frates or Hanson replies.