Lakeview Paragliding Nationals June 24-30, 2007

June 24 – We got up early enough to drive Irina to Cantrall-Buckley campground to meet Arun who is going to give her a ride back to Issaquah. Andrei and Chris had already left for Lakeview right after the awards ceremony yesterday. After dropping Irina off, we returned to the yurt, packed up, cleaned up and stopped to thank Terri and Geoff. We gave them two gift cards for the three-diamond Porters restaurant. C.J. is going to make a t-shirt lap quilt for Barbara Summerhawk, owner of the yurt. Instead of taking the more direct SR 140, we took SR 66 from Ashland and wound slowly through the Siskiyous to Klamath and then on to Lakeview. It took at least four hours but was nicely scenic. The wind was strong all the way to Lakeview and we arrived just as the task was being canceled with only a very few people flying. We set up the tent at the fairgrounds and went into town to see Caro at the Chamber of Commerce who gave us a tour of the new bank in the old saloon/bordello across the street, and her latest project, a mural of hang gliders and paragliders on another bank building right on the main street. After a strawberry shake at Jerry’s we went back to HQ at the fairgrounds and scrounged some additional sleeping bags/blankets in anticipation of the frost warning that has been issued for tonight. Later we went to El Aguila Real for dinner with Chris, Andrei, Sam Crocker and Dave Wheeler. It seemed like it was the place to be for pilots and locals as well.

June 25 – There was frost on our chairs when I got up this morning but we were comfortable in the tent with our down comforter, blanket and fleece over flannel sheets. The first task of the Nats is to fly from Blackcap north along the ridge west of the Warner Range to Ennis Butte just short of Paisley, then to Sims Ranch and back to goal at Valley Falls. We drove up to launch with Alicia and somehow C.J. inspired me to fly even though I had not really been considering it. Conditions were light but I got a “wind tech” wristband from Karl Decker (predatorwings.com) and got as ready as I could without any fleece, camelback or warm gloves. After a few other wind techs had launched (including Alicia, Lori, and a guy flying a Gradient Bolid) I took off at 1227 and sank right down the face towards the LZ finally catching a thermal when it seemed too late. C.J., who had launched shortly after me, was below and did not get the lift I was in. I spiraled up over launch and to 7000 ft, moved north, sunk and climbed again to 8000. My plan was to fly to goal at Valley Falls without going to Ennis first. That was a pretty ambitious goal since my longest XC flight at Lakeview was only 3-4 miles. Still, I was moving north at around 28 kph and had reached 9000 ft at least once and the turbulence was pretty endurable. I crossed Hwy 140 and was now over lower relief topography. By the time I reached 13 km from BLA146 I was low and I decided to cross Hwy 395 where it turns east and goes down a canyon to the big valley below Palisades launch. Hitting no lift, I flew down the slope into the valley, crossed 395 again and landed into the wind to the north. (Lori landed a short distance north but I did not spot her). After packing up (outside of the fence of the field in the shade of the only tree around) I walked up the dirt road to the highway, refused a ride to goal from a couple of drivers and spent some time talking to a local couple who had come out to watch the gaggles flying north along the ridge leading to Ennis. After I landed I had no more contact with C.J. either on simplex or the 147.00+ repeater on Black Cap so I accepted a ride back to town with the Vietnam vet and his wife.

Some pilots were already back when I got to the fairgrounds and HQ but most would trickle in during the day and into the night and others decided to head home complaining about rough air (Dave Wheeler was already gone). We waited until Chris showed up and went to dinner at Jerry’s with Kyndel who had come closest to making goal; Sam Crocker and another pilot showed up, then Stefan and Meredith so we had a full table plus more pulled together. Meredith (with David Salmon) was among those who had a two hour hike out of wherever she landed. Andrei was even later – not back by the time we went to bed. Later he said it was like hiking through a Discovery Channel show.

June 26 – After cooking another batch of oatmeal in the frying pan we went to the 0830 meeting with Mark Webber to hear what he had to say about using ham radios (and grab a breakfast smoothie). Afterwards I helped a couple of pilots program in the repeater frequencies and tone. After saying goodbye to everyone, and thanking Gail, we broke camp and were out of Lakeview by 1000. The trip to North Bend took almost 12 hours because we stopped to shop at the outlet mall in Bend and bought gas (296.9/gal) in Yakima and had a Costco food court dinner. [We learned later that a task all the way to Frenchglen (145.3 km) had been flown that day.]

The Rat Race Paragliding Comp June 18-23, 2007

June 16 – We got started from the house around 0800 but had to turn back for my computer before we reached I-90. It took just about 8 hrs to get to the HQ where I signed in as a volunteer and attended a meeting and C.J. went to the mandatory pilots’ meeting. We had dinner at HQ then drove out to Humbug Creek with Diana Gerion (from Cali, Colombia) and found the yurt. Irina, Andrei and Chris had already arrived. Later Terri and Geoff stopped by; they had some food for Diana since they thought she had not eaten. Hawaiian "Rat Race" T-shirt -->

June 17 – After the pilots meeting we drove up to launch and I set up seven or eight packing boxes and fitted them with rocks for weight and plastic bags for garbage. Kristine, Arun’s girlfriend helped me. The task (Launch-Rabies-Launch-Burnt-WoodratPk- WoodratLZ-MuleLZ out near Applegate Dam) was relatively short and a large percent of the competitors made it. I collected all the garbage and stupidly put the bags in the back of the car. As a result, I had to wash out the rear area when I got back to HQ. We went out with Beth, Ernie, Irina, Andrei and Chris to Bella Union in Jacksonville for a good dinner. I hope they don’t send us a bill for the detached tabletop… Mike Haley -->

June 18 – The task was almost the same as the day before. Attended Len’s Mentoring session at 1800. Dinner at the Back Porch BBQ in Jacksonville was organized by the comp.

June 19 – Windy so the task was changed to a short downwind to Donatos from Burnt via Cemetery. It was too short – first finisher did it in less than 16 minutes. Since the nominal time was 1.5 hrs, the validity was low – 120 points instead of 1000. Other factors include 70 people in goal and few pilots down along the route. The meet official put on an “impromptu” barbecue at the goal. On the way there I took the wrong turn and ended up driving almost all the way up Andersons Butte so we got to the party late and had to eat hot dogs.

June 20 – Long task day first to the west almost to the yurt in Humbug Cr valley then back to Jacksonville Hill and other turnpoints finally to Donatos. Chris made goal on this day. C.J. went down after the Wellington turnpoint in the Applegate Valley and got a retrieve on the school bus. Dinner party at La Fiesta in Jacksonville was organized by the comp.

June 21 –The task was cancelled after most of the field had launched and some had re-launched. Light conditions at first kept the gaggles low, below and barely above launch. Then the wind speed increased abruptly especially in the valleys. Mike was getting input from pilots in the air, Len Szafaryn, for one and when he heard that the comp pilots could not reach the turnpoint on Rabies Ridge, he stopped the task. C.J. had tried to launch early but stumbled and backed off launch to watch the sometimes entertaining launches. After driving down we hung out at HQ until 6 p.m. when Rob Sporrer did a mentoring session. Then we went in to Jacksonville to gas up the Trooper using a Rat Race voucher. We had dinner back at Ruch at the Magnolia Grill where we ate on the patio and watched PG soaring above mid-launch – turned out to be Irina, Andrei and Chris. C.J. getting launch assist -->

June 22 – A long task to Donatos LZ followed by the Rat Race party. I missed a good bit of the party because I went up to fly from mid-launch with Julie and Gever Tulley at 1800. It was too windy so we and a bunch of others waited until 1930 before we launched into soarable conditions. It was windy from the W and I was making only 5 mph toward the LZ and 29-30 mph back towards the mountain. I got up about to the level of the upper launch and headed out to the LZ where the last 500 ft or so was turbulent with alternating lift and sink. I made a couple of circuits of the LZ gaining some and losing some, and had to core sink at the NE corner to get down. Gever called on the radio to say that the wind had turned catabatic and I set up over the lower LZ and landed toward the mountain. Later I got back to the party in time to see the amazing “Magic Mike” do phenomenal card tricks. C.J. and I gave Gever a ride back up to mid-launch to retrieve his vehicle.

June 23 – Last day of the Rat: A relatively short task to LZ-Jville-Poormans-Cemetery-Donatos. C.J. launched early and flew with the poorly organized gaggle until the wind picked up, then went out and landed in the LZ. I helped out on launch and then collected garbage, disassembled the boxes and drove it all down to HQ picking up David Salmon along Sterling Cr Rd on the way. Leaky garbage bags made the usual mess on the car; I washed it off later at the HQ. We’re off to Lakeview tomorrow where it is supposed to be windy and cold. At the awards ceremony this evening I caught some photos of the awardees then we went out to eat with Irina at the Magnolia (again). People were soaring after 2000 but we decided to go back to the yurt and get cleaned up and rested. First Place in Women's Division Kari Castle -->

Subbing and Groundbreaking for the Gym 4 June 2007

Up at 05:30 for a substitute teaching assignment for Amy in the fourth grade
at St. George, I was out of the house before seven o'clock. Chairs were set up under a sun/rain shelter near the flagpole for the guests who were attending the groundbreaking ceremony for the "miracle gym". Amy was a very big part of the planning and fundraising for the gym so she was going to be busy with the setting up of the ceremony and smoozing with the dignitaries and contributors, so I would be trying to keep her fourth grade students on track with their math and social studies. So we did some math and had recess and did some other stuff and by then it was time for the groundbreaking. Archbishop Brunnett, Bishop Tyson, Fr. Fellino, deacons, Knights of Columbus, and altar servers processed in between lines of older students wearing their sports champions t-shirts. The fourth grade, with help from older choir members had a couple of songs to sing. Mrs. O, the bishops, Amy, and a representative from the Shea family, the major contributor to the gym project, all made short speeches. The Archbishop blessed the grounds and two teams of nine each took ceremonial shovelfuls of dirt. The only downer was the rain which had held off all morning until the ceremony. Most of the guests were under shelter but the students were outside; the bishop finally had them all squeeze under the rain shelters. The groundbreaking was followed by a reception for the guests in the school hall while the students went back to their classrooms for lunch. In the afternoon, the fourth graders worked on their Washington State History "books" for literacy day. At the end of the day there was a ton of food left over from the reception and I took home some chicken satay skewers and some sandwiches.

Paddle to West Point 3 June 2007

Tired of staying home and building the bistro table (which I had just completed the day before) and digging the buttercup weeds out of the "lawn", I suggested that we do a little kayak day trip. Since the weather was supposed to be unstable with the chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon, I picked something relatively close to home - West Point, which extends out from Discovery Park in Seattle. We drove along the waterfront where a cruise ship was loading passengers and across the Magnolia Bridge to Smith Cove Park but found that there was not an easy way to get down to water level (across boulders and then mud flats). We met another kayaker there. he had some other suggestions but I thought we'd try Commodore Park on the west end of the Ballard Locks on the south side of the Ship Canal. That worked well - parking, easy access to the water and no big openwater crossings to our destination. The only drawback was that the water level was way below what we had expected from our last trip on the Ship Canal. I must have read the tide table wrong, mixing up the A.M. and P.M., because I was expecting a high low tide but instead it was a minus tide. That also made the paddle past the mouth of the canal interesting because the sand bar on the south side extended far into bay and the mixed waves and wakes were breaking on the shallows. We gave that area a wide berth and stayed out farther than usual from the shore [Many of the places we have paddled have been along rocky cliffs where the depth drops off very quickly.] although we did paddle between some big boulders (glacial erratics?) in the water. There were lots of people walking on the beach and lots of motorboats, sailboats and some ships and barges out this Sunday. We paddled as far as the cliffs below the old sand dune HG launch at Discovery Park before turning back to have lunch on the north side of the point. By the time we had finished lunch, the tide had come up enough so that we could paddle across what had been sand just a couple of hours before. After getting the kayak out of the water and back up on the Outback, we stopped to tour Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center where we had a view down to part of the route where we had paddled (about 6 miles in total according the the GPS). There was also a nature trail with local plant species labeled with their uses by the native people.

C.J.'s Birthday 31 May 2007

We haven't flown Tiger in AGES - well, not since the road got washed out during the big storm back in November, at least. Because we can't drive to launch until the road is repaired (probably not till September of this year), I purchased a 10-ride punch card for the Tiger Shuttle online for $130. When we arrived for the 12:30 run, Michael Miller was mowing the grass at the LZ but he came right over and got us loaded up and on our way. I was kind of surprised that he would take just the two of us up since the trip involves three separate vehicles to get to launch. We were the only pilots on launch until two more arrived, pilots from Bellingham and Cleveland, OH, who had never flown Tiger before. After a brief introduction to the site for the newbies, C.J. and I launched. The wind was stronger than we had expected and C.J. was concerned about the velocity increasing over time. After flying for a while, she went out into the valley and searched for sink to get down to the switch-y LZ. It took me a while to get comfortable but eventually I was able to get over to the end of the North Ridge and return low to the Dome and Last Chance where I caught a cycle and got back over launch. Once more I made the crossing over the House Thermal to the North Ridge and this time was able to fly up the ridge a ways before bailing over the south side and heading for the LZ.

Okay, so C.J. got a flight on her birthday - that was a traditional part of the celebration. But, wait, there's more! By 1845 we were heading back to Issaquah for dinner at JaK's Grill. We're shooting for 1930 and thought we'd get there and sign in and try to get a table for the 9-10 people we expected. Patti was next to arrive, and then Beth and Ernie and Andrei. Irina arrived later along with Chris and Patricia. No rush, since we didn't get two adjoining booths until after eight o'clock. No problem, because, as usual the food was worth waiting for. C.J. and I split the large filet mignon and it was just the right amount. On the other hand, Andrei and Irina got the 40 oz (!) porterhouse steak and barely ate half of it. After dinner we grabbed an ice cream cake from Baskin and Robbins and went up to Andrei and Irina's home on the plateau for dessert. I didn't have any big birthday presents for C.J. but I did give her a musical card " It's not about how old you are , it's what age you are" and the song was "Age of Aquarius" from "Hair". I had finally transferred a photo of C.J. to the 1993 Women's Fly-In t-shirt - the one with several pictures of "Women who fly" including a blank frame labeled "me" and gave her the shirt wrapped in bear paper.