13 Jun - 1 Jul 2012
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| Rat Race experts Marty, Nick and Eric provide pre-launch mentoring |
This is C.J.'s tenth Rat Race event at Woodrat Mountain in southern Oregon. I made it to the first one, then missed a couple when I went back to work at St. George. It's a well-run competition, now divided into two levels: the Rat Race itself for serious competitors, and the Sprint for newer pilots and those flying less than competitive wings. This year the Rat Race was the U.S. National Race-To-Goal Championship, and the whole event included 175 competitors. Surprisingly, this large number did not detract from the fun for C.J., and I found ample reward as a volunteer.
Our plan was to complete the Rat Race and maybe try to get in a flight at Whaleback before heading down to San Anselmo to visit with Ginny, C.J.'s sister, Wally, C.J.'s brother Rob and C.J.'s mom who is in a memory care facility nearby.
13 Jun, Wed - Out of North Bend by 0830 and arrived at the yurt up the east branch of Humbug Canyon around 1700. Too windy to consider flying but we did drive in to Ruch to get our RVHPA memberships at the Ruch Store - quite the deal; you can even pay by credit card. We thought that we'd eat at what used to be the Magnolia Cafe but it is closed on Wednesdays. We ended up taking Barb to dinner at the restaurant in Applegate.
14 Jun, Thur -Typically, it was cold at night but warmed up to a beautiful day. We spent a good bit of time on Geoff and Terry's wi-fi enabled porch checking email and downloading the magazine articles to be edited. In the evening, once it got dark, Barbara cranked up her 10-in Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope and did her astronomy-professor lecture. Saturn's rings were easily visible and we also saw the fuzzy shape of a distant galaxy.
15 Jun, Fri - Around 1100 we and Barb drove to Hunters, dropped the Outback off and rode up in Barb's truck, picking up a guy who was walking up the road. There were a few locals and more than a few visitors getting in a flight before the Rat Race began officially on Sunday. We both had good flights and landed at Longsword Winery. Raven drove Barb's truck down so we did not even have to retrieve. After 1700 we were able to register at the headquarters for the Rat Race. Then there was a meeting for the volunteers. I signed up for garbage removal at the HQ again and for helping at some meals and "fluffing" wings.
16 Jun, Sat - Practice Day - [Barb left in the morning to meet a friend in Portland, then fly to SLC to join another friend for a trip to Zion.] At HQ Mike held the usual long pilots meeting, then we went up to launch. This year there were two big school buses with auxiliary trucks for carrying our wings as well as various vans and pilot vehicles. The same group of retired guys were on launch cooking hot dogs and burgers for sale, and Gever was setting up a video camera and internet connection to provide real-time coverage of the Rat Race. I worked with Tom and Pete doing launch assistant stuff until every competitor had taken off. Then I launched - unfortunately just about the same time that Drew ___ threw his reserve above Rabies Ridge and drifted into a tree on the east side. I didn't like the conditions much and after only a short flight went out to Hunters LZ to land in strong SW winds. In the evening there was the mandatory pilots meeting; Steve was back this year with his margarita stand, and we had a big lasagna feed at HQ.
17 Jun, Day 1, Sun - (Sprint task: Woodrat-Rabies-Burnt-Cemetery-Donato) I worked launch assist again but conditions were better and the launch cleared faster. I decided not to fly at around 1430 and drove down with Jeff Mosher from the USHPA office. At HQ I found out that C.J. had made goal at Donatos. [The next day we found out that she had the top place among the women in the Sprint class, and ranked 15th out of 95!] She dropped her GPS off at Fiasco where the RVHPA fundraiser for the Hunters' charities was being held. Back at the yurt we had dinner with Debbie V. Earlier in the day C.J. had presented Mike and Paula Steed with their wedding gift t-shirt quilt. It was well received despite not being finished until their first anniversary! |
| Self-portrait at the yurt with Debbie V |
18 Jun, Day 2, Mon - Almost everyone met for the pilots breakfast at Fiasco followed by the pilots meeting. At 1030 we left Fiasco on one of the two school buses. It had been chilly during the night and was cool enough on launch for a fleece jacket and flight suit. (Squires-Rabies-Burnt-Jacksonville LZ-Dark Hallow) Launch opened early at 1230 and I was finished fluffing by 1430. The wind had picked up by then so I rode down once again with Jeff M. to Fiasco. I worked on editing until someone told me that C.J. had landed at Hunters. I picked her up and we went to HQ to finish editing (took until 1930). Then we returned to the yurt for a re-run of spaghetti. It looked to be chilly so we covered all the yurt windows to at least keep the breeze from whistling through.
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| Giant steel red lilies |
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| C.J. at the pre-launch pilots meeting |
21 Jun, Day 5, Thu - (Woodrat Launch-Burnt-Rabies-Burnt-Jacksonville LZ-Donato) After working on launch fluffing wings, by the time everyone had taken off, the wind had strengthened and i decided to ride down with Bob in the Civil van. Back at HQ I took care of the garbage and waited for C.J. to show up. Since the caterer at the last dinner at Red Lily had run out of food before everyone had been served, we left early (1745) for Valley View Winery and the second catered dinner. The salad, two kinds of pasta, bread and cookies were excellent (and I had received a voicemail earlier that Mike and Gail were buying me dinner!) The weather was still great but Rick Ray forecast a no-fly day on Friday. By 1930 we were back at the yurt and it was getting windy.
22 Jun, Day 6, Fri - Even though it was sprinkling we went in to HQ at the usual time. There was a pilots meeting but it was mostly about awards, videos and animations. The volunteers were introduced and thanked. Later Gever did an online, live interview of Marty DeVietti about his flight on Thursday. Lunch was provided even though we were not going up to launch. C.J. and I returned to the yurt and hung out while it rained on and off until it was time for the fundraising dinner at Cantrall-Buckley ($30) Afterward we visited with Marybeth Wells in her Chalet in the campground, then drove her back to HQ where Dan had gone for the mentoring session.
23 Jun, Day 7, Sat - We went up the hill as usual after a shorter-than-usual meeting. The weather looked better than on the previous day but forecasts called for rain later. One school bus remained on top. Tasks were called and a dozen or so Race pilots took off (only one wind tech was willing to fly). Cloudbase was low and a few gliders whited out in the wispies right above launch. There were area of rain visible. About nine minutes after launch opened Mike "stopped" the task and cancelled the Sprint task. I would guess that,while Day 7 was technically flyable, the validity of the day must have been very low. Most of us rode 
down and the party started early. More of Steve's margaritas,as well as kegs and cans of beer were available. The awards ceremony moved from outside (where I received a large vase etched with "volunteer of the year", and C.J. received a big, engraved glass mug as a loyalty award for having attended all ten of the Rat Race events) back inside when it started to rain lightly. Dinner was different but good with kielbasa, macaroni and cheese, salad, and Raven's cake. I emptied my last garbage cans and we headed back to the yurt (leaving some rowdy drunks behind).
24 Jun, Sun - [On our way to the Bay Area] Chris A. had gone out partying after the awards dinner and hadn't gotten back to the yurt until after 0200, but we all got up at the usual time, prepared some "stiff" oatmeal with dried fruit, and cleaned up the yurt. C.J. and I left about 0930, stopped for gas at the Medford Costco (3.489) then drove south with a few stops including gas and a shared ice cream bar at Vacaville Costco. We ran into traffic from the NASCAR race at Infineon track along SR 37, but arrived at Wally's around 1730 for a pizza dinner with strawberries and ice cream (stopped at United Markets in San Anselmo). Ginny got home later.
25 Jun, Mon - Ginny called in sick for the next few days so she could continue taking care of her Mom who had recently had some medical problems and had spent time in the hospital. Mom F was back in Alma Via
but there were questions about whether she could stay there. Ginny went to Alma Via and Wally went to work at Ed Levin. When I went out to the car, I found that I had left the drivers side front widow open overnight and a raccoon had climbed in. Fortunately it had "only" eaten all of our cookies and ripped up the bag of tortilla chips and not made more of a mess in the car. After cleaning up the car and doing several loads of laundry, we drove to Alma Via and had lunch with Mom F, Ginny and brother Rob. We stopped on the way back to buy food for dinner (and bought an inexpensive bottle of triple sec). Gin went to stay overnight at Alma Via but Rob came to dinner - he's staying next door in the neighbor's house. 26 Jun, Tue -We followed Rob to a car repair shop in San Rafael that Wally had recommended. Then Rob treated us to breakfast at a nearby restaurant. There was way too much food but we made up for it by skipping lunch at Alma Via. Later in the afternoon Ginny led us on a hike down the Tennessee Valley to the beach, about 1.7 mi each way. It was sunny but cool near the ocean. Later, Ginny went back to Alma Via and C.J. made dinner for us.
27 Jun, Wed - C.J. continued to work on proofing the alpha version of the magazine while I went with Wally to Mt Tam so he could test fly a new Arcus 7. I was glad to drive as conditions were definitely not soarable. Around two or three o'clock Wally and Ginny left for an overnight trip partly for a little getaway, partly to check out a new Alzheimers Care Facility in Folsom, east of Sacramento. (photo, right, C.J. and Rob with Mom F. at Alma Via)28 Jun, Thu - We spent some of the late morning, lunch and afternoon at Alma Via with Rob and Mom F. We tried to find the San Rafael farmers market near the civic center but it wasn't happening there this Thursday. Wally and Ginny got back in the late afternoon and Ginny asked us to stick around long enough to go with her and Rob back to Empire Ranch Alzheimer's Special Care Center on Saturday. [We thought we might have been stretching our welcome already by staying until Wed or Thu but we were glad to stick around to back up Rob while Ginny and Wally took an overnight break.]
29 Jun, Fri - Thinking that a hike at Muir Woods would be fun, we drove up over the Mt. Tam ridge and down the narrow road to the national monument. The parking lot was full, not only the main lot but the overflow lot as well AND the side of the road was solidly parked up for what seemed like a mile. We continued down to US 1 and returned to Wally and Ginny's by that route. Later in the day we went over to Alma Via and we had dinner with Rob, Ginny and Mom F.30 Jun, Sat - We didn't make as early a start as we thought but by 0830 or so we were on the road and the plan was to meet up with Ginny and Rob at Empire Ranch ASCC in Folsom. We stopped for gas at Vacaville and followed our GPS to Empire Ranch. Once there, we got the full tour and met some of the staff and patients/residents. Nice facility, if not as upscale as Alma Via, but with the advantage of a nurse on duty 24/7 and experience in dealing with difficult patients. By 1300 C.J. and I were on our way back to I-5 and a relatively short drive to Weed where we turned northeast on US 97 to get to the Whaleback LZ. There was no one around even on the Saturday before the July 4th holiday, but that made sense because the sky was overdeveloped in places and threatening rain. We found a nice ponderosa pine grove just 1/4 mile down Military Road from the LZ and set up our tent. After dinner we took a walk through the mixed juniper-pine-scrub-lava landscape with one eye on Whaleback launch, and the other on the clouds. Just as we were climbing into the tent for the night it began to rain, but it was only a shower.
1 July, Sun - We awoke in a cloud, but fortunately no rain. We were able to pack up the tent with nothing worse than a wet fly which I squeegeed off before we removed it from the tent. By the time we had descended to the Shasta Valley we were out of the cloud and it was sunny most of the way home. After a gas stop at Medford Costco, we picked up a couple of apple fritters and some cherries at Safeway and stopped for breakfast at Rogue River State Park/rest area. After that it was just a long slog home with one stop at Salem Costco for gas. Part of the tedium was alleviated by a good program on NPR celebrating Woody Guthrie's 100th birthday. At home, the grass was really high and there were lots of strawberries and raspberries to pick.
