This is the thirteenth annual Rat Race and C.J. has been to every one of them. I made it to the first one which was held over a long weekend (Memorial Day?) or maybe after school was out. Then I missed the next few due to work schedule. C.J. must have already been retired from teaching and working as the editor of HG & PG magazine by then so she was able to attend. Thanks to Barbara Summerhawk we've had a place to stay in her yurt for the last ten (?) years which has made the whole trip much more pleasant. This year was the first I can remember that had eight flying days in a row - no time off to recuperate from the gaggles and long hours of flying.
12 Jun, Fri – Got started around 0815 figuring that it was
going to take eight hours to reach Rat Race HQ in Ruch, OR. We stopped for gas
at Costco in Olympia and hit the rest rooms at Fred Meyer. Just before the
Columbia River bridge at Vancouver, we ran into slow traffic that went away as
soon as we got into Oregon (but the traffic was backed up in the other
direction all the way to Portland). We stopped to fill up with gas again at
Costco in Eugene. The GPS suggested getting off I-5 in Grants Pass but we went
another 15 miles or so to Gold Hill and took the route that goes through
Jacksonville. We got in just exactly at 1700 which was when the volunteer
meeting was supposed to start. Eventually it got going with many fewer
volunteers than usual and ended around 1815. Meanwhile, C.J. had registered so
we were ready to head for the yurt and the special dinner that Debby V was
preparing. There was corn, asparagus, skewers of shrimp, scallops and onion,
plus garlic bread and Martinelli’s cider. We ate on Barb’s deck. Chris A was
missing because he had stopped in Portland to have his newly replaced front
suspension checked at Les Schwab. We got to bed around 1015 and it was already
getting pretty chilly.
13 Jun, Sat – Up at 0630 – Brrr! I set up the Coleman stove
on the porch of the yurt and prepared oatmeal for the three of us (Chris had
arrived around 2330). We headed over to the HQ shortly after 0830 and
sat through the usual practice day meeting. Around 1100 we got on the school
bus and went up the hill. I helped the guy who was preparing hamburgers by
manning the cashbox and collecting the $5 until noon. After the pilot meeting I
helped David Le check people out as they geared up for launch. It was after
1500 by the time everyone had been processed. Later I drove down in the Civil
van with David to the HQ. I got a shower and hung out until the required pilot
meeting at 1800 (late as usual). The meeting was followed by a meal; Gail had
made several pans of “Mexican lasagna”, very good, lots of salad and a big
batch of brownies (some were “Aztec brownies” with some spiciness). I served
the vegetarian lasagna (and a pan of stuffed peppers which were available only
to people requiring a gluten-free entrée).
14 June, Sun, Flag Day – Another pilot meeting (and a third
reminder about the “no-land LZ’s, especially No.5 for which Mike Haley had received
a registered letter and the pilots had to sign a roster indicating they had
been informed). C.J. and I rode up with David Le and others in the Civil van. I
did a little fluffing with the SuperClinic and then helped check in the pilots.
I videoed C.J.’s launch (good) and her return to Woodrat after making the other
turnpoints. The goal was out at Phils on the Applegate on the way to the dam and she made it almost
there landing at Camero. She could not reach any retrievers so hitched a ride
back to HQ. I met her there after riding down with the retired Navy guy who has
been cooking hamburgers on launch and driving the Penske truck with our wings
to launch. We heard that Jared had thrown his reserve and landed in a tree and
that someone had landed in the No-land LZ5! (both true) Dinner was provided by
a catering service and was a benefit for the charities that the Hunter family
support – Magdalene and Godfrey from Mali. There was BBQ chicken or pork, potato salad and
a mixed greens salad. Later we went to Brad Gunnuscio’s mentoring session on
reserves, speedbar, and other techniques. We were back pretty early to the
yurt.
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| Pilots meeting and Brad's hammock on launch |
16 Jun, Tues – Same as the previous day but I launched a
little later and it was soarable. After working several thermals I realized
that I was not enjoying the experience anymore. I crossed partway to Burnt but
I was only at 3500 when I did, so I had to turn back before hitting any lift on
the slope. It now looked a long ways back to the LZ and I wasn’t sure that I’d
get there or have to land near the feedlot. But I ran into some zero-sink and
then into some lift along the east edge of the field. At the same time, the
whole herd of 100 cows were being moved from the LZ field to the feedlot, many
bawling loudly. I had enough altitude to land in the NW quadrant again, not far
from the north fence and packed up in a little patch of shade. I didn’t have to
wait long for a ride to the top in Steve’s (from Minn.) white rental van. Almost
everyone had launched by the time I got to the top so there wasn’t much to do.
Around 1500 George McPherson sent David down the hill with the Civil van to
pick up some people at Hunter’s. When we got to Longsword David was supposed to
go east to pick up someone at 3959 S Stage Rd near Jacksonville. He didn’t know
the area so asked me to go along. We stopped at HQ and I grabbed my GPS from
the car and a radio and we headed out. No one was at the address but we got Tom
Moock nearby. Then we drove toward the Race goal of Emigrant Lake. Along the
way we got the van's mobile radio working and were able to hear pilots calling from
Ashland. We picked up three there and then met up with Sarge and transferred
his load. We drove back to Talent and off-loaded our pilots to the Paravan
which Star was driving. Paul was there too. Since Sarge was getting everyone at
Emigrant (only a few), we headed back to HQ via Stage Rd while Paul took
Pioneer Ave. We didn’t sweep up anyone else and got back shortly after 1800, in
time to get to Red Lily for an excellent dinner of four kinds of BBQ meats,
potatoes, salad and fruit. Cheesecake/chocolate mousse/sheet cake for dessert.
[Today a Race pilot was seriously injured in China Gulch when his wing
collapsed and spun him into the ground. It was one of the Chinese pilots and he
was extracted to the hospital by helicopter.]
17 Jun, Wed – We went to the breakfast sponsored by the
RVHPA at 0730. I did not bring my wing to launch thinking that I’d fly later at
glassoff. David Le left the checkout job to me and went off to fly with the
Superclinic pilots. I checked everyone out and then drove down with Paul and
hung out at the HQ. C.J. completed all but the last turnpoint on the Sprint
task and landed at Longsword, the goal. Back at HQ there was the usual chips
and salsa, water and lemonade, plus the beer truck with four taps of
microbrews. But then Gail brought out a pan of the Mexican lasagna we had
Saturday night. Wow, no further dinner was necessary! We hung around at HQ for
a while then at 1800 I hopped into a truck that was taking mostly Superclinic
students (and Kari) to mid-launch for glassoff. There were a number of people
already there including Barbara. I got ready quickly and launched right after
Barbara and before most of our truckload. It took me a while to get above the
bump behind launch to where I felt comfortable going back along the face of the
bowl below Woodrat launch. After getting over launch level and up to maybe
4300, I continued flying straight west hoping to make it to Longsword. It was
very slow going into the wind (5-8 kph) but the GPS showed that I needed only
5:1 glide ratio to make it. It was really not a problem and the trip speeded up
some as I pushed on my speed system. I was one of the first to land from our group
(0:56) and I celebrated with a bottle of Kiwanda Cream Ale from the
refrigerator in the tasting room ($3). Eventually the parabus showed up and we got a
ride back to HQ. We didn’t hang around much longer but went back to the yurt
where C.J. was glad to collapse into bed early after a long day.
18 Jun, Thu – At the abbreviated meeting Mike told us that
the bus had overheated while taking the Superclinic up to launch and had to
drop them off at the Y in the road to walk the rest of the way. The plan for
the rat-racers was to pack the available vans full and go up as soon as we had
made lunch. We’d meet the bus on the way up and the vans would turn around and
return to the Sterling Creek Road in case the bus overheated again and they
needed to ferry the bus riders to the summit. It all worked out somehow and
everyone got up. I had not brought my wing and I worked with Tom (Chesnut) and Pete ("Reaper")
helping people lay out their wings on launch. After most folks launched the
wind picked up. We could see people very high up over Mt. Isabel and we could also
see lots of people landing at Hunters hardly moving forward in the wind. George
MacPherson sent me down with Mike Hancock’s van; I picked him up at Hunters where C.J.
had landed (well, across Bishop Cr Rd from Hunters, anyway). I got a shower and
then drove into J-ville to get gas ($3.199) and another infusion of cash, $60,
from the Chase ATM. Back at HQ C.J. put me to work editing the August mag
articles which she had already finished. When that was done she worked on her
article (about the USHPA Film Festival) until almost 1900. Then we went over to
a new winery (?), or venue or something, at WellesLand on Hamilton Road. There
was a two-man band doing folk/folk-rock on stage in front of a nice little
amphitheater. There was a bar and a food-serving window. We got pulled pork and
a shredded chicken sandwich ($16) and stayed for more than an hour before
heading back to the yurt where C.J. worked on finishing her article.
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| Music Venue at Wellesland |
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| Susan B with oak branch from a near miss during glassoff |
20 Jun, Sat, last day of the Rat Race – After the usual
short meeting, we went up as usual on the Civil van even though David Le, the driver, had left to attend a memorial gathering for a Portland pilot who
had died in a mini-wing accident at Cliffside. I had brought my Alite chair up
so the wait until the Race group was ready to check out was relatively comfortable.
I manned the check-out station with help from Paul Murdoch until everyone had gotten
through. I watched C.J. have another good launch and get up after sinking down
a bit. Then I could leave; this time I drove Orv’s truck down and dropped it
off at Longsword (after giving the check-out book to Ismael who was running the
Spot check-in). C.J. had already landed there and was being plied with wine, so
I left her there and got a shuttle back to HQ. A while later I drove our
vehicle over to pick her up. It was still early but there were snacks, beer and
margaritas at HQ. Dinner was served around 1800 – baked potatoes with all kinds
of toppings, including tsatsiki (sp?) and salads. At 2000 Mike and Gail
presided at the awards ceremony handing out clear glass, engraved vases to
Sprint Women, Sprint, Race Women, Race Sport, and Race winners. A special award
went to Ed, president of RVHPA. All the top winners present got tossed in the
pool including CJ Brockway, top Sprint woman. After sheetcake and bread
pudding, I did my last garbage pickup and we went back to the yurt.
21 Jun, Sun – Chris got in around 0300 after a night on the
town (Medford). Nevertheless, we got up about 0600 to pack and clean up the
yurt. We were going to breakfast in J-ville at the Mustard Seed 2 but first we
had to stop at the Crash Pad to pick up Susan Brockway’s gear. [She had driven
down with Kayoko who was also in the Superclinic, but she left early and there
wasn’t enough room in CJ and Derek’s car.] Breakfast was very good and Susan paid
for all of us! Then we stopped at the fruit stand and got three pints of
delicious strawberries. Eight-and-a-half hours later we arrived home with stops for
gas at a new Costco in Roseburg and in Covington (plus some slow traffic on I-5
near Chehalis and Ft. Lewis).
22-29 Jun – C.J. was exhausted from eight days of flying at
the Rat Race and took almost a week to recover. I had a blood draw on Monday
and a consult with Dr. Johnson on Friday – no changes to my health. I asked for
a referral to Snoq Vly Eyecare for a retinopathy exam.
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