25-27 September 2015
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| C.J. and ? soaring at Baldy Butte |
C.J. included this fund raising fly-in when she wrote about events to consider for next fall; she also described some of the far-away celebrations of free flight such as the Ellenville National Fly-in and the Dixon White Memorial Fly-in at The Craters near Flagstaff, Arizona.
26 Sep, Sat - We didn't head over until pretty late and when we got to the Lmuma campground next to the LZ, there was only one site left. I.m sure we could have parked almost anywhere since we
didn't need a formal site with a table and fire ring, and the "iron ranger" was sealed up with plastic wrap and tape indicating that there was no fee for camping. After hanging out for a while with the other pilots (and eating a fresh-picked apple) we realized that the increasingly strong winds would preclude flying for the rest of the day. So we drove back up the river to Umtanum Canyon trail and hiked the trail. We found a piece of high ground to have lunch and turned back after about three miles. We ran into a few other hikers and three mountain bikers plus a few deer. There were no signs of the abandoned homestead except for a few fruit trees and some old fence posts. There were, however, lots of beaver sign. Back at the LZ Naomi and others were setting up for the potluck. One of the local guys, Rick Ely, was going to grill some sausages and other goodies. As it got dark, it got colder and the windchill increased as well. No fires were permitted due to the terrible fire season we were having, particularly in eastern Washington. So, after eating, most folks headed for tents, cars or RV's to stay warm. As did we.
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| G with his new Sensis (B Hobson) |
27 Sep, Sun - After breakfast and a bit of hanging around we scored a ride up the hill in Rick's pickup. There were the usual bighorn sheep on the ridge below launch - pretty cool to see them. On launch the pilots who arrived earlier were at the east end of the ridge up near the tower. There was a light and variable breeze but mostly from the E and NE. A few people launched and finally someone seemed to find lift out away from the hill. I launched to the NE after a few aborts and found some workable lift out to the NE and got up over launch. I worked farther out to 3900 and then it got bumpy so I headed west across the river to the ridge on the far side. No lift at all even as far as the high point, so I returned to the LZ and landed E which was downwind, fortunately light. C.J. got a good flight and after schmoozing around for a while we packed up and hit the road for home.
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| G launching (photo by Bonnie Hobson) |
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| C.J. flying her new Golden4 |
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| View from Umtanum Canyon |
didn't need a formal site with a table and fire ring, and the "iron ranger" was sealed up with plastic wrap and tape indicating that there was no fee for camping. After hanging out for a while with the other pilots (and eating a fresh-picked apple) we realized that the increasingly strong winds would preclude flying for the rest of the day. So we drove back up the river to Umtanum Canyon trail and hiked the trail. We found a piece of high ground to have lunch and turned back after about three miles. We ran into a few other hikers and three mountain bikers plus a few deer. There were no signs of the abandoned homestead except for a few fruit trees and some old fence posts. There were, however, lots of beaver sign. Back at the LZ Naomi and others were setting up for the potluck. One of the local guys, Rick Ely, was going to grill some sausages and other goodies. As it got dark, it got colder and the windchill increased as well. No fires were permitted due to the terrible fire season we were having, particularly in eastern Washington. So, after eating, most folks headed for tents, cars or RV's to stay warm. As did we.
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