Chelan Cross-country Classic 2014

 July 2-6, 2014

Quinn Dickenson's design for the meet t-shirt

 Just back from the Rat Race, we spent a few days cleaning up and caring for the garden, then headed out to Chelan to help Meet Director Lenny Baron with the launch. There were only two days left in the XC Classic and then the Chelan Flats PG National Championship competition began - a whole different operation with 117 competitors compared to the two dozen or so signed up for the Classic.

2 July, Wed - After completing my annual dermatology exam at Seattle VA (six minor growths frozen off) I picked up gas at Costco and hurried home so we could make a late start (1600) over the passes to Chelan. We encountered little traffic (the I-90 widening east of Snoq. Pass appears to be mostly completed) and stopped only to buy some $1.69/lb cherries at Lone Pine and eat a picnic dinner at Beebe Bridge park. We stopped again to visit with Susan, Debbie and Julie at Mom's Motel.  Lori and Tom let us stay in their house as volunteers (I think a room was available because Lenny was staying in his new RMC, Rolling Man Cave, parked in the driveway); Scorekeeper Aaron Rinn, his wife, Maria, Lenny's two sons, Kevin and Andrew, and Lori Baron were also staying with Tom and Lori.

3 July, Thu - We drove up to launch around 1000 for the 1115 (postponed to 1130) pilot meeting. Conditions were "windy from the SW" and few people flew. Later we spent a little time checking out the Thursday evening Farmers Market in Riverwalk Park without buying anything. Around 2000 we had a salmon dinner at Tom and Lori's with roast veggies along with C.J.'s fresh bread and her queen cake. C.J. and I passed on a chance to go to the Vogue for a performance by Val because we were worn out from the sun and wind.

4 July, Fri - Last day of the Classic. Conditions were better and there were a bunch of paragliders who wanted a flight before the official practice day. Most launched before 1400 when the majority of Classic competitors took off. Zac Majors had already sewn up the topless hang glider class and Len Szafryn the same for the PG open class with long flights earlier in the week. After getting everyone launched, even a couple of people who came vack up to do a second flight, C.J. and I went back to help Lori B load up her car with the food and drinks for the closing BBQ at the Chelan Falls soccer field LZ. People were already gathering for the 1900 BBQ although it was just after 1800. There as a little tension because Lenny had invited everyone who was flying on the 4th to the BBQ, but there really wouldn't have been enough food if a hundred of the PG Nats folks had shown up. But they didn't and we had a very good 4th of July picnic of handmade burgers, Johnsonville brats, Debbie's potato salad recipe, other salads, watermelon and condiments. Danny Uchytil and his new bride, Angie McMinn, brought a big tub of drinks left over from their recent wedding party. Following the dinner, Lenny awarded the trophies (lasered glass beer mugs) to the winners (and to Aaron R, Lori L, and himself, in addition to his second-place trophy). Julie Spiegler introduced herself and described some of the projects she is working on as the new USHPA programs manager. [Julie was staying in her trailer at Mom's Montlake Motel along with Debbie Vosevich and Susan Kent, as well as Rick Ray and Sam Crocker from the RVHPA, plus several more pilots.]

5 July, Sat - We packed up our stuff and moved it all to the car so that Tom and Lori's house would be ready for a bachelorette party that Kelly was hosting for six or eight of her friends. To explore some new trails we took a hike from a trailhead located near the top of the road up from Chelan Falls. This gave us a view down to the Columbia and up to the Butte and the lake. We detoured to check out a flag on a pole and later found it was Buck's wind flag just above his house. Today was the practice day for the PG Nats. Kimberly Phinney, meet organizer, Kari Castle, meet director, and some of the safety officials like Pete "Reaper" Michaelmore and Dave "Preacher" Norwood held a meeting on the Butte and then a few folks flew in the windy, Green Monster conditions. C.J. and I watched for a while and then went downtown to get an ice cream at Sojourners. Later we walked up to Mom's and hung out with Rick Ray, Deb and Susan for a while until it was time for them to register (1800) at the Stehekin Rm in Campbell's Resort. Then we got back together for a dinner of Local Myth pizza at a sidewalk table. Just to see how the organization was going to work for the Nats, we sat in on the mandatory pilots meeting at 2000. Right afterward we took Chris Ammondson and Susan, C.J. Brockway's mother, to the house that Chris and Patricia were renting along with almost a dozen other pilots. It had a great view of the Chelan fireworks which were launched from a barge in the bay about 1000 ft out from the Don Morse City Park. It must have been close to 2300 before we got out of Chelan with Susan who had invited us to stay with her, C.J.B. and Derek at her 1200 sq ft summer house on the Columbia just S of Orondo.

6 July, Sun - We got up round 0700. C.J. B. and Derek needed to get to the meet HQ early because Derek was the driver coordinator and C.J. was competing; Susan could go later as her volunteer job was to receive and answer retrieval texts. We had hot chocolate from her Keurig machine and a scone and then got on the road. We were home around 1111 so there was time to do laundry, always necessary after a summer Chelan trip.



The rest of the meet - On the first two days tasks of over 100 km were called, then,on the next day, a 204 lm task was set all the way to St. John west of Odessa. Even Chris A and Preacher who landed twelve km short of goal flew for eight hours and did not get back to Chelan until 0100. Another day there was an out-and-return task to Sims corner, and the last day a 103 km task that resembled a cross centered at the McNeil-Mansfield junction (?), extending as far as Mansfield, and going equally as far north and south.

Results: Nick Greece is the new National Champion, with Josh Cohn and Eric Reed second and third. In the women's division, Seiko Fukuoka, the Japanese pilot flying an Ozone R12, was far away the winner. However, open class gliders were not scored so the women's winners were Nicole McLearn, Meredyth, and Debbie Vosevich. That makes Mer the US Women's National Champion!

Rat Race 2013

20-30 June 2013

{{Check back later for more photos}}

This is C.J.'s eleventh year attending the Rat; she's the only pilot to fly in all eleven RR comps. We're lucky to have had a sponsor for most of those years - Barbara Summerhawk provides us with lodging in her yurt on the east fork of Humbug Creek - and since she is now semi-retired from teaching in Japan, she can be home during the Rat Race. This will be her first year to see just how busy the launch is when up to 200 people are launching in the space of two hours or so. One new wrinkle this year is that a "Super Clinic" has been added to the mix - about twenty additional fliers, some quite inexperienced, led by Kari Castle, Ken Huonjorgenson (who some say looks a lot like me) and Kay Tauscher. 

20 Jun, Thu - The drive: with our new Sorento, leave 0830, gas in Eugene, yurt by 1650. After dropping off our stuff we went to Ruch to get our annual RVHPA membership cards/helmet stickers at the store ($60, mastercard). Then we went to Fiasco to see if anyone was going to fly glassoff. We met Jeff Slotta who was sorting his wing out after a tree landing earlier in the day. [He said he had launched with tangled lines and ended up in a 150 ft tree. Forrest had to come help him get extricated.] We also heard that a pilot had crashed on launch and had to be helicoptered to the hospital. It didn't sound good so we went back to the yurt for a dinner of quesadillas. It was pretty chilly overnight and three quilts was about right.

21 Jun, Fri - We turned on the electric, oil-filled radiator before getting up, but it did not warm up the yurt the way the old propane stove/fireplace used to when it was working. I prepared oatmeal in the GSI Bugaboo teflon-coated pot - nothing stuck at all and it was easy to clean up. We went in to HQ around 1000 and later to Fiasco to find a carpool. Jeff Slotta drove us (incl Riss E, Wheely and Yuril?) up to launch in his vehicle even though he was not going to fly himself. I launched in a light west cycle and sank toward mid-launch and ran into some turbulent air and a strong but rough climb. Having VERY little bump tolerance, I opted to fly out over Hunter's LZ and land to the north in switch-y winds (:16). Two others landed as I was packing up but most people seemed to be climbing well above launch. After finishing my PB&J (while sitting on my folding butterfly chair), I started walking toward Fiasco. Part way there I got a ride with Joel from Austin, TX. [Later I found out that he had been the pilot involved in the second accident on Thursday having had a bad forward launch and plunging down the face, impacting with enough force to shatter his ski helmet and render him unconscious. However, he was quickly released from the hospital and seemed generally unharmed.]  While we were standing around at Fiasco talking with Rich from Maui, a  TVreporter tried to question Joel about his accident but he wouldn't admit that he was the victim. C.J. radioed from Longsword and I drove over there to pick her up, but then I had to return to Hunter's where I had stashed my wing. Then we went to HQ so C.J. could register and I could attend the volunteers meeting from 1700-1800. Afterward we returned to the yurt and made a good spaghetti dinner with the ground pork we found in the scatch-and-dent meat section of the otherwise-overpriced Ruch Store. Keiko, Barbara's guest from Japan and a top Japanese competitor, had arrived and we got to meet her. Barbara and Deb Vosevich had flown glass-off, Deb with a demo Delta 2.

22 Jun, Sat - It was cold again in the morning, not below freezing, but cold. C.J. and I left for the HQ and practice day about 0830. There was no problem parking (in shade, even). Uploading turnpoints took way longer than expected so the usual prac. day meeting was postponed. All the glider bags this year went in a big Hertz truck; C.J. and I rode in the white bus with Sarge (John Sargeant) driving. I decided to launch early and got off about 1205 when the pilots' meeting was beginning. I went left for a change and did not find much on the flank of Woodrat Peak. Then I flew to Mid and sank below the launch there. Out in front I found a thermal that got me to 3800 ft and I crossed to the radio tower at the south end of lower Rabe's Ridge. No lift there so I pointed at Fiasco (3:1 glide) but before I had gone very far, I found lift good enough to take me up Rabe's Ridge while gaining to 4600 ft or so. Where the ridge steepened the conditions became turbulent and I bailed toward Burnt Ridge. Before reaching the turnpoint, I turned south and crossed Bishop Creek to Mid and then out to the LZ where I landed to the N at 1302 (:57). After packing up I waited for an hour hoping for a ride back to the HQ but I ended up walking with my pack, a hot and sweaty hike. The water in the solar shower was hot so I washed up and hung around until C.J. got back from Longsword after 1630. We had the opening day Mexican-themed dinner at HQ; as one of my volunteer duties, I served salad. There were coolers of margaritas and sangria as well as a refrigerated beer truck with two taps. We got back to the yurt about 2200. It wasn't as cold but it was overcast and there was a shower about bedtime (2330).



23 Jun, Sun - It was much warmer with an overcast sky. Rain started at 0820; the meeting at 0900 was still  on. The meeting started late and went on and on until 1100 or later. Afterward C.J. and I decided to go to Medford and see about a new service provider for my smartphone. The only place around Ruch where I had service was on top of Woodrat; that wasn't much help when we wanted to communicate with each other to coordinate transportation (and it wouldn't provide any assistance if I crashed and needed help - C.J. at least had the borrowed Spot. This wasn't the first time I had been without service - all of Montana, for example, seemed to have no Virgin Mobile service). Greg at AT&T helped us set up a second line on C.J.'s account. Then he found a trade-in of $100 for my year-old HTC OneV and transferred my old number to a new Samsung Galaxy S4 Active (supposedly water resistant to 1 meter for 30 min). All this worked out well financially because they were having a "special" where we did not have to pay the $36 activation fee. And, of course we saved 10% on the tax because we were in Oregon. Our total monthly bill with minimum data (300 MB each) now is supposed to be about the same as were paying with C.J.'s old plan and my VM plan. On the way into Medford we stopped at the Jacksonville "farmers market" and ate our Rat Race lunch in the park in front of the old courthouse. While in Medford, we gassed up at Costco ($3.599) then returned to HQ where I began to figure out how to use all the new features on my new phone. At 1800 we drove over to Fiasco Winery for the big dinner for the Hunter's favorite charity. There was great BBQ ribs and chicken, and an excellent dessert of a shortbread cookie with one end dipped in chocolate and fresh strawberries (both from Costco). Around 2000 or so Eric Reed did a presentation on vol bivouacs - trips in India-Nepal and the "Sierra Safari" from Walt's Point to Lakeview. We got back to the yurt around 2200.

24 Jun, Mon - It rained overnight. In the morning a call from Barbara's new land line (no cell coverage for any provider up Humbug Canyon) determined that the day had been canceled and there was no pilots meeting. Chris went to Christina Ammon's to see if Josh and Michelle wanted to go to Oregon Caves National Monument. They were just getting up but they and several others wanted to go. We met at the Applegate Store so Chris and J&M could share a ride with us. We went via the main secondary roads to Murphy, Wilderville, Cave Jct and up the winding road to OCNM. After getting a short info lecture about bats and the whitenose disease,  we signed up for a 1415 tour ($4.25 each w/senior pass). Since we had to wait we wandered through the Lodge (built 1932). Hawaiians Pete and Tyler, Joey and his girlfriend, and Seattleites Julie and Lori joined our group of 15. The ranger guide was not as well-informed as some members of the tour group but the cave was full of good formations including the Paradise Lost Room reached by a steep stairway, and an Imagination Room with formations resembling a heart, George Washington's head, a camel, a Coke bottle and more. At the exit most of us took the longer Cliffside Nature Trail up to a cloudy viewpoint and back to the HQ and the Lodge. After a car shuffle (Chris wanted to eat lunch at the Lodge and J&M wanted to get back ASAP), C.J. and I took the fire evacuation route following blue signs on gravel roads FS4613, 4611, then Lower Ridge Road to Williams and Provolt and back to Applegate, arriving before J&M who had retraced our morning route in reverse. We spent a little time at the library (closed) downloading stuff and got back to the yurt around 1830. Keiko prepared a delicious dinner of udon, plus there was salad and good bread. Debbie had been to Costco and brought corn and a tuxedo chocolate cake. And we had fresh strawberries from Geoff and Terry's garden.


25 Jun, Tue - It was another "no fly" day even though the sky showed only a few fast-moving clouds. A land line phone call said that we were supposed to check in again around noon. At about 1000 C.J. and I went over to HQ where I spent the rest of the morning reading the manual on my new phone. Lunch was provided - chicken salad wraps on huge spinach flour tortillas. Afterward we joined Chris, Conrad, Julie and Laurie for a hike up the trail on Upper Table Rock (the easternmost mesa, the one with a VOR on the flat summit). It was about a three-mile hike altogether and we took our time to spare C.J.'s foot as much as possible. On the way back we stopped at the Rogue Creamery, not an ice cream place as we thought, but a high-end cheese factory and distributor. We saw some cheese priced close to $50 per pound! Back at the HQ I read some more of the manaual then we drove over to the Red Lily Winery for a good dinner of tri-tip streak, chicken brochettes and pulled pork, with cheesecake for dessert. We didn't leave the windy, and rather chilly, premises until 2130.

26 Jun, Wed - There was a late meeting at Fiasco (the $12 a head breakfast had been held there earlier). It was drizzling but we stayed dry under the big tent that had been raised for the charity dinner (Dave Palmer of Fiasco later purchased the tent for the winery.) Mike Hailey sent us to the top around 1300-1330 and we hung out in the cloud with some occasional chilly drizzle. After 1500 Mike canceled the Sprint task but sent the Race off on a relatively short task - WR - Rab-Pk - Poorman - Donatos (no one made goal). Most folks flew down under the low cloudbase but we rode to Fiasco on an almost empty school bus.C.J. worked on editing the alpha for Aug then we had burgers and salad for dinner. Back at the yurt, Barb had gotten the propane stove/fireplace repaired (just in time for the weather to warm up); we had some of Deb's cake for dessert.

27 Jun, Thu - The meeting did not start until after 0930; meanwhile I took care of some garbage with the other guys who are also volunteering. We went up in the white bus again but today the sky was mostly sunny and all three groups flew tasks (Super Clinic launched early, then the Race, and last, the Sprint). Fluffers were needed and Roger Brock asked me to help out so I didn't even take my wing out of the pack until everyone had launched. [Earlier I ate my meatball sandwich while sitting comfortably off the ground in my new pack chair.] At 1451 I launched and found lift along the ridge, climbing in pretty friendly thermals. I headed over to Burnt and found more lift there to over 5K. Even though I had my GPS set for the goal field at Donatos, I left the ratty lift and flew toward LW-RABE sinking. I reached there above the ridge (barely) but not before experiencing a big, rippling collapse. I found reasonable lift on the lower end of the ridge, enough to let me make it to the 0.4 km circle around Squires Peak. By then I was low enough to have to head directly back toward Longsword where I had a soft landing. C.J. joined me there even before I was completely packed up. After helping her put her wing away I got a ride back to HQ with Paul Kunzl. I returned with the Kia to pick up C.J. and then went back to (solar) shower and review the 1308 alpha. I was supposed to be serving for the dinner at HQ but C.J. took my place until I was finished with the editing. After dinner we returned to the yurt around 2045.

28 Jun, Fri - As usual we drove in for the meeting and garbage pickup. We went up to launch around 1100 in the white bus. I helped fluff for the Super Clinic, then Race and Sprint. By then wind had picked up and the gaggle(s) near launch were not getting up. I decided to drive down and found an old Dodge minivan that needed to be returned to the HQ. I stuck with the paved road as the gas gauge and fuel light both indicated out-of-gas. I hung out at HQ until C.J. got back from the LZ. Jug gave her the names of some people wanting to sell their old Flymaster B-1 Nav flight computers (so they could buy the newest version). Eventually C.J. made a deal with Bill Briskie for $375. [Really glad that Preaher had just bought my old Dragon2!] Later we got together with Jack Brown who showed us how to use the Alaska Airlines website to get a stand-by flight on his "buddy pass" for our trip to Alaska. About 1830 we returned to the yurt and fixed the left over spaghetti and sauce for dinner along with a salad. Deb came over later and showed C.J. and Barb her photos from her Colombia trip.

29 Jun, Sat - It's the last day of the Rat; we had the usual meeting and garbage collection and took the white bus to the top for a lightwind forecast day. I wasn't scheduled to assist on launch so I got my wing ready to fly and launched at 1155, just as Gail (or Kim Phinney, the social media/Spot person) was taking the group photo. I was low man in a gaggle of 8-10 wings and soon took off on my own to LW-RABE. I found enough lift to work all the way up to Rabe's Peak (3800ft) at 5?00ft. As usual, I choked on the rougher air and altitude and bailed to the south along the ridge west of China Gulch. Sinking, I crossed Flyair and found enough lift on the west slopes of lower Rabe's to climb and cross Hwy 238 and head toward Squires. I had a good view down to Raven's "resort" and could even pick out Dan and Mary Beth's new Chalet A-frame. Then I headed back W to land at Longsword (:55).  The weather was back to more normal "hot" and there was a long wait before I got a ride back to HQ even though Sarge was staging the white bus at Longsword for moving  large numbers of pilots who were expected to land farther down the Applegate valley. Finally I begged a ride with local pilot Forrest back to HQ. C.J. called to say that she had had a great flight with her new vario/flight computer and had landed south and west of the river north of Cantrall-Buckley with four others. She later got a ride with the landowner back to Longsword and then shuttled to HQ. We cleaned up with the solar shower and enjoyed some draft beer from the refrigerated truck along with chips/salsa and veggies/dips. Dinner was late at 1900 and I was a server again. The Award ceremony followed and was one of the best in all the years we've been going to the Rat. Gail had chosen etched glass vases for trophies. In addition to all the placing pilots, Dave Wheeler got an award for all has done with his Spot webpage for safety and ease of retrieve (also for his work on WTSS and scoring). [Earlier LeAnn had showed me how to use http://xcfind.paraglide.us on my phone to locate C.J. on a map. Conrad also showed me how to cut and paste the "I'm okay" Spot message to Google Maps search function to see the same thing.] We stuck around after the awards ceremony for some of Raven's decorated cake, then C.J. said goodbye to everyone and we returned to the yurt pretty late (2230?). Chris came in even later around midnight.

30 Jun, Sun - We got up at 0715, had some oatmeal, then packed up and cleaned the yurt. By 0930 we were on our way home. We stopped for gas in Medford, gas and lunch in Eugene. There was some slow traffic on I-5 north of Portland and again north of Olympia, one a gaper block. We filled the tank at Costco in Covington, although we didn't need that much gas since we were getting 27 mpg (indicated), but we were stopping in Eugene anyway. We also picked up some groceries and milk at Freddies. We were home by 1940.

Rat Race 10

then on to the Bay Area

13 Jun - 1 Jul 2012

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.

Giant steel red lilies

 19 Jun, Day 3, Tue - A cold night but sunny later with cu's. (Squires-Burnt-Rabies Peak-Wellington Ridge – Woodrat Launch-Valley View Winery) Since I had missed two days of flying, I took a day off from launch assisting and launched at 1155 when it was already soarable. It was easy to climb over launch to about 5000'. I headed for Burnt and sank all the way across arriving at barely better than the top and had to work back up. Than I crossed to Rabies Ridge and got over 6000' near a cloud, crossed to Squires (one of the turnpoints for the day) and climbed again enough to cross to the W and go part way across China Gulch. From there I glided directly back to Hunters LZ which was so switchy that I had a downwind landing to the east. I walked back to HQ and drove in to Medford for gas at Costco (3.549) and on the way back picked up some "worlds best" strawberries outside of Jacksonville. I drove out to goal at Valley view Winery to watch some landings and then returned to HQ to meet C.J. We had a good BBQ dinner at Red Lily Winery ($15 for C.J., comped for me as a volunteer). Also as a volunteer I got a Rat Race hat and, for the first time, a RR sweatshirt! We returned to the yurt to charge instruments.

C.J. at the pre-launch pilots meeting

20 Jun, Day 4, Wed - (Squires-Lower Rabies-Burnt-Squires-Burnt-Rabies Peak-Woodrat Launch-Longsword) Encouraged by my good flight on Tues, I again launched around noon. This time conditions were not as good and I had to scratch up above west launch. I tried Woodrat Pk w/o any luck, then back to the spine to scratch. It was getting too close to the launch-open time for the Race so I tried going over to the cell tower but found nothing. On the way to Hunters, I ran into a "puker" over SR 238  and took it up over Rabies where it ran out. I returned to Lower Rabies and then went west toward FlyAir then turned S to Longsword. I landed at 1304 and hung out there until 1530 or so when I got a ride back to HQ with Raven. C.J. was already there and we headed back to the yurt around 1700. It was early enough for a solar shower in the sunshine, followed by chips-and-cheese- for dinner.

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.