Rat Race - 2016

17-24 June 2016

Photo by Gabriel Schwarzmann

This is the fourteenth year for this paragliding competition held at Woodrat Mountain in southern Oregon near Medford. C.J. has been to all of them and I've been to most (missed a few due to work). I think, however, that this is the first year that C.J. has really been participating rather than competing. Her back was giving her trouble so she decided that her goal would be to fly as long as possible until she was no longer comfortable, then land at the Longsword Winery where most of the goals were located anyway. It worked out well for her. I went along as a volunteer as usual; I helped "fluff" wings on launch and kept the garbage cans from overflowing at the headquarters, Gail and Mike Hailey's house in Ruch. Gabriel Schwarzmann took our picture just inside the door to HQ (left). This was the second year in a row that all eight days of the meet were flyable. However, I did little flying during the middle of the day and our busy schedule did not allow much opportunity for flying the evening glassoff, either.

17 Jun, Friday - left at 0830, stopped for gas and a McDonald's mocha frappe in Roseburg. Got to RR HQ shortly after 1700, in time for the volunteer meeting. On the way down Barbara had called to say that it was going to be cold and that Teri and Geoff had offered us a room for the night. We picked up a couple slices of pizza and a small container of chicken salad at the Ruch Store and heated the pizza up in the microwave at Teri's. They were out to dinner and didn't get back until around 2200. Barb stopped in to visit after her meditation group.

18 Jun, Saturday - We went over to the yurt to cook oatmeal for breakfast then headed for HQ for the 0930 meeting. It was cold, as expected. We rode up to launch with David Le in the big, white van he was driving and I helped "fluff" wings for the 31 superclinic students, the Race and the Sprint (and probably a bunch of free-flyers, as well, including CC and Cathy who were there to fly tandem). I drove a truck down to Longsword for a hang glider pilot since it was windy and I didn't want to fly. David picked me up as promised and we returned to the HQ. It was pretty early and both C.J. and I were glad when the staff put out some chips and salsa to snack on. C.J. had had some problem with getting the new message on her Delorme InReach and worked with Eric ? to figure out what had to be done. After the big pilots meeting there was a baked potato buffet and I served the cheese sauce, sausage gravy and sausage bits. There was also a big salad bar and then brownies for dessert. A couple of volunteers helped me with emptying the HQ garbage cans, much appreciated.

Pilot Meeting on Woodrat Launch, C.J. is near center right

19 Jun, Sunday - We shared breakfast with Chris and went in early enough so that C.J. could get connected to the inadequate internet at HQ and download the update for her Delorme. After another relatively short pilots meeting we waited until the school bus arrived to take us to launch. It was warmer on launch on Sunday, but not t-shirt weather. I fluffed until everyone had launched and then thought about flying. However, when I was ready there was a big gaggle of pilots sinking out over Hunter's. And then, when they started to climb, it got somewhat windy on launch. Most of the Superclinic people who had considered relaunching packed up instead. David Le asked me to drive the white van down so he could fly. I took a load down and hung out at HQ until the Hunter Charity Dinner at 1715 prepared by the local RVHPA. Later I got some help with garbage duty and took a shower. C.J. had attended a mentoring session by local pilot Jared about flying in the Woodrat area. We got back to the yurt around 2030 and C.J. took a bath and I just loafed around reading.

20 Jun, Mon – I wasn’t on duty for fluffing so I flew. I got a ride back up with the Superclinic van. David Le asked me to take over driving the white van, at least down to HQ. I took the few people who didn’t want to launch, including Lori Dirks. Later, A lot of people wanted to fly glassoff so I got in line for the available transportation. Thanks to some generous pilot, we got to use his truck – the white van and the Civil van were full. At launch the conditions were light and crossed from the north. A couple of people launched to the west but they barely made it around to the north side. Kari took off from the sketchy north launch and stayed on the north eventually getting up to the upper launch. A bunch of folks gave up on the midlaunch and went to the top where people were getting high. I stayed until 1915 or so  then gave up and got a ride down in the Civil van. Gail opened the kitchen long enough to get me a meat patty and all the fixin's.

21 Jun, Tuesday – Up late at 0715 since we didn’t have to be at the HQ until shortly before 0900 when the Penske truck was scheduled to leave for launch with our wings. Oatmeal with mango for a change. At launch I helped launch the Super Clinic students and since they seemed to be soaring in friendly air, I took off at 1250. Almost all launches were from the north launch. I managed to get up over launch by about 400 feet then I headed off toward Rabes Ridge. I had a couple of tip collapses, so apparently the air wasn’t as smooth as it had appeared. I got to the Ridge at about the level of the M/W tower, too low to catch any good lift. I turned back to Hunters and landed short of the upper field, but it was only a short walk to the gate. I packed up in the oak shade just outside the fence. I didn’t have long to wait for a ride up as Sonia showed up with a big pickup truck. Julie and I rode up in the back and talked about our trips to Colombia. [I had launched right after Julie and landed just a moment before her.] The Sprint group was already launching when I got to the launch. C.J. was near the end of the line and the wind switched just as she was ready to go. She went over to the west launch and got off on her second inflation (video on phone). I hung around a while longer helping the Superclinic and hiding out in the shade from the broiling sun. Around 1600 I drove HG Orv’s truck down to the HQ. C.J. had flown to Burnt, Rabes and then, with her back aching, landed at Longsword. It took a while before she got a ride back to HQ, just before I sent her a text asking if she needed a ride. Back at HQ I finished the re-install of my Microsoft Office, probably a waste of time as I have to return this computer to get a new motherboard so that the “sleep” power option will work. Dinner at Red Lily winery at 1830. I had a glass of Red Lily Cuvee and C.J had a Blood Orange Ale (10). The dinner of tri-tip, pulled pork, pork ribs and chicken was very good (15).

Sprint task board for 22 Jun

22 Jun, Wed – We went in a bit early but got up later. The RVHPA members cooked breakfast for all the pilots and volunteers. Unfortunately, it wasn’t well advertised and maybe only 50 [out of the 100 Race and Sprint, 31 Superclinic and maybe 25 volunteers] showed up for the breakfast of eggs, pancakes and sausage patty. We went up on the school bus; I took my wing even though I didn’t expect to fly. I helped out with launching and late in the afternoon I drove the Civil van down with Ken Hudonjorgenson and a few superclinic students. [Four parachute deployments today – the air must have been pretty rough. C.J. flew well, though, completing several of the turnpoints including Mt. Isabella and landing at Longsword.] Back at HQ C.J. and I ate the hamburger-hotdog with salad. I had been thinking about flying the glassoff but it turned out to be too windy (probably). We went back to the yurt and visited with Barbara talking some about the proposed trip to Japan in November.

23 Jun, Thu – After oatmeal with mango and pear we drove in around 0800 to HQ. We checked the scores and C.J. was right in the middle of the group at 26^th place; she was second in the list of women sprint pilots. We rode up on the school bus as usual. There wasn’t anything to do for a volunteer so when C.J. suggested I fly with Michelle and Janie, I started getting ready. The whole group of superclinic students seemed to be getting ready at the same time. I launched at 1100 and found lift out in front which took me to over 4000 ft. Then I pushed across to the M/W tower and came in above it; there was lift as usual and I was able to climb up onto Rabe’s Ridge and then to 5300 in strong (1070 fpm) lift. There were clouds above me but they did not look like the kind that suck you up, nevertheless, I headed to Baldy and arrived above the top and burbled along almost to the Burnt turnpoint. Then I turned south and flew to Mid and then thought about going to Longsword where Kari had reported being at 5400. But there wasn’t any help from thermals as I flew in the direction so I turned back and landed at Hunters (0:35). Michelle and Janie were already packed up. I got a ride back up to launch after dropping off my wing at HQ. C.J. was just getting ready to launch and later I saw her in the gaggle and then forging ahead as the Start window opened. I rode down with Tony from Alberta and ? to HQ. I grabbed a shower while it wasn’t busy (and was still working) then started to record my flight. C.J. called to say she had landed off the main road but only 7 km from the goal at Donato’s. I headed over there with her coordinates but the GPS would not show a road route to her location – apparently the roads/driveways were newer than the GPS database. I tried the car Garmin and Google Maps on my phone but no luck. Finally I hooked up the mobile 2m radio and called her on 146.55Mhz. That lessened some of the frustration but did not get me any closer. Finally she asked the landowner and he gave me his address and directions. It turned out that the access was off Dark Hollow Road and not Pioneer where I was. It was easy then to find the landowner’s driveway which had a couple of big temporary signs (5305). C.J. got a ride out to the road and we headed back via Jacksonville so we could get gas. Unfortunately the one local station was out of regular unleaded; fortunately the pilot we picked up along the road bought us ice cream at Ray’s Market. Back at HQ C.J. uploaded her tracklog and I emptied the garbage cans. Dinner at Longsword  was tacos prepared by a new vendor that Gail was trying out. There were three kinds of seasoned meat, refried beans, Spanish rice and a foil packet of warm 4-inch flour tortillas and a drink (beer or wine) was included (not a small thing since a glass of wine at Longsword usually costs $8). We got back about the same time Barbara did.

24 Jun, Fri – Breakfast and on to HQ, up on the school bus. I hung out waiting for people to start launching then helped fluff wings. Everyone was off by 1300. I drove Sam’s van down to HQ, took a shower and waited to see if C.J. would make it to goal at Donato’s. Nope, she called and said the air had been ugly and she had made a couple of turnpoints but did not want to go way in to Sugar so she landed (to the east!) at Longsword. I went into West Medford to get gas at the Mobil station near Albertson’s – it was a couple miles farther than Jacksonville but the price was 20 cents per gallon cheaper. I bought enough to get us to Roseburg, about 100 miles. C.J. was back by the time I returned but she had misplaced her phone. We looked in her wing pack which was under a pile of wings in the Penske truck with no luck. Then we drove over to Longsword and it was still on the arm of a chair where she must have left it. We hung out there with David Blizzard, Wendy and Kari Castle and David bought us a Fentiman’s Ginger Beer which was good. It was 1630 by then so we went back to the HQ so C.J. could get a shower before we went to the Upper Humbug Fish Fry that Barb, Teri and Geoff were doing for us. Chris arrived a bit late but the corn took a little longer to roast on the charcoal grill anyway. Teri roasted the salmon fillets that Barbara bought at Albertson’s, and there was a kale salad with some lettuce, chopped cashews and nutritional yeast. We brought over our bottle of heavy cream to whip for topping for Teri’s peach and blackberry cobbler. I asked Barbara to take a look at what I was planning to do with the cracked doorstep of the yurt. After cleaning out the crack we were able to clamp it almost closed; maybe putting glue in the crack before we put tighten the clamps and screws will help hold it together. Someone had tried just glue and that had not worked.

RR banner and Ninkasi beer trailer

25 Jun, Sat – Last day of the Rat. I flew early, at 1100, and I still had a big tip collapse. I got up above launch out over the Mid-ridge and tried to go to Rabe’s. I reached the M/W just at the top of the tower and didn’t feel good about flying beyond it, especially as I looked back and saw how far away the bailout LZ was. I made it back into the lower field (NW quadrant) and had a walk to get to the gate. I packed up in the shade then got a ride up with Laura in her Sprinter van with motorcycle and surfboard inside, and Jamie who lives at The Crash Pad. I was in plenty of time to help with launching the Race and Sprint pilots. I drove Sam’s van back to HQ. C.J. called and had had a good flight and had landed in goal (but without completing the course). I drove over to Longsword to pick her up and brought back Jug, also. As dinnertime approached, Gail put out the usual chips and salsa but also a pork pate’ and a tapenade and some other interesting snacks. Dinner was not lasagna this year.

Trophies and local wine prizes

There were big pans of teriyaki chicken, pork and beef. I was serving pulled pork on the second shift. In addition, there were vegetables, Hawaiian rolls and salads. Later, after the awards ceremony there were two big sheet cakes and strawberry shortcake. C.J. was just 37 points out of third place for the Sprint women even though she had been flying only for personal goals, not the whole course. Owen Shoemaker took second for the Race even after having to deploy his reserve on the last day (as did three of the six top finishers. Francisco Montares from Argentina took the top place, Andy McCrae third. After emptying garbage a final time, C.J. and I went back to the yurt.

26 Jun, Sun – After breakfast we moved some furniture and pulled the rug back from the door of the yurt so I could drill holes in the threshold/doorsill with the pockethole drill bit. Chris put the two large clamps on (the other two I brought were not big enough) and closed up the crack after we liberally doused it with waterproof wood glue. I put in five 2½ inch x 8 screws. Hopefully that will hold it together. If not, then next year (or August, if we go to the FFFF) I’ll bring 3-in x 10 screws and more clamps. We started home around 1030, stopped for gas in Roseburg (2.229), a frappe’ in Vancouver and gas again in Tumwater (2.459). It took more than ten hours due to slow traffic on I-5 here and there. Just north of Olympia (exit 111) we got off and took a detour through Yelm, Roy and back to SR 512 to avoid a jam that stretched to Mounts Road (near JBLM). It may not have been any faster but it was interesting and saved on wear and tear due to frustration in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Home around 2030.

Blanchard Bash 2016

3-5 June 2016

C.J. and I have tried to attend the combination DNR Trails Day work party and Blanchard Fly-in every year. This year, unusually, Blanchard did not provide soarable conditions on any of the three days we were there. However, there was good flying at Sumas on Friday as reported by David Le, as well as at Black. Then on Saturday we went with a bunch of paragliders to Black and it was again good with people flying for as long as they wanted and landing in the usual group camp LZ and the larger field across the road from the main entrance to Silver Lake County Park. [Some non-participant pilots launched from Sauk the same day, got up to 11,000 ft along the way and flew all the way across the North Cascades to Mazama!] Sunday was just too hot for us to want to repeat the hour-long trip to Black (and there was the hassle of not having a key), so we headed home early. 

3 Jun, Fri – We left around 1000 with the trailer and didn’t stop for gas in Burlington as we usually do, figuring that we wouldn’t be driving much farther than the launch and LZ at Blanchard. Stacey directed us to our own private site between some trees, leaving the larger spaces for people with large RVs. [Thanks Stacey, for taking time out from prom preparations to be a gracious hostess!]

After getting set up and visiting with some of the locals we rode up to launch with Jan and Murdoch. Conditions looked “OK” but there was some north to the wind. I pulled my wing up and had to abort, and then C.J. managed a forward inflation and launch. But as soon as she got out beyond the trees, it was clear that there was some pretty strong north. She got rock-and-rolled and turned for the LZ. And later she reported that it was strong west, and she had to maneuver herself into a position from which she would not be dragged into the briars and/or RR tracks if she didn’t get her wing collapsed (which she did neatly). I stood on launch a bit but C.J.’s radio report convinced me to pack up. Jan did, too, and we drove back to Beck’s where I got the Sorento and went down to pick up C.J. Tom Lake was there with his French bulldog, along with Jud. No one beside us had been on launch. We hung out around camp the rest of the afternoon and evening, greeting new arrivals as they pulled in. Shawn Lucke, pres of the NCSC, was there so we paid our $25 fly-in donation to him. This year we didn’t go to the Chuckanut Manor for the Friday buffet because we had already done an out-to-eat at the Coho in Issaquah. Instead, we had the rest of our Zucchizza and a salad.

4 Jun, Sat – We got up around 0700 and had breakfast early enough that we could get to the usual meeting place for the DNR work party. As usual there were juice, coffee, various kinds of snack-y bars, fruit, and pastries. I counted about 60 volunteers of which more than 40 were pilots or spouses. Up at the launch we were going to spread out the limbs from three or four felled trees to the left of the new, graded and grassy west launch. But for some reason the trees had not been bucked or limbed. So we ended up just weedwhacking, mowing and generally cleaning up the overlook area. Yaro and I helped David make a tree disappear; he had cut a tallish evergreen that was just to the right of the flight path from the south launch. After that I took a break while helping Paul install additional roll holders for the TP in the rest rooms.

Samish Overlook DNR Work Party - Delvin, C.J., Nancy (By Bonita H)

 By noon we were finished and people were thinking about flying. Hangs were probably going to Lookout and some paras were talking up Black. Fortunately the lunch preparation had gotten an early start so we were able to eat some burgers and brats prepared on Guy’s Bar-B-Choo, plus some salads and desserts. We took David Le with us and headed for the 1400 rendezvous at the LZ with CC and Cathy following. At Silver Lake we loaded CC and Cathy in with us and followed Delvin’s carload up the decent gravel road to the 4600-ft launch. The last mile of the road had some pretty serious waterbars, but only a dozen of them. Conditions looked good and the first person off soared so most people got ready to launch. CC and Cathy flew tandem and went way to the right out of sight, but when we next spotted them they were above the top of the ridge to the north. CC said they had reached 2000 ft over launch. By the time almost everyone had taken off I had decided not to fly so we wouldn’t have to come all the way back up to retrieve just my vehicle. [There were five vehicles, and all but mine had drivers.] It was a half hour down to the red gate at the Mt. Baker Hwy and then another 2.25 mi to Maple Falls. C.J. had landed in the big field, David also. Rick Lai was there with another pilot and wanted to go up to fly but there were no keyholders who wanted to go back up. A call to Jeff Beck gave Delvin permission to loan Jeff’s key to Rick. [Later we heard that they launched around 1930 and had extended sledders.] I stopped in B’ham at Safeway to get some gas (2.549) and then returned to the gathering at the Becks for the salmon and chicken BBQ with potluck salads and desserts (C.J. had brought a big zucchini-chocolatechip-spice cake). The large bonfire with last season’s dried-out Christmas tree on top produced a lot of light and heat, which really was not needed this year.

"Bonbonfire" by Bonita Hobson

5 Jun, Sun – Thinking that folks would want to travel in order to fly, Jeff started the pancake, scrambled eggs, and sausage breakfast early, sometime after 0800. I would have liked to get in a flight but the thought of driving all the way back to Black (about an hour) and waiting until conditions got good later while baking in the unseasonably hot weather was daunting. After waffling for a while and consulting with Chris and Patricia (who had been at Sauk on Saturday) we decided to look one last time at Blanchard launch (we saw a para and two student hangs launch and go directly to the LZ) and then head home early. At least we didn’t have a lot of late Sunday traffic to contend with. We stopped at Costco Burlington to fill-up (2.399) and were home by 1600, giving us plenty of time to unpack and get showers to cool off. Later we heard from Chris, Patricia, Beth and Ernie that flying at Black was not as good as it had been on Saturday.

C.J.’s Birthday at Kiona Airpark

Memorial Day Weekend 2016

Thanks, Tina and Larry!

C.J. ready for her birthday flight

Although the weekend started out rainy, we left Sunday (in the rain) and drove down to camp at Tina and Larry’s new property near Randle. It’s on a grass airstrip and has a big hangar that fits both the Dragonfly and their Cessna (plus one or more set-up hang gliders when necessary. We parked just outside the fenced backyard (where we had parked on our last trip down for Hazel’s fourth birthday was recovering from the removal of several large conifers). The weather had gone from rainy on the way down to sunny around Morton-Randle so we all went over to Dog for an afternoon flight. I thought it was blowing too hard for paragliding but it looked reasonable for the hang gliders. A lone mini-wing pilot was packing up in the LZ. C.J. had a good launch and flew for 1hr 10min and then had a good landing although she had to run hard, surprising in the wind (but later we surmised that the berm at the west end of the LZ is blocking the wind and/or causing rotor). Back at the Jorgensen’s we had a late dinner of grilled steak and over-roasted potatoes and carrots. We picked up some ice cream to go with the chocolate-chip scone-based strawberry “shortcake”.

Monday – We were lazing around in our sleeping bags when we heard a gentle tapping. Opening the door we found Hazel who wanted to know why we were still sleeping. Apparently she doesn’t have a shy bone in her body because, after cleaning the wet grass off her feet, she climbed right into bed with us. There was plenty of room in our zipped-together sleeping bags but it wasn’t long before we all got up. Hazel took off and we made breakfast. Larry had lots of projects to work on; I helped him with scrubbing the pollen and stuff off the greenhouse. Around 1430 we went over to Dog again. Six or eight pilots had landed in the LZ already after having decent flights (Aaron and Kerry, Paul Dees, Kenny, and others). We drove up and C.J. got set up while I talked with Dave and Diane and Kim. They got launched before Larry, Tina and Justin came up to fly. I tried several times to get off and then decided that it just wasn’t going to work for me and packed up my wing. By 1800 the wind had switched mostly to the north and only a few wings were in the air. C.J. said that Tina had reported ugly air and had landed. But a few minutes later she said that maybe it was the transition and by now maybe the air would be smoother. I jumped on that suggestion and took off to the north after only a couple of tries. It was soarable but the air was not completely settled and it wasn’t all that pleasant. I kept trying the north, then the west face, back and forth as conditions changed, and eventually went out and landed for about 0:21. Travis joined us at the airpark and Tina served up crockpot pork with potatoes and salad. She also had put up crepe paper streamers and had baked a birthday cake for C.J. It was a really nice party. Hazel gave C.J. a necklace she had made. Fortunately we still had the Umpqua ice cream left to go with the still-warm cake decorated with an almond glaze – and candles, maybe not 69, but quite a few.

Tuesday – We stayed over to avoid the traffic, and because it was already late when we finished dinner. We left around 1100. Though I had considered checking out the Cowlitz Falls Campground County Park to see how it would be to put in our kayak (or inflatable kayak) to float/paddle down to the day use area where the lake backed up by the CF dam begins, we just drove the usual route home. [All the trans-Cascade passes were open by this weekend.] Stopping at Costco Covington for gas and bananas, we also shared a hot dog for lunch. Fred Meyer had milk on sale and we also got a can of shortening so I could make some more scones. We had stopped near the Soldiers Home in Orting at the Spooner Farm fruit stand and got a half flat of strawberries that were as good as those we bought in Medford (11.50, yesterday’s picking). We were home early enough to unpack, rest a little and then go to the KT Squares plus workshop where there were some new dancers. At the end we managed to bumble through some advanced dancing – amazing after missing two weeks.

Larry and C.J. taking off in the Dragonfly

Lake Tahoe 2016

14-24 May 2016

14 May, Sat – We left around 0900 in drizzle, filled up at Tumwater Costco and Eugene Costco. Just beyond Eugene we turned off I-5 and headed east and south through pleasant forested country over Willamette Pass. We stopped for a break at a FS campground on Odell (?) Lake. We hit US 97 at Crescent Junction and continued south to Klamath Falls. I noted that the north entrance to Crater Lake was not open at this time this year. We checked into the Maverick Motel (54.60) which was right in the old downtown area. We had dinner at Arby’s using our coupon for a free orange crème shake for dessert. The Bourbon Steak Burger and curly fries were pretty good, too.

15 May, Sun – We got a relatively early start after a typical motel cold cereal, yogurt breakfast. I skipped the packaged sweet rolls and hot chocolate (and regretted it later…). Just inside CA we stopped in Tulelake to visit a TI for information about the Japanese internment camp in the area, but the TI wasn’t open – too early in the season. We found the camp in/near Newell but there was not much there – just a monument, plaque and sign. We backtracked a couple of miles so we could take the northern route into the Lava Beds National Monument. We stopped at the Petroglyphs where we realized that we needed to break out some warmer clothing if we were going to do anything outdoors. We also stopped at Hospital Rock, Canby’s Cross and Captain Jack’s Stronghold where we walked the shorter of the two loops. Heading farther into the lava flows and spatter cone we stopped to explore Fleener Chimneys. Later we stopped at the VC then headed out of the NM and south bypassing Canby, and through Adin. Crossing a high point in the Modoc National Forest, C.J. spotted a mountain lion! We stopped for a break at a FS CG and a ranger agreed that this area had a number of cougars. We took another break in Susanville where we took advantage of the last day of the Frappuccino Happy Hour deal at Starbucks. On US  395 we cruised south to Reno where we made it to Costco around 1700 (before closing time of 1800 on Sundays). We had to wait for a rotisserie chicken and we also bought a bunch of fruit (gas 2.599) So we were worried when we had to stop at a California inspection station on I-80 near Truckee; but the agent just waved us on through  without even asking what we had. We got to the Olympic Village Inn (OVI) at Squaw Valley after 1800, registered and used a trolley to get most of our stuff to our third-floor room. There was some rain as we drove from Reno up to Squaw, but it was only misting as we unloaded. Chicken, salad and bread for dinner in our tiny, partial kitchen and combination living room-dining room with a foldout table.

16 May, Mon – We got up early enough to have breakfast and get to a 0930 activities presentation (with good muffins and juice). The report was that hiking to the usual mountain lakes was not possible because there was so much snow. In fact, the ski area was still operating in the higher reaches. Base altitude is around 6200 and the aerial tram goes up to 8200 or so. There was snow visible on the slopes around us, but none at the valley bottom. We had our snowshoes with us so we may have been more prepared for snow than other guests. After not winning anything at the raffle, we packed a lunch and our paddle gear and by 1100 were on our way to do a kayak trip from Baldwin Beach on the southwest end of Lake Tahoe. It was a fairly long drive in traffic made even slower (and longer) by three areas of construction. Once out of Tahoe City, the route was in the forest and through several state parks and national forest recreation areas. There were lots of cars in the trailheads near Emerald Bay/Eagle Falls/Eagle Lake, and the road got really interesting as it traversed a narrow ridgetop high above the lake. Baldwin Beach seemed to be a USFS picnic area and we had to pay an entry fee, reduced by half with our “golden geezer” pass (4). The wind was light and the sky was mostly sunny as we set off from the coarse sand beach around 1235. We stuck close to the shore as we paddled northwest, first passing a dozen lakeshore houses. Then we paddled north along what appeared to be unspoiled forest on steep slopes (but probably it had been reclaimed from development in the past as cables and tracks seemed to indicate). Eagle Point at the head of Emerald Bay had eagle or osprey nests and a few raptors as well. We occasionally caught sight of the heads of young nestlings. Once within Emerald Bay, we pulled in to a sandy beach and had lunch. No one joined us and there were few powerboats and only a couple of other kayaks. After lunch we continued along the SE shore with Fannette Island and its ruined teahouse on our right. At the head of the bay we stopped on a sandy beach near a pier and got out to explore the exterior of Vikingsholm, a 1929 mansion built to resemble a Viking castle, if there was ever such a thing. The main building was stone but the annexes were carved wood with sod roofs, very cool. The tours of the interior occur only during the summer season. Back on the water, we paddled in a brisk headwind along the NW shore, past the boat camp. Once we passed Eagle Point again, the wind must have been at our backs because we made good time along the shore. We had hauled the boat up the sandy beach by 1600, but we needed a rest before we hoisted it onto the Sorento’s racks. Traffic on the way back was much better and we had only one construction stop. However, we stopped at Inspiration Point and at Eagle Falls both above Emerald Bays for photos and views. In Tahoe City we found a CVS pharmacy where C.J. could replace her left-behind face cream. Safeway provided a jar of salsa so that we could have a snack back at OVI with drinks before dinner.

17 May, Tue – As much as I would have liked to get an early start for what promised to be a long hike, we were not out to the car and packing up until 0930. At 1000 we let the OVI front desk know that we were going to hike up the Shirley Lake Trail (“always let someone know where you are hiking”) Not having done enough research, we used the trailhead right behind OVI, signed Shirley Canyon Trail (with a temporary sign recommending not using it due to late season snow). We were carrying snowshoes strapped to our packs in case we encountered deep, soft snow. The trail climbed steeply for a short distance until it intersected the Granite Chief trail (route to Tinkers Knob). At about 0.7 mi we headed left (W) when the GC trail continued north. No one (not the guidebook, either) had noted that we would have trouble crossing Squaw Creek (usually an easy boulder hop across a mostly dry stream) which was roaring with spring snowmelt. We could see people on the south side of the creek where the Shirley Lake trail was located. Finally, after following a herd path along the creek and up a climb to a less steep area, we found a usable log spanning the slower moving stream. Once across we saw only a couple of people and most were wearing sneakers, so they were probably not planning on going all the way to the lake. We missed a sharp right turn in a snowy area where the trail crossed a side creek and followed another herd path that put us at the base of a steep area guarded by slide alder and other dense brush. We used the Backcountry Navigator app on my phone to figure that we had to move to the right (N) to get to the “official” blue-paint blazed trail. We passed under a ski lift (Silverado?) and crossed another stream before reaching the granite slabs where we could see the trail markers. A good-sized waterfall was pouring off one side of the slabs, but the trail ascended the left side and wasn’t wet enough to be slippery. Although we had had to cross several patches of snow, there was none on the slabs; still the climbing took all of our attention as it was a real scramble and the wind gusts had picked up. Once above the slabs at about 13:00 we stopped for lunch in a sheltered, snowfree dell. From there on to Shirley Lake, about 0.5 mi and 200 ft above, we were on firm snow and had to kick steps. The lake was snow covered and there was an out-of-service chair lift that went from near it to the 8000 ft crest above. Since it was already after 14:00 and the last tram (free to hikers going down) was at 16:20 (probably…unless it got canceled by the strong winds or didn’t run that late until Memorial Day weekend, or…) So we decided not to go for the probable free ride from where we were at the lake at 7500 ft to the tram at 8200 ft on steepish snow. That meant we’d have to negotiate the snow slopes back to the slabs, then scramble down and find the trail we had missed on the way up and hike back to the trail head – only about 2.2 mi according to the trail description in the guidebook (Hikes in the Northern Sierra, a Falcon guide). We met a few hikers on the way out but none seemed equipped for the hike all the way to the lake or beyond to High Camp and the Tram (and we may have looked a bit over-equipped with our high gaiters, trekking poles and snowshoes). A big letdown was when we reached the trailhead and found that we could not get back across Squaw Creek to OVI without walking about three-quarters of a mile to the nearest bridge near the Village. Back at OVI we dropped our snowshoes at the car and checked in a the front desk – different people but they were aware that we were out and were waiting for us. We had a drink and some snacks before dinner. At 1840 we went to the lobby for a PowerPoint presentation on the California Emigrant Trail history by Mark McLaughlin, a local author.

18 May, Wed – got up at 0830 and C.J. worked on her Flying Thai article and talked to Nick about the Luis-Zac article, then worked on some other stuff. At 1215 we picked up our free rental bikes from the activities coordinators at OVI. We took the bike trail down the Squaw Valley Road to Hwy 89 and followed the Truckee River bike path along the river about four miles. We turned around just beyond The Ramparts, a wall-like outcrop that must have extended across the valley at one time. We stopped to eat our picnic lunch at a trail pullout near River Ranch Restaurant at the junction with Alpine Meadows Rd., then pedaled back up the hill to Squaw Valley. We left our bikes locked to a rack and walked through the Olympic Valley “Village” of overpriced outdoor gear shops and restaurants. We were curious as to what the tram would cost if one boarded in the valley rather than at High Camp. A guide told us it was $39 ($29 for seniors). We returned the bikes at 1530 and made a strawberry-banana smoothie with the blender C.J. had borrowed from the front desk (there’s probably all kinds of things available if you ask). We rested for a while before the 1730 wine-and-cheese social. There weren’t enough seats so we sat on the floor and chatted with some of the other guests. At the raffle, we won an RCI resort stay (but when we picked it up, we found out that we would have to pay $250; still, we wouldn’t have to use up any points, and an exchange is going to cost $160 anyway). Later we donned our swimsuits and the provided robes and went down to a hot tub [one of 4 or more, not counting the heated outdoor pool (84 deg)] and visited with a newlywed couple of about our age. He had been on the south side of Mt. St. Helens when it erupted in 1980. A journalist for UPI (or AP?), he had been covering election issues in Portland and SW WA and just happened to be up there doing interviews with local loggers. The couple had also been to Iceland recently so there was a lot to talk about. We never did decide to have any dinner but I mixed up the last half bottle of Key Lime Refreshe with a splash of tequila – pretty good.

19 May, Thu – Up at 0800, made a big breakfast of French toast and bacon. Then around 1030 we took our hiking gear to the next valley to the south of Squaw – Alpine Meadow. We spotted a coyote as we looked for the Five Lakes trailhead. The trail went seriously uphill for the first mile and we hit snow there as we passed under a chairless chairlift. The trail was dry again as we “contoured up” Bear Creek Valley toward the headwall which separated Squaw from Alpine Meadow. There was continuous snow as we hit the woods around the Five Lakes, but we detoured and climbed north to the 7800 ft saddle on the ridge above so we could look across at High Camp. Squaw Valley itself was not visible from where we were near the top of one of the (not-running) lifts. We ate lunch in a dry area and the wind which had been strong and gusty on the last part of the climb was not a problem. We had not brought our snowshoes this time and the snow was compact enough that we could walk on top of it. After lunch we dropped back down to the “trail” in the woods and followed boot tracks through the snow to the lake. On the way we ran into Chris and Daniel Degrazio from a western suburb of SLC. She had lost a Costco version of the Yaktrak which we found later. The largest lake was partly melted along the shore with the characteristic aqua color where there was snow or ice under the surface. I filled my water bottle and treated the water with the new Steripen (2x, because it was bigger than 500ml). Returning we retraced the snowy route through fir trees and Jeffery (?) pines, then down the  (mostly) dry trail back to the car by around 1615. Back at the condo I blended up a strawberry-banana-yogurt smoothie. The basic Osterizer 10-speed blender worked remarkably well, even dealing with the five large ice cubes. C.J. worked on editing and her article. Later we had spaghetti with chicken and red sauce and salad. We spent an hour talking with Chris and Daniel in the third floor lounge after returning the Yaktrak.

20 May, Fri – Slept in until 0830, then made an omelet for breakfast. We spent most of the morning and early afternoon editing the Jul-Aug magazine. About noon it started snowing and by late afternoon there was snow piling up on our kayak and the grounds of the resort were covered. No hiking or biking today. Later, we watched “Tim’s Vermeer” and had another strawberry-banana smoothie and some M/W popcorn. By dinner time we were hearing reports of I-80 being closed over Donner Summit or requiring chains (and I hadn’t even considered bringing chains to California). We hoped for the forecast 1-3 inches to end in the evening or overnight, and for the roads to get cleared before we had to check out at 1100. Around 2100 I had to call Maintenance to come up and unclog our kitchen-sink drain. The maintenance guy had an electric snake that did the job in less than an hour.

21 May, Sat – I made Krusteaz pancakes for breakfast; they were not very good (did we just forget how bad they always were?). We got packed up and checked out by 1000. The snow had stopped and the sun was shining on the ~2 in. of snow everywhere but on the road. We drove SR 89 to Truckee then west on Donner Summit Road to the Donner Memorial State Park ($7 for senior parking). We walked around the bronze Memorial on its 22ft pedestal (the depth of the snow that winter in 1846-47). When went inside the new (in June 2015) Emigrant Trail Museum/Visitor Center and viewed all the exhibits and watched the movie at 1100. When we came out, it was cloudy and spitting snow again. We drove up toward the pass and stopped before the curving  Rainbow Bridge, an engineering wonder in its day, put on our boots, hats and parkas (in late May!) and walked over to the China Wall memorial and on to the granite slabs where there were some obscure and faint petroglyphs. We could have scrambled up the snowy slabs to the carefully stacked rocks of the China Wall (fill under the trackbed of the continental RR) and walked into the old tunnels, but it looked slippery and we had not brought our trekking poles and it was getting windier and snowier. We returned to the car and drove the short distance to the vista point just short of the bridge where we got a few pictures in the freezing, blowing snow. We continued driving on US 40 over Donner Summit (7056 ft) and stopped briefly in the parking lot of the Donner Ski Ranch to look back to where the PCT should have been visible skirting the base of Mt. Judah but there was too much snow in the air to see it. As we descended we ran out of snow around 4000 ft. It was all downhill for many miles. We stopped at a rest area that displayed a hydraulic mining cannon [1850s to 1880s, $100 million worth of gold, stopped by federal injunction]. Traffic was slow at the I-80/50 merge and several other places, esp. SR 37 near the race track. We got to Ginny’s around 1700, seven hours for a three-hour trip! Ginny had prepared a tasty pot roast dinner.

22 May, Sun – Wally went off to work with five students at Ed Levin. Ginny’s patient was being kept in the hospital so she did not have to see her on her day off. We cooperatively made bacon and eggs with C.J.’s tea bread (coffee cake... tea bread) for breakfast. I read over the PASA newsletter to see what Wally was dealing with as a paragliding school owner. It looked like I could save a Google Earth picture as a jpeg and then label it in a photo editor to help Wally with that part of the PASA application. In the afternoon we built an a-frame cage to cover the new blueberry bushes. We took a break around 1530 for bagels and lox for lunch. Wally got home in time to find his drill-driver and help screw the frames together. Later Ginny and C.J. put together a delicious chicken casserole (the last of the Costco chicken from Reno) and served it with corn on the cob. We had some peanut butter buddy bars for dessert. C.J. did the copy-editing for Wally’s PASA proposal while he and I stuck some labels on some Google Earth photos. [Later we found out that his proposal was accepted, and then after another application, he got his certification and was able to buy the necessary insurance under the PASA plan. He would not have to retire early after all.]

23 May, Mon – Wally had thought that conditions might be good enough at Potato to make a trip up there with us worthwhile. (He had a wing or two that needed test flights.)  But in the morning XCSkies did not show good lift, or top-of-lift numbers so a trip to Potato was out. After Ginny left for work we were considering what to have for breakfast when Wally offered to take us out to breakfast at Lundy’s in downtown San Rafael. It didn’t take but a few minutes to get the rest of our stuff back in the car; we followed Wally down the hill and parked at the Wells Fargo parking garage. Surprisingly for a Monday, the restaurant was full so we went a few doors down to another breakfast-lunch (and evening bar) place. The eggs-sausage-French toast was good; C.J. had a big Italian -omelet; And Wally had the 3-egg special. By 1010 or so we were heading north via 101-37- I-80 – I-505 – I-5. We stopped for gas at Vacaville Costco (2.399) [This time I didn’t have any problem with the flow of gas shutting off as I did on the 21^st when we stopped there during construction.] We stopped in Williams to visit Brother Bill and see his new (to him, 2005) motorhome. An hour later we were back on the road. Shasta Lake looked full for the first time in years. I drove through Weed to see the effects of the forest fire. Shasta was obscured by the clouds. We stopped in Medford for Costco gas (2.379) and then stopped to buy 3 baskets of strawberries at our favorite fruit stand on the way to Jacksonville and Barbara’s yurt. Barb was at her Aikido class in Ashland so we had a salad for dinner (the rest of the unfrozen lettuce, some chicken, grapes and strawberries). Chips and a beer added some carbs. Later it started to rain hard and a small section of the yurt leaked, luckily not over the bed. When Barb got back she had lots of news (and gossip) to share.

24 May, Tues – We drove home without running into any real slowdowns. We stopped for gas before Portland in Wilsonville and in Covington. And we tried the $2 MacDonald frappes and smoothies when we took a break in Tumwater.

Hazel's Fourth Birthday

At the Jorgensen's new Kiona Airpark location

6-8 May 2016

Originally we were going to the annual Beach 'N at Chelan but we got an invitation to Tina and Larry's event just before the news broke that there would be no landing on the park beach at Chelan. The lake had risen and covered the usual spot. AND there would also be no landing down at the Chelan Falls soccer field due to a soccer tournament being held there. The organizers then got permission to land at the airport, an unusual concession. Unfortunately for PGs, the airport is about six miles from the launch on Chelan Butte so it certainly can not be done on a glide. Anyway, we really like Tina and Larry and their family and friends, plus C.J. could possibly fly her hang glider at Dog, so we opted for heading south rather than east.

6 May, Fri - I had a VA medical appointment in Seattle at 1020 so we didn't get started until after 1300. Once there and with our trailer set up in a grassy site under huge hemlocks we joined Tina in preparing for the party. Our project was to put together a large dollhouse using bolts and cylinder nuts. After finishing it, we hid it in a closet in an unused guest bedroom upstairs. We had dinner with Tina and Larry, Jazzy and Justin and his folks, Hazel, of course, and others. Later Hazel found the presents that C.J. had brought and opened them up (Well, really her birthday had been the day before so it wasn't necessary to wait for the big BD luncheon on Saturday) She ignored the embroidered shirts but liked the book, A Child is Born, since it related to her experience as Jasmine gave birth to Palmer just a few weeks ago.

7 May, Sat - Tina did the ceremonial first tow with the Dragonfly early before it got windy. And Justin did the second one, this time north to Kiona Peak just west of Watch Mtn. We helped set up tables and did some other stuff before the potluck lunch with organic ground beef hamburgers and Costco hot dogs. Hazel's birthday cake was a chocolate bundt cake with pink frosting covered with a big box of sprinkles. It was nice and warm in the sun on the apron in front of the hangar. There were lots of presents but mostly the kids (James and ___ Ollikanen were there) played in the water in a little kiddy pool. (It didn't seem that warm to me.) Around 1600 we drove over to Dog where it looked pretty windy but people were flying. We drove up behind Larry's truck but C.J. and Tina decided not to launch. Larry and Justin were able to fly all over the place - west of Elk, Peterman, Panorama; even Paige on her Falcon was able to get to Elk and return. No one tried to fly back to Kiona Airpark, even though Justin got to 5000 ft. I drove down a stick-shift Toyoya with OR license; no idea who it belonged to. Back at Jorgensen's the plan was to eat up the leftovers from the lunch, but Justin's Dad cooked up a big batch of smoked ribs that were delicious with barbecue sauce. There were also salads, hot dogs, pork chops and three kinds of chocolate cakes for dessert.

8 May, Sun - After breakfast we hung out for a while then decided to go to Dog to see if it was flyable. Tina and Larry were not going so we packed up the trailer and left it to pick up later. We drove via the back route which followed Falls Rd eventually passing Dave Gerdes' place and coming out on the Champion Haul Road at the Taidnapam boat launch. There were no pilots in the air or in the LZ but conditions didn't look too bad, a bit cloudier but not as windy. On the way up we met a paraglider pilot coming down who said it was too strong for PG. Up on top it was chilly while C.J. set up but we had warm clothes with us. C.J. had a good launch in smooth conditions. It looked like she could soar for a long time. I started down with the Sorento and the conditions must have changed because the lift quit and C.J. landed not long after I had reached the LZ. I videoed her landing which was good, but the wind was light enough that she had to run hard to keep from dropping her nose. We returned to the Jorgensen's where Larry and Tina gave us a cooler full of cuts of their organic beef as a thank-you for helping them move two weekends ago. We hitched up and headed east for a scenic route back to North Bend. We had to buy gas in Randle because we were down to an eighth of a tank (2.599). We stopped briefly at the ranger station but it was closed and there was no recent information about the road we wanted to take. [One interesting thing was a sign saying that mushroom and beargrass permits were sold at the ranger station.] In Packwood we turned north onto the Skate Creek Road (52) a paved USFS route that winds through the Gifford Pinchot National Forest south of Mt. Rainier NP and comes out at Ashford near the park entrance. The road was a bit bumpy for driving with the trailer but it wasn't busy so we could take our time. There were some good views of Mt. Rainier. We passed a spur road at the Skate Creek bridge which leads up toward Lookout Mountain (on which Matty Senior says is a launch). And we noted where the spur road takes off for High Rock Lookout not far from Ashford. As usual we used Orville Road to get to Kapowsin on the way to Orting (rather than going through the busy South Hill commercial area), but this time we continued straight at Kapowsin to eliminate the windy road along the Puyallup River. We went through Thrift and then downhill to the outskirt of Orting where we passed the Wash. State Soldiers Home (VA) and then continued home along the rest of the usual route. A stop at Costco gave us a chance to fill up the tank and get some groceries. We were home early enough to get everything unpacked, cleaned up and put away before dinner.

The Beach'N at Chelan turned out to have decent flying but it was marred by the report of a paraglider crashing in the city park and being seriously injured. Apparently he was trying to land near where he was camped. The meet organizers were understandably disappointed that someone would land in an area not approved for landing.