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Ernie
Camacho
Club
President
(7/27/04 7:14
pm)
24.5.51.30
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St. John flight
report - 7/26/04
Here's some pictures of my flight on Monday. Story to follow. I'll
let your imagination run wild in the meantime.
Photo 1: I'm heading out from
St. John. That's it in the distance. Notice that I'm not over the
knees.
Photo 2: Even further on
course, still following the highway. My nose is pointing back at St.
John. That's the valley out beyond my wing.
Photo 3: That's the town of
Weaverville in the lower right, and Trinity (Claire-Engle) Lake in
the distance to the right. And I'm heading toward...
Photo 4: The Trinity Alps.
That's Sawtooth Mt. in front of me. I'm still following the
highway.
Photo 5: Just a shot of the
scenery out to the west, I think.
Photo 6: Coming up on my valley
- Scott Valley that is. Etna is in this end of the valley.
Photo 7: Crusing along Scott
Valley. I was going to fly to Shasta today, but instead...
Photo 8: I took the direct
route over Ft. Jones (at the far end of this ridge) toward Yreka
(top-right of photo), where I landed next to Hwy 5 and Oberlin Rd.
Stats:
- Time in the air: 8 hrs, 10 min.
- Distance
flown: 158.4 miles
I'll write up a detailed report
later.
Scot
p.s. I think you can tell I didn't write
this. Ernie wrote it for me, and took only a little license. My
fingers are still cramped. I can hardly hold onto my beer.
Edited by: Ernie
Camacho at: 7/28/04 3:07 pm
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Ernie
Camacho
Club
President
(7/27/04 8:03
pm)
24.5.51.30
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Re: St. John
flight report - 7/26/04
Yep, Scot stopped by my place on his way home - he's staying in Bay
Area for now - so I could upload some photos for him. He really did
it, and in doing it brought the "deep in the mountains" vs. "out in
the valley" discussion back to life.
Scot didn't want me to
mention this, but hey, he's on the road now, so I can tell you what
this reminds me of. Do you remember the Sunday Comics strip of
Barney Google and Snuffy Smith? Well, Barney was a flatlander who
met mountain boy Snuffy. Just like Valley Vince and Summit Scot.
Maybe we have a new nickname or two in the works, but I didn't say
anything...
Edited by: Ernie
Camacho at: 7/27/04 9:38 pm
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Leo
Jones
Unregistered
User
(7/27/04 8:15
pm)
66.52.165.105
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Wow!
Wow! No make that double wow!!!
Awesome flight,
Scot.
Leo
|
Greg
Sugg
Club Site
Director
(7/27/04 8:26
pm)
67.180.137.46
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My Gawd!!
Holy cojones, Scot. I am blown away!! 
Amazing
flight. And lots of unlandable country. I'm glad you took pictures.
Edited by: Greg
Sugg at: 7/27/04 8:36 pm
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Vince
Endter
'02,'03 Go-For-It
Champ
(7/28/04 3:06
am)
216.103.80.211
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Re: St. John
flight report - 7/26/04
Great flight Scot! It looks like I will have to fly to Lake View
sooner than I thought.
Vince
|
Hangfly
Club Secretary
(7/28/04 7:38 am)
12.149.141.14
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WOW!!!
Nice job Scot!!! Eight hours in the air, you should charge all your
batteries before you fly again.
Charley
|
Lori
Allen
Totally Kewl
Hangchick
(7/28/04 8:14
am)
67.161.254.27
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Holy
smokes!!!!
Awesome flight Scot. Wow! Golly! Wow! Looking forward to reading
about the details.
Lori
|
Brian
Padgett
Member
(7/28/04 11:26 am)
10.78.205.15
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Re: Holy
smokes!!!!
Awesome flight Scot!
Next time hook in your Mosquito and go 300
miles!!! Or even better you could just do a 150-mile out and
retrieve yourself!
Better get that second tank though.
Ok, let
the motor bashing begin....
-Brian
PS. Hope to fly with you
all soon. Maybe see you at the St. John Fly-in or Hull the following
weekend.
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Donna
Matthias
Club VP
(7/28/04 1:10 pm)
69.105.230.54
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 Go get'm
Snuffy
Scot,
CONGRATULATIONS on 158.4 miles. Ok, now we need to
read the story that goes along with the pictures. Just wondering is
there anyway we can get a story out of Pete (driver). I'm sure he
has a thought or two to contribute. Anyway, congrats!
~Donna 
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MattsFlyin
Unregistered
User
(7/28/04 2:13
pm)
12.149.141.14
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100 milers
Way to go Scot! The Coffe Can is in your hands again!
This
IS getting ridiculous though...3 flight over 100 miles and all
RIGIDS!?
Us flex wingers need a 100 miler and
quick.
St. John on Saturday for this pilot!
Matt
"GHGFPI" Jagelka
|
Ernie
Camacho
Administrator
(7/28/04
3:02 pm)
24.5.51.30
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Re: 100
milers
Well, those rigid wings are a bit more like their sailpane brothers
than flex wings are. To advance this notion, Larry Roberts sent me
this track log of a sailplane flight Rick Indrebo made up to the
Trinity Alps and back to Middletown.
You can see that the
section from St. John north is pretty much the same track Scot
took.
Edited by: Ernie
Camacho at: 7/28/04 3:02 pm
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Donna
Matthias
Administrator
(7/28/04
4:24 pm)
68.122.10.76
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Re: 100
milers
An FYI to everyone that is posting to Scot. He does't have his
computer or internet access where he is working. I will call him
tonight to let him know that people are posting congrats to him.
And, I'm sure as soon as he can he will be posting his
story.
~Donna
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Larry
L Roberts
Member
(7/28/04 6:49 pm)
68.165.172.5
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Re: 158.4 Miles -
Fantastic flight!!
Scot,
Fantastic Flight!! I was in the air at Snow Mt. on Monday
(from Middletown), you called it correct that day and went for it!!
You and Vince have put St. John on the map for serious
XC.
Keep flying far!
- Larry
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Ernie
Camacho
Administrator
(7/28/04
8:14 pm)
24.5.51.30
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Flight report: St.
John to Yreka - Monday 7/26/04
Saturday's flight: 52.7 miles, 3 hrs 22 minutes, valley
route.
Sunday's flight: 51.8 miles, 3 hrs 32 min, valley
route.
Monday, I decided the convergence zone, which Sunday
had been absolutely perfect, was what I was ready for. I launched at
12:06 into a nice cycle in the blue sky. I climbed to 9300 ft. by
12:29 and headed west to Crockett Peak. I was at 8000 ft. when I
found lift back to 11,500 at 12:52.
Clouds were forming 18
miles to the north. I headed toward them, knowing that I had the
basin LZ if I didn't make it to them. By the time I got to the
clouds, I was at 8200 ft over Spanish Ridge and climbed back to
cloud base at 11,500. It was 1:40.
It looked good to the
north, with a convergence zone setting up. I was over Alder Springs
Road, heading for Government Flat, following the highway in the sky
(the cloud street). There are some clear cuts and meadows which
looked land-able in this area.
At Anthony Peak, I climbed
from 9400 ft. back to 11700. It was 2:44. I was 41.3 miles out. I
knew the Yolla Bolly wilderness area was in front of me but I was
confident about crossing it, based on my flight to this point. I
headed north. At 54 miles out I was down to 9400 ft., when I caught
a good one back to 12400 at North Yolla Bolly Mt. I was across the
wilderness area, and high. I knew hwy 36 was reachable with this
altitude.
The sky highway bent west from this point toward
Red Mt. and the Hwy. 3/36 intersection. I followed it but was losing
big altitude so I headed back to my last thermal and topped out
again.
I headed north, leaving the clouds, hoping to find
lift after crossing the pass and reaching the Trinity Mountains to
the north. I crossed Hwy. 36 with an LZ below me, but I was losing
altitude rapidly. I worked light lift at Knob Peak in a SE wind,
drifting with it away from my LZ. After gaining enough altitude, I
could see some LZs near Wildwood. It was 3:55; I was 69 miles out
and at 7000 ft.
I had my driver, Pete, come out hwy 36, as
it didn't look good. He was near Cottonwood then. I drifted over
Wildwood, checking out LZ options, getting down to 4700 ft. I found
some light lift back to 7200, drifting to the NW. I was determined
to get back to the clouds, which were over Hwy 3.
I could
see more LZs along 13 Dips Rd. and then Hwy. 3 at Peanut so I went
with the flow, hoping for lift. I burbled along, but was losing
altitude where Hwy. 3 comes into Hayfork. I was at 3900 ft.; there
were lots of places to land; but I was looking for lift. I found it
as the wind went west again.
Climbing slowly, I drifted over
the Hayfork airport. At 5400 ft., the lift went thermal nuclear:
solid 1100 fpm took me to 12000 ft. It was 5:10. I was 85 miles out.
Back on track under the skyway, I was a happy man. I headed
NE to Barker Mt. and climbed to 13400 ft. I knew the Trinity Alps
Wilderness was in front of me but I had no pucker factor with all
this altitude. I knew that Hwy. 3 followed Clair Engle Lake and I
knew that if no LZs could be found, I could land on the shore of the
lake, as it is low this time of year.
I hit the Alps at
Weaver Bally, NW of Weaverville. I climbed to my max altitude for
the day of 13,623 ft. at Monument Peak, 98 miles out, at 5:35. I
decided to keep Hwy. 3 within a glide so I stayed on the east side
of the clouds, which stretched to the north. The photo that says it
shows Sawtooth Mt. is really showing the 7up Peak area, further to
the east. I crossed over Siligo Peak, then headed due north from
there.
At Black Mt., I was down to 9700 ft., which felt low
at this point, but I caught lift back to 11200. It was 6pm, 111.6
miles out. Summerville, to my west, was my bailout LZ, as I could
see a nice meadow there.
I dolphin flew for 10 miles, losing
little altitude. At 10400 ft., I circled up to 12300 in a good one.
I could see Scott Valley, which from previous map study I knew was
there, so I knew I was over the Alps safely. I followed the skyway
over Russian Peak and over the east edge of the Marble Mountains. I
hit Etna Mt., climbing from 9300 to 12600. It was 6:55, 136 miles
out.
The clouds dried up at this point so I crossed Whisky
Butte, then headed NE for Ft. Jones (which I thought was Yreka) at
the end of the valley.
Pete had headed for Eureka from
Weaverville, mistaking my transmission. I hadn’t heard from him for
a while so I figured that landing near a town was a good idea. I
crossed over Ft. Jones at 6000 ft. at 7:22, 151 miles out. I wanted
to break my personal best flight of 152 miles from McClellan last
year so I cruised Hwy. 3 to the end of the valley. At the last LZ in
the valley, I was at 151.7 miles. I made some turns at the end
hoping for some help to get me up and over the hills, not knowing
what was over them. I found enough lift to climb from 4600 to 6600
where I could see some fields along the road on the other side. I
cleared the pass with 200 ft. and glided into the valley to my
landing field at Oberlin rd., along Interstate 5. A local lady and
her daughter stopped and told me I was in Yreka. It was 8:10. I was
158.4 miles out.
I called Pete but couldn't get his cell
phone, so I called his wife Maureen and informed her I was in Yreka.
Pete called her 10 minutes later and learned of my location. He was
50 miles west of Weaverville on Hwy. 299, so he knew he had a long
drive ahead of him.
I broke down, walked the 4 blocks to
Main St. and had dinner. I then booked a hotel room. Pete got to
Yreka at 15 minutes after midnight. We drove home Tuesday.
This was a magical flight for me, over some of the most
beautiful scenery I've ever laid eyes on. If you've never been in
the Trinity Alps, I suggest you make the trip. The Russian
Wilderness Area and the Marble Mountains are equal as eye candy. I
hope to spend some time in all three some time soon.
I have
20 more pictures from this flight that I hope to show at the next
meeting.
Stay high. Follow the skyway.
Scot.
Edited by: Ernie
Camacho at: 7/30/04 4:26 pm
|
scot
huber
Unregistered
User
(7/30/04 3:40
pm)
66.42.0.167
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St John
Just a correction to Ernies write up as this is the first I've seen
of it. I gave it to him over the phone.
At 54 miles I was not
down to 5400' as that would be on the ground at that point. I was
down to 9400'. Also the was I confident should read ( I was
confident). thanks for the congrats from everyone. I'll be there
Sat. at 9:30 to try this flight on my flexwing.
Snuffy!
(corrections made. - Ernie)
Edited by: Ernie
Camacho at: 7/30/04 4:27
pm
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