Hope this is the right section to put this.

Sunday's weather is supposed to be fantastic. Thinking of flying down to Bend then possibly Silver lake. Maybe a trip to Summer lake or around Mt. Yamsay. Perhaps over to Crater lake and back up the west side (I figure about 5hrs RT at 80kts flying time from Vancouver).

Also open to ideas.

I am going on a 16 mile hike tomorrow (Saturday 4/18). Hoping I'm not too wiped out for an early start. Right now planning on 7am departure. I'm open and flexible if anyone else wants to get out. Mostly I'm looking for some good, relatively low key fun.

Craig

We will be flying over your area about 7:30 tomorrow to pick up a C170 at CLM .
If you make it to Silver Lake Saturday night "The Cowboy Dinner Tree Inn" will serve you a dinner you will not forget.
If you like a drink with dinner, they don't serve any, I would recommend a flask filled with tequila to mix with their pink lemonade. Rumor has it it's pretty good

Craig,
We may be heading towards Bend Sunday as well. Will either go over Sat. evening or Early Sunday depending on the fog on the coast. May be interested in meeting up.

Brent

Did you buy that A model 170 that was for sale over there at Pt Angeles? Looked like a nice airplane....

A freind bought it. He is working on his private and is very excited about his new plane.

Still hoping to make it down to Bend tomorrow (sunday). It was a bit foggy this morning. I suspect 8am departure at the earliest. Hope it won't hang in longer than that.

PM me if you want a contact number. I'll check back in the morning before heading out.

Craig

Hi Craig, I wish I could go, but I have a birthday lunch to attend. Let us know how it goes. I'm ready to fly now so lets go somewhere.

Fly safe...Rob

Oog. Carb Ice. Turbulance. 5.8hrs on hobbes. I'm beat. Pizza, beer good. Bed soon.

I finally got a chance to finish my trip report for this:

Flying like climbing is best done in the wee hours of the morning when the air
is calm and still. I managed to get off the ground at the crack of 8:25am, oog,
a bit late for "wee hours".

The morning air is still smooth as silk, crossing through Troutdale's airspace
then southward. My route will take me east of The Bull of the Woods Wilderness,
west of Mt Jefferson, over Santiam Pass, past Three Fingered Jack, Black Butte,
then down to Bend. The route between Bull of the Woods and Jefferson takes me
over pretty inhospitable terrain with no good places to land should the engine
decide to quit. On the other hand, I will get some nice views of terrain I don't
normally see. With relatively light winds, today is a good day to get closer to
the peaks and hills, relatively free from dangerous downdrafts, wind shear, or
rotors.


Mt Jefferson

Just as I'm passing east of Bull of the Woods, over the most inhospitable
terrain, then engine starts losing power. "Of course it is", I think. My gods
love irony, I mean REALLY love irony. The kind of love that's illegal in 14
states. I make a gesture towards the sky then pull the carb heat, in case it's
icing. The engine chugs along a few moments and I start turning back. Power
returns. "Whew". Seems like carb ice. I push the carb heat back in, a short time
later the engine starts losing power again. "Definitely carb ice". I pull the
heat and let the power return, then spend some time adjusting the heat and
mixture for best power. Regardless, I continue to sweat it until I cross the
next ridge and pick up a road leading to Santiam Pass. Landing through the trees
onto the road wouldn't be fun but still a better option than just landing on
some hillside... through trees... probably ending up buried in snow until it
melts mid June. Some hiker will stumble across the wreckage eventually only to
find a skeleton gesturing rudely towards the sky.

I pass by Three Fingered Jack and head over Santiam Pass. Black Butte is dead
ahead. I'm picking up some turbulence as I head eastward. Great views of Mt.
Washington and The Sisters can be seen to the south. I call into flight watch
and give them a quick update on weather and carb-ice conditions.


Three Fingered Jack


Mt Washington

Descending into Bend, the turbulence picks up. It's getting warmer causing
columns of heat to rise from the ground. The winds are calm as I land then taxi
to a the tie downs. Only 1 hour and 40 minutes from departure. A stop at the
local restaurant, 3554, for brunch helps take the edge off.

I still want to fly south to check out the Silver Lake airstrip and the southern
interior of Oregon. It's getting pretty warm by the time I depart, the
turbulence has increased making it difficult to fly in a straight line. Passing
over an old lava flow, I notice the vertical speed indicator registering around
a 1500 feet per minute altitude gain.


The Fort

I head south towards the town of Silver Lake and the USFS Silver Lake airstrip.
Passing over the Paulina marsh, I swear I can see two hobbits and a Gollum
making their way through the maze of water. The Silver Lake airport is just
ahead, just past an interesting geologic feature called "The Fort", an old
volcanic crater. I was hoping to land at Silver Lake but it's so turbulent, I
decide to just do a fly-over and then head back to Bend in a roundabout way.


Pualina Marsh & Silver Lake

It's still hot in Bend. I find a nice spot in the shade and rest up a bit then
chat with one of the locals for a while. On the ground it's a nice sleepy day. I
watch a couple of gliders getting tows into the sky. One is obviously learning
as the glider never gets away from the pattern. The other glider disappears into
the sky. I don't see it again.

After a couple hours it's time to head for home. This time I head north and
follow highway 26 back across the pass which runs just south of Mt. Hood. The
closer I get to the west side, the less turbulent the air becomes. I notice the
ski area slopes still have a tremendous amount of snow. 5.8 hours on the Hobbes by
the time I wheel back into the hanger.

Mt Hood


Ski Bowl

Thanks for the report. Maybe we can get together another time