I was expecting a difficult departure this morning. Each day the Tacoma fog and haze had been present and some of the forecasts were for low IFR. Waking up I was surprised to see VFR weather at the Tacoma airport. We headed out, prepped the plane and then launched. I was given the Narrows one departure, basically climb to 1500, right to 250 and level at 2000, then expect radar vectors on course.
That’s what we did. The clouds were broken at 3000 and as we climbed above we were greeted with glorious clear skies and great Mountain views. We could see Mt. Rainier, St. Helens, Adams and more. We climbed to 9000 and soon were given mostly direct. You have to descend pretty steeply for Medford as there are 4,500' hills to the North. The skies were clear and the winds were calm but they were landing runway 32. This was less convenient for us as we were arriving from the North.
I heard an airliner check in and request the 14 arrival. Usually requesting to land against traffic is denied but they do more for the jets. We were up at 9,000' and the Jet was given 7,000' below us. I could tell we were going to get stuck as they let the Jet pass us. I decided to cancel IFR which gave the controller more options. We were given a vector to allow the jet to pass and we were able to start down.
The jet soon showed up on our traffic display and I could clearly see him behind to the left. We were moving, near 200 knots and he was passing us slowly. We were both sent to tower and initially the tower gave me a downwind for 32. I requested to follow the jet and the tower agreed. We pulled in about 2 miles behind the Jet and stayed 1.5 dots high on the glideslope to avoid his wake. We had started with a bit more than 2 mile spacing but the regional jet slowed down and we were soon gaining.
I think the tower controller was concerned we would overrun the jet but I knew that once we had our gear down, we would maintain the 2 miles. The jet landed and we noted where he touched down, and made sure to stay high and land past this point. It all worked out and we made our turn off right to the FBO. They had our car planeside in short order and we were soon packed up . Our hotel in Medford was only a half mile away so we dropped off our stuff and headed for the hills.
We went up to Mill Creek to see the falls and the boulders. We have really been amassing views of falling water on this trip. This location had several easy trails leading to Mill Creek Falls, The Garden of Giant Boulders and Pearson falls. The Boulder Garden included a river view as well. The hikes were pretty easy but had some elevation changes that made us work a bit.
Our final goal for the day was to get In-And-Out burgers. They are really a California thing but our California stop did not have any nearby. I went for the Double Double and CC the Cheeseburger. It is a pretty good burger but as a fast food restaurant, it is pretty slow. After such a healthy meal, we only had one choice for a follow up. DQ was running a BOGO deal on Blizzards. We ran by the local store and picked up a pair.
Friday we headed out to Crater lake. About 7,700 years ago a volcano had a bad day and created a big crater, about 5 miles across. Rain and snow have filled the bowl and created the deepest lake in the USA. It also created some stunning views and the park service added some roads and trails.
This park is also a one hit wonder, the crater filled with water, a lake, but it is a stunning hit. Also you can travel around and see the view from many different angles so it seems like more than one view. The road loops around the lake but a section was closed so we had to drive in and out. Entering the park we saw a deer crossing the road. We also saw some cute chipmunks but otherwise this park was less about wildlife and more about rocks. Our first stop was the watchman peak overlook. It has a great view and is the beginning of the watchman trail.
We enjoyed the view and then headed up the trail. It is rated moderate, and that seemed fair. While it is well marked, wide and mostly crushed stone and dirt, it has a nice slope. The way up is a walk from around 7,700 to a bit over 8,100 feet. The 420 foot elevation change makes for some deep breathing as you ascend. The view is worth it and we enjoyed the views of both the crater and the surrounding mountains.
Our next stop was the North of the lake, we had seen the West side so off we went for some more views and some short walks. Our final excursion took us back around the lake to the South shore. We did the easy Sun Notch trail which had more stunning views including the Phantom Ship. It’s not a real ship, it’s a cool rock formation.
After the trail we stopped at one more waterfall. It was small but roadside so easy to visit. We headed back to town for a late lunch and then stopped by the plane. The engines were ready for oil, it had been 25 hours since the oil change and they were ready for a top off. It was in the low 80s and I figured it would be easier to add the oil now compared with the morning with sub 50 temperatures.
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