gettin' excited now

judypilot

judypilot

Cleared for Takeoff
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Feb 23, 2005
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Viola, ID
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Display name:
Judy Parrish
Last weekend I hosted a Cessna get together at my home airport that took a lot of the mental energy that wasn't devoted to work. It was massively fun, :yes: but as soon as everyone had flown away, I had to start planning for a trip to Alaska: I leave on July 4.

I had already ordered all the charts and supplements, of course--didn't leave THAT to the last minute. I did challenge the calendar a bit when I was fretting about how to get everything in the airplane (the older-model C182s are smaller than the newer ones) and it finally dawned on me (one of those slap-your-forehead moments) that I could take out the back seat, so my mechanic (who is a gem) had to scramble a bit to get that done and find brackets for a cargo net (I also had to order a cargo net, but it didn't come when it was supposed to--fortunately there's one I can borrow).

Have been spending the last few evenings with said charts and supplements and am starting to get really excited. I bought my airplane in late summer 2002, and I intended to fly to Alaska the next summer. But then I got this job in Idaho, and spent that summer winding down my position in Arizona and winding up my position here, so no flight to Alaska.

But all things happen for a reason, and long story short, I have not only lots of business to do there this summer but indisputably legitimate reasons to fly myself there. :goofy:

So the floor of my home office is now covered in gear, supplies, and charts, and I'm starting to get really, really, really excited. :goofy: I've spent a lot of time in Alaska and even done some flying up there, but have never flown to and from Alaska in a small airplane. I love it there, and flying over/through wilderness doesn't scare me because I do a lot of that anyway. I'm practically bouncing off the walls, an unseemly state for a 55-year-old woman, but I don't care. :goofy:

Judy :blowingkisses:
 
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Wow! Sounds like an awesome adventure! Looking forward to the trip reports!
 
Hey, when I posted that, the URL came up as p=100000#post100000. Does that mean that I had the honor of posting the 100,000th post on POA?

Anyway, I'm not going to file IFR a whole lot, at least not on the way. First, I want to have a chance to explore a little bit; controllers take a dim view of people making little side excursions when they're on IFR flight plans. Second, many of the airfields along my route don't have instrument approaches, and if it's VMC, why file an IFR flight plan? Third, my first destination, Juneau is too far from everything else for me to fly in actual IMC unless it is certain that it is not at minimums. No other airports are close enough to serve as alternates that wouldn't also be likely to be at minimums; I don't have long-range tanks. I'm quite prepared to fly all the way to Anchorage and catch a commerical flight down to Juneau and back.

I do have to be on a VFR flight plan at all times in Canada, however, but I guess Flightaware doesn't track VFR (I only just learned about Flightaware).

Judy
 
Cool. Enjoy! A friend of mine and his dad flew his Cheetah from Denver to AK a few years ago. They had a blast.
 
Wow! I am very envious!

The Alaska trip is definitely on my "to-do" list for someday. *sigh* someday....

Anywho.. Good luck and take lots of pics and write lots of stories! :D Be careful and have fun.... just not TOO much fun.. ;)

-Chris
 
I predict you'll have a great trip. Probably comes with a few "challenges" along the way but it sure sounds like fun.
 
judypilot said:
I'm practically bouncing off the walls, an unseemly state for a 55-year-old woman, but I don't care. :goofy:

Judy :blowingkisses:
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I think you should be bouncing off the walls! Have a great trip and give us lots of updates!
 
judypilot said:
Last weekend I hosted a Cessna get together at my home airport that took a lot of the mental energy that wasn't devoted to work. It was massively fun, :yes: but as soon as everyone had flown away, I had to start planning for a trip to Alaska: I leave on July 4.

I had already ordered all the charts and supplements, of course--didn't leave THAT to the last minute. I did challenge the calendar a bit when I was fretting about how to get everything in the airplane (the older-model C182s are smaller than the newer ones) and it finally dawned on me (one of those slap-your-forehead moments) that I could take out the back seat, so my mechanic (who is a gem) had to scramble a bit to get that done and find brackets for a cargo net (I also had to order a cargo net, but it didn't come when it was supposed to--fortunately there's one I can borrow).

Have been spending the last few evenings with said charts and supplements and am starting to get really excited. I bought my airplane in late summer 2002, and I intended to fly to Alaska the next summer. But then I got this job in Idaho, and spent that summer winding down my position in Arizona and winding up my position here, so no flight to Alaska.

But all things happen for a reason, and long story short, I have not only lots of business to do there this summer but indisputably legitimate reasons to fly myself there. :goofy:

So the floor of my home office is now covered in gear, supplies, and charts, and I'm starting to get really, really, really excited. :goofy: I've spent a lot of time in Alaska and even done some flying up there, but have never flown to and from Alaska in a small airplane. I love it there, and flying over/through wilderness doesn't scare me because I do a lot of that anyway. I'm practically bouncing off the walls, an unseemly state for a 55-year-old woman, but I don't care. :goofy:

Judy :blowingkisses:
Click to expand...

You no doubt have one or two canisters of bear spray &/or firearm?
 
Dave Krall CFII said:
You no doubt have one or two canisters of bear spray &/or firearm?
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She's covered if she's got my Survival Kit. Judy, I think you said you added all that stuff, right? :)
 
Take lots of pictures, make lots of notes, share it all when you get back and know this: we ALL wish we were with you.

Fly safe!
 
Judy, Have a great flight, be safe and let us know how the trip goes. I have always wanted too do that trip, but it looks doubtful at 72 years of age for me. Bob
 
Have a great flight, Judy.

Everybody I know that's done the flight has had a wonderful time!
 
Dave Krall CFII said:
You no doubt have one or two canisters of bear spray &/or firearm?
Click to expand...

There have been a few instances of bear spray cans letting off in aircraft, with fatal consequences. I don't want to carry the stuff in my airplane. I am carrying a shotgun, however, with a large variety of shells, including the heavy Brennicke slugs that will stop a bear.

Anthony, I don't recall your survival kit, but I have quite an extensive one of my own. I've spent a lot of time in wilderness areas, so I am pretty familiar with what it takes to stay alive. For example, I have two orange vests with basic supplies (matches, fire starters, small first aid kits, knives, space blankets, mosquito repellent, and a few other goodies) for us to wear while we're over wilderness areas. Sometimes in a plane crash, all you end up with is what you're wearing, which is the logic behind the vests. I think I'm about as prepared as you can be. The woman I'm going with is as level-headed and almost as experienced in wilderness areas as I am, so between us, I think we can survive just about anything and probably even be comfortable. Looks like the weight will allow me to take some camp chairs and a pint of scotch. What else does one need? ;) :yes:

Judy
 
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PIREP:

Incredible flight through BC, although we got grounded in Vanderhoof for a couple of days by a combination of forest fires and thunderstorms, the former driving us out of our planned route until we had to refuel and the latter catching up to us while we were refueling, then hanging around for a couple of days.

The inland route to Juneau--cutting over along the Taku River--was cut off by more thunderstorms, but the coast from Prince Rupert up was open, so we flew down the Skeena River to PR, then up to Juneau. Words fail me. This was one of the most spectacular flights I've ever taken, if not THE most spectacular. Green forests and valleys, craggy peaks, glaciers, waterfalls, fjords, islands, icebergs, huge river deltas, beaches, cliffs--indescribable.

Flight from Juneau to Anchorage was the inland route--Skagway to Whitehorse to Northway to Anchorage. Another spectacular flight. Is it possible to get overloaded on specatular scenery? If so, I'm close.

Gorgeous day in Anchorage. I've been trying to arrange some appointments without success. I'm getting fed up, and I'm going to go flying.

Judy
 
judypilot said:
Green forests and valleys, craggy peaks, glaciers, waterfalls, fjords, islands, icebergs, huge river deltas, beaches, cliffs--

Judy
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Were these the emergency fields we've been taught to always be looking for? Judy, what a great experience for you.
 
I will post pictures when I can. I don't have the cable, and my camera doesn't have a flash card, unfortunately.

Judy
 
Didn't see the airport, but here's the waterfront at Prince Rupert last month. And there's an airport on the far left of the picture of Skagway (look familiar?). Plus, here's a couple of glaciers you might have seen, Sawyer and Mendenhall.

Hope you're having fun. Tried to fly to PUW last weekend, but the runway was closed for restriping. Had to drive.
 

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Had dinner and drinks with Judy tonight in Anchorage, I was down to the city for some meetings for work. Had fun, the conversation was 'bout flying (of course!) even though we were the only pilots in the group of six of us at dinner, all enjoyed the stories of her trip up here. She might have convinced one of my coworkers to take a discovery flight!

Speaking of work, better use this laptop for some. Anyway, have good flying the rest of the week Judy, and maybe I'll see you in Denali on Friday!
 
Dang, I need to check these posts more often! I'm in town all this week. Give me a buzz. cell: 510-452-7767

The weather here IS gorgeous. I flew to Seldovia today. :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

--kath
 
alaskaflyer said:
Had dinner and drinks with Judy tonight in Anchorage, I was down to the city for some meetings for work. Had fun, the conversation was 'bout flying (of course!) even though we were the only pilots in the group of six of us at dinner, all enjoyed the stories of her trip up here. She might have convinced one of my coworkers to take a discovery flight!

Speaking of work, better use this laptop for some. Anyway, have good flying the rest of the week Judy, and maybe I'll see you in Denali on Friday!
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Richard,

It was great meeting you, Liz, Clair, Moira, and Gordie. What a great group! Sitting in the sun at 2130--only in Alaska!

Looks like I'm off to Seldovia this afternoon, then up to Montana Creek (marked as private, but I know the pilot from another forum), then up through Denali to Fairbanks. Maybe I'll see you at Denali, too!

Judy
 
Sorry that I tailed off. Computer access became an issue. I'll try to catch up this week--before I leave on my next trip, to the "wilds" of California. I'll also try to post pictures.

Judy
 
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