kimberlyanne546
Final Approach
As long as you're having more fun than a barrel of monkeys it should be no problem, right? How close are you to finishing?
Kimberly
When?
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As long as you're having more fun than a barrel of monkeys it should be no problem, right? How close are you to finishing?
Kimberly
azure
Final Approach
As far as the requirements are concerned, very close. All I need is the checkride prep and the checkride itself. But when I went up last weekend I found out that I was very very rusty. I shouldn't have been surprised, my last hood time before that was in December. It's coming back quickly though. I shot some approaches and a hold yesterday with a safety pilot and felt a lot better. I could finish this month, but more likely sometime in August.
Crossing my fingers that nothing else breaks.
Gary F
Final Approach
Sorry Kimberly but don't forget that aviation has significant risks that must be managed. You should also assess the risks when flying in a GA aircraft piloted by someone else. The good news is that EdFred is very capable and very familiar with territory. Flying over Lake Michigan in a SE airplane during the day in the summer or early fall is not an unreasonable option. I tend to cross farther to the north near Fox Island. A longer route takes you over the Mackinac bridge which is an impressive sight.
I think you will enjoy your visit to Michigan. The UP is beautiful that time of the year. If you are lucky you may even get to see the Northern Lights but don't bet on it. Bring some warm clothes, the temperature will dip down into the 50s (possibly the 40s) at night.
kimberlyanne546
Final Approach
Thanks, and I understand the risks. Can't wait, warm clothing / water crossing / unknown (to me) pilot and everything. I had not even thought about the Northern Lights. Pretty cool.
Kimberly
Kimberly
Gary F
Final Approach
You need clear dark sky with a good view of the northern horizon and a fair amount of luck. A few years ago I them directly overhead which was incredible. I do not know when the moon will rise or set in early September and that could be a problem.
Gary F
Final Approach
I think the biggest risk is ticks. I pulled three off of myself yesterday after a hike.
azure
Final Approach
It should be 1st quarter-ish over Labor Day weekend. Not so great for early evening viewing, but if you're willing to wait until after it sets...
kimberlyanne546
Final Approach
Eeeew. Were you at 6Y9? I went camping the other week and found one on me, then 3 in my apartment a week later (one on my bed, one on my carpet, one in my dog's skin). So though I hate them, I am used to them.
If that's the worst of things it ain't half bad.
Kimberly
Gary F
Final Approach
I was at 6Y9 earlier in the day but probably picked them up on a hike here that evening. I live about 60 miles from 6Y9. We have a lot of beautiful trails in the UP and a fair number of bugs. The good news is that there are no poisonous snakes. My wife and son stumbled across a black bear during a hike a few years ago but it ambled off quietly. We also see eagles regularly and occasionally a moose or wolf.
denverpilot
Tied Down
I'll talk to Old Sol and see what that big ol' uncontained nuclear reactor in the sky can do about having a big Coronal Mass Ejection headed this'a'way during 6Y9 so she can see the Northern Lights.
It ain't so much about luck as it is about timing. Kinda like raindancing.
A good CME will bring those puppies down even as low as my 40N latitude, once in a while.
They're usually just an odd red glow to the north, this far south. Not nearly as pretty as the blue-green stuff that hangs in "curtains" and moves and even sometimes makes noise.
Lately 6 meters was open to Japan and Europe from here and 15 meters has been wide open to just about everywhere, so ol' Sol is kinda doing the opposite things to what usually brings the Northern Lights out for a party.
http://spaceweather.com
It ain't so much about luck as it is about timing. Kinda like raindancing.
A good CME will bring those puppies down even as low as my 40N latitude, once in a while.
They're usually just an odd red glow to the north, this far south. Not nearly as pretty as the blue-green stuff that hangs in "curtains" and moves and even sometimes makes noise.
Lately 6 meters was open to Japan and Europe from here and 15 meters has been wide open to just about everywhere, so ol' Sol is kinda doing the opposite things to what usually brings the Northern Lights out for a party.
http://spaceweather.com
denverpilot
Tied Down
Well, I'll be darned. Turn my back and Sol popped the K-index up to 5. So much for that. High-latitudes just might be seeing Auroras now. Peak seems to have passed already.
Hadn't been to the site yet today. Should have looked before posting.
Hadn't been to the site yet today. Should have looked before posting.
kimberlyanne546
Final Approach
Pilots and wolves, and bears? Oh my.
Gary F
Final Approach
There are a lot of cool things to see in the UP if you are lucky. It helps to live here but then you must endure the brutal winters. Also, not a lot of flying going on between November and April.
kimberlyanne546
Final Approach
I am not usually a lucky person but I guess if I can make it over a large body of water without ending up in the drink on my way to the meeting, my luck is already building.
CJones
Final Approach
I'm sure this ^^^ sounds ridiculous to people that haven't been there, but those of us that HAVE been there, it is eerily accurate.
CJones
Final Approach
Tony and I have come to the conclusion that they are the ferocious variety of black bear.
Gary F
Final Approach
Don't scare Kimberly. Black bears are generally innocuous although I would try to avoid getting between a mom and her cubs. I do not know of a single bear attack in the UP in recent years. They are fairly good at avoiding humans. We had a mom and her 2 cubs camp out in our neighborhood this spring. The DNR roped off the area so people would not inadvertently stumble across them. Look at the bright side, no poisonous snakes in the UP. I might be able to be there Friday with my jeep wrangler for some off roading.
CJones
Final Approach
Sorry, that was more of an inside joke - I should have clarified that with a smiley or something. Tony and I were sure that the bears up there were ferocious and would eat through metal airplanes to get to his cookies. Leah disagreed so adamently that Tony and I were even MORE convinced that we were right.
It's funnier when you've consumed large amounts of Crown. To Kimberly: No worries. I have been to 6Y9, ?3? times now and have yet to see a bear (unfortunately), although I'm pretty sure I usually hear one sleeping near the tail of one of the 182's that normally comes in.
As for the Jeep - I'll call shotgun! I've wanted to take my Jeep up there since our first trip out on the Fredericks's 4-wheelers.
steingar
Taxi to Parking
Black bears aren't dangerous for much besides stealing food. I have no doubt that our freshman attendee has far fewer risks in front of her than she realizes. I and Mrs. Steingar flew with Ed over hostile terrain and even put him up in our household. That we would do either or both again without hesitation should quell any lingering doubts or anxieties.
azure
Final Approach
I thought they had lots of black bears up in the Sierras?
Yes, the main danger from black bears is to your food supply and the camping gear it's in (if you're stupid enough to leave any inside it). I learned this the hard way many years ago in the Smokies. At the time the recommendation from the NPS was to hang any food containing gear from a tree, at least 6 feet from the trunk. We learned the first night that 6 feet was not enough.
Yes, the main danger from black bears is to your food supply and the camping gear it's in (if you're stupid enough to leave any inside it). I learned this the hard way many years ago in the Smokies. At the time the recommendation from the NPS was to hang any food containing gear from a tree, at least 6 feet from the trunk. We learned the first night that 6 feet was not enough.
steingar
Taxi to Parking
I thought they had lots of black bears up in the Sierras?
Yes, the main danger from black bears is to your food supply and the camping gear it's in (if you're stupid enough to leave any inside it). I learned this the hard way many years ago in the Smokies. At the time the recommendation from the NPS was to hang any food containing gear from a tree, at least 6 feet from the trunk. We learned the first night that 6 feet was not enough.
Used to carry a lot of rope when I went hiking in the back country. The routine was to take the bag with the food and tie it to a rope. Throw the other end of the rope over a branch at least twenty feet in the air. Pull the food sac all the way up to the branch, and tie the rope, as high as you can reach, to another food bag or something that weighed the same. You lied a knot with a big loop in it. You then got a long stick, and hoisted the bad as far up as you could while still being able to reach the loop with the stick.
In the morning, you use the stick to until the knot on the one bag, allowing the other to crash to the ground. Didn't eat many eggs in the bush. Never had any bear trouble either.
Where I camped there were far more tourists than residents of the UP. I doubt the bears have figured out about humans, other than see and avoid.
EdFred
Taxi to Parking
I would probably tie the rope off to another branch (same or another tree) and then that way I can let the food down in the morning without breaking things.
gprellwitz
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Grant Prellwitz
Well, he was probably afraid the bear would untie it. Or are you contending that you're smarter than the average bear?
steingar
Taxi to Parking
I swear by Odin, the damned bears knew what the bags and ropes were. I knew people who lost food that way. Might not seem like a deal, but try loosing all your food two days hike from a store or cache. You loose some weight, that's for sure.
Clark1961
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Ed, are you just going to sit there and put up with this character assassination? Uncontested posts like this will ruin your reputation!
EdFred
Taxi to Parking
Ah, see, I'm thinking take a sapling of adequate height, bend it over, tie the rope to the top of it, and let it back up. The rope is out of the bear's reach as well as the tied off bag. Now if the bear lugs a Husqvarna around with him in the woods, we've got bigger issues.
Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe
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Light and Sporty Guy
One day, Toivo is in Anio's shop, and he says, "wat da heck is des here chain zaws anyways?" Anio responds, "Wat, u a lumberjack, and u ain't never used no chain zaw?" Toivo - "nope" Anio - "well, ere, take dis one out in da woods wit you tomorrow, and I guarantee u will cut tree times de amount of wood ya usually do."
Well, Anio is gone all the next day, and at the end of the day, he comes strolling into Toivo's shop. "Dis ere chain zaw ain't no good! I cut and I cut and I cut, an I only got one tird de amount of wood I usually do!" Toivo says "Dere must be sumptin wrong wit it, ere let me see it" Toivo grabs the chain saw and starts it up "GZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ" Anio jumps and yells, "Whats dat noise?"
EdFred
Taxi to Parking
Ed, are you just going to sit there and put up with this character assassination? Uncontested posts like this will ruin your reputation!
I need to keep people guessing!
steingar
Taxi to Parking
Not a lot of tender saplings in the Sierra Madres. Not a bad idea, though.
azure
Final Approach
In the heavily forested valley we were in, there were no saplings. We used Steingar's method. Unfortunately we assumed that 10 feet from the tree was enough (the NPS said 6 was the practical reach of the largest bears they'd had reports of). In the middle of the night we heard this horrible crashing sound in the direction of our packs. A flashlight revealed what was happening: the bear didn't need to reach the pack from the tree, he simply climbed up slightly above the level of the pack, and then jumped from the trunk. A bear can broad jump a lot more than 6 feet, even from the trunk of a tree.
We lost a pack and 3 days worth of food, that night.
steingar
Taxi to Parking
Same exact thing happened to a buddy of mine at Brice. Clever things, those bears.
Gary F
Final Approach
We had a bear problem a few years ago. My wife placed bird feeders in the back yard. They kept getting knocked down and dragged off into the woods and destroyed. My wife called the DNR asking how to keep the bears from doing this and they told her to quit refilling them.
I'll ask EdFred if there are any good jeep trails close to 6Y9. Most of my off road experience has been north east of Baraga and north west of Marquette. I might even leave my jeep up there for the weekend if I can find a responsible adult who can make sure nobody wrecks it.
I'll ask EdFred if there are any good jeep trails close to 6Y9. Most of my off road experience has been north east of Baraga and north west of Marquette. I might even leave my jeep up there for the weekend if I can find a responsible adult who can make sure nobody wrecks it.
denverpilot
Tied Down
Since I don't know what a "DNR" is up there, but I know what a "DNR" is in the medical community, that made this sentence very funny.
Doggtyred
En-Route
Since I don't know what a "DNR" is up there, but I know what a "DNR" is in the medical community, that made this sentence very funny.
In this case it's the Dept of natural resources. State level entity.
But yea. I thought medical on first read too
EdFred
Taxi to Parking
Most of the trails around us are probably a bit too narrow for Jeeps. Most of the trails are suited for motorcycles and ATVs. Even some of the trails get narrow enough that we rub both tires against the trees as we go through em.
Gary F
Final Approach
Too bad. There are a lot of good jeep trails north of Michigamme (Craig Lake) and east of L'Anse which are not very far from 6Y9. The problem is if you get stuck or break down be prepared to hike out as cell phone coverage is nonexistent for much of that area. A few years ago I regularly explored the area in my Wrangler with my son who drove a modified Jeep Cherokee. We both had winches so getting stuck was less of an issue. I don't think hard core off roading in the UP in one vehicle is a great idea but if somebody is adventurous I might consider it. The problem is that I must be back at work Saturday so Friday is the only day I will be available. I have a clinic at Baraga Hospital on Thursday so I intend to stop by 6Y9 on the way home to meet anybody who has arrived early.
kimberlyanne546
Final Approach
52 days remaining until the 6Y9 Fly-in!
Seems like such a long time.
Seems like such a long time.
Clark1961
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Plenty of time to finish your PPC...
azure
Final Approach
kimberlyanne546
Final Approach
A few weeks ago I would have disagreed with you guys. Now, it seems, you may be right after all - !
But putting pressure on things and deadlines only jinxes it.
So let's just say I "might" have it by September.... OK?
Kimberly
But putting pressure on things and deadlines only jinxes it.
So let's just say I "might" have it by September.... OK?
Kimberly