Seeing places from the birds-eye view was on the agenda today. I had
been to Yosemite Park two weekends earlier and now I had to find
my way back. The track at the end of this page shows
the route and numbers indicate places where I took pictures.
I left Oakland Airport around 1750 on runway 33. After passing the
ridge just east of the bay Mount Diablo (1) came into sight. A glance
over my shoulder showed the bay in mist (2).
Heading along I-580 (60° outbound Oakland VOR) I crossed
Altmont Pass with all its windmills staring westwards (3).
Further east it becomes very flat - I crossed the San Joaquin Valley (4)
heading for Stockton. I overflew Stockton VOR (ECA) at 7,500 feet (it's
the little round structure in the picture, left of the wheel) and
arrived at Pine Mt Lake Airport (3,900 feet elevation) a little bit over
an hour after takeoff (7).
Further east it went - I wanted to see the Yosemite Valley with its
Half Dome peak (8). Felt great to see the places from above I had hiked up
two weaks earlier. By now I was flying at 10,500 feet because pilots have
to stay clear of the park surface by 2000 feet.
So happy enough (see picture) I turned further south to find Wawona. That's
the place where I had stayed and where another beautiful hike originates.
I think I found Chilnualna Falls with its splashing water rushing down
and its cool pools at the top (13). More circles around cottage-country
and the nearby trading-post ended that excursion (15).
I flew back to Pine Mt Lake and rested for a while. By now it was
1930 or so.
I had been looking forward to do some night-flying. So time for
departure came and I took off into the barely lit sky (21). The
ride was very smooth and the plane stayed nicely. I crossed
the valley again and radio-chatter greeted me on Bay's frequency (23).
A slight adjustment and I was "straight in - runway 27 left" (240.
It's not easy to see on the last picture but there's a runway with
PAPI lights right in the center.
And here's the track:
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