From Portland to San Francisco in a C172 (PART I)

1st Leg: Troutdale, OR - Redding, CA


My friend Nate and I decided to take a trip together for the weekend. The first option we considered was Seattle, but somehow, that sounded boring, as we had made the trip on countless occasions. Instead, we decided to fly into the bay area. Nate has family in the area, which would provide these poor souls with a roof for the night, since a 4 seater airplane is a rather uncomfortable place to sleep… We met at the infamous Troutdale McDonalds for some greasy sandwiches and coffee, and to go over the details of the route of flight. As I pulled onto the parking lot, I noticed that the American Flag on McDonald’s property looks more like a kite. I get out of the car and the first thought that came to mind is that I am going to die - The wind feels like jumping into a pool of liquid nitrogen! I quickly RUN to the warm, sausage-stinking dining room. I met with Nate and he looks like he just had a “near death experience” himself! He looks frozen. I touched his shoulder just to make sure he wasn’t actually dead-frozen. We talked about the bad luck of polar bears and other miserable creatures that choose to live near the poles, and after finishing our breakfast and flight planning, we are ready to go. I am not gonna discuss what it was like to walk back to the car… We got to the airport, and the automated telephone recording says the wind is about 45 mph. WOW - During initial training they told us that it wouldn’t be advisable to fly if the wind was at or above 25 mph. Oh well, we got the airplane ready and headed for the runway. We hit quite a few large bumps during the initial climb, but after passing through about 5000 ft, the air was smooth as silk.
Our route of flight will take us along the willamette valley, more or less following the I-5 corridor all the way to Redding, California. The sky is pure blue and we can see far ahead through the plexiglass windshield from our view at 11500 ft. The engine instruments are all in the green and the engine sound is a beautifully steady purr, the cabin heat has been adjusted to keep us at a nice comfortable 70 degrees, and the bird is stabilized and flying itself with ease. After a few minutes of silently contemplating the beauty of the pacific northwest, and taking the usual snapshots, we head for the cooler!!!! - Hey hey hey! Dont even think about it! We dont have any "cold ones" in there! Only sandwiches, candy bars, and lots of water and fruit juices. After all, I am flying an airplane... We snack on the still fresh sandwiches and then its just waiting for the landscape to slide under us: first, salem, then Eugene, Roseburg, Medford, the magnificent Mt. Shasta and its companion lake, and finally we start descending into the Redding area, to refuel both our airplane and ourselves. Redding Airport has the BEST chinese food I have ever had. The restaurant is located in the terminal and it is quite convenient to park at Redding Jet Center to have your aircraft refueled, since you are withing walking distance of the terminal. Gotta tell you....the mongolian beef is out of this world, specially when served by a beautiful blue eyed asian waitress; I tipped her well for making our meal so enjoyable.