John221us
En-Route
High pressure is pretty much the standard from June through September.
High pressure is pretty much the standard from June through September.
UPDATE on the Garberville alternate for people who I haven't contacted by private message:
I've contacted several of the shuttle firms that normally transport hikers or do area tours, and the following two have indicated they can be available to anyone needing transport between Garberville airport and Shelter Cove in case the latter stays fogged in on arrival days from Thursday to Saturday (with a Sunday departure):
Roxanne of Lost Coast Trail Transport Service responded to my email with an email that said that she has done this sort of transport before; understands about the fog, and would know to expect calls if Shelter Cove stays fogged in. She could be called on her land-line (707-986-9909) or cell (707-273-7414) for a fog report. She can carry up to 3 people on a trip and the rate is $120. No deposit is needed; we'd call if/when we needed her service.
Blu Graham at Lost Coast Adventures responded to my email by suggesting we talk on the phone. For a single trip the price would be between $80 to $100. If the pilots are packing light, it sounds like he could carry 4 or 5 people in one trip, lowering the per person cost. So if we can manage any sort of scheduling coordination on landing in Garberville that may help. Otherwise there would be a 1.5 to 2 hour wait between shuttles, since that is how long it would take to go from Garberville airport to Shelter Cove and back again. (This of course would be the case with either firm.) He also said that if he had to do a lot of shuttling his cost would be at his hourly rate of between $40 and $50/hour.
No deposit is needed for him either, and he has already penciled us in for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. He would schedule in hiking groups on those days anyway, but presumably keep some flexibility in his schedule in case we needed his services. He asked that I contact him 7 to 4 days before any of us arrive to let him know if other weather precludes us from even getting in. (He says he has a friend who is a local pilot and was willing to provide that pilot's contact information if we wanted a local source of weather. I said we already had a hotel innkeeper who could provide that info.)
The price range given by Graham is due no doubt to this being the first time he has considered offering this service. The above all comes from notes I took during our phone conversation, hence some ambiguities.
I have not settled on one firm, but I think I probably should. Should I simply go with the cheapest, or the more experienced?
Do these drivers know that if they take us from the airport to our hotel in Shelter Cove on Saturday, we therefore have to go back on Sunday and hire them again?
It is expensive; the $80 to $100 quote is modestly better. I believe in both cases they were quoting one-way, but I will contact them to verify.I know that sounds silly, but I didn't think of it, and I don't really want to pay $120 twice (240) that's more than my hotel room and maybe even more than my flight.
My concerns involve getting a hold of these people via cell. Or the other pilots. Once we are there, at the shuttle, we can pick a time to go home on Sunday (or let him know we'll call him Sunday morning after we check the weather).
Good point on the forms of payment - I don't carry much cash these days either. I will ask.Oh and do they take credit cards or just cash? What about checks? I don't normally carry hundreds of dollars and I'd bet ATMs are tough out there.
Webcams for Shelter Cove:
http://northcoastaviation.com/shelter_cove/shelter_cove_south.htm
When you fly into Shelter Cove, stay at the Inn of the Lost Coast at the north end of the field. They will see you land and come pick you up. Pilots can also use the van to drive around the area. The hotel is excellent, the service is great and its right on the water. There is no fuel but Little River has 100LL about 45 miles south and Ukiah has 100LL and jet about 60 miles S/E. There are several fields to visit between Santa Rosa and Shelter Cove. A great place to fly.
Tides Inn Special:
Pilot's Special
PILOTS
*Make reservations
*Cancel because of weather
*No Charge
Go to AirNav.com for flight instructions, info about the area, and directions. 0Q5
Kimberly My friend has a piper arrow and is IFR rated we are thinking of flying to Shelter Cove from KTCY do you know for a fact that fuel is available at KLLR Little River if the weather does not co operate will than try for August 18th.
AShah:wink2:
Kimberly My friend has a piper arrow and is IFR rated we are thinking of flying to Shelter Cove from KTCY do you know for a fact that fuel is available at KLLR Little River if the weather does not co operate will than try for August 18th.
AShah:wink2:
Just so you know, IFR rated or not, there are no instrument approaches at Shelter Cove so you will need to operate VFR to land there.
thanks !Fuel is available at KLLR but if you're coming from KTCY, Shelter Cove is only 190 NM away. That's a no sweat round trip for an Arrow unless you're planning on trading off a lot of fuel to haul some serious baggage.
Roxanne of Lost Coast Trail Transport Service [...] She can carry up to 3 people on a trip and the rate is $120. No deposit is needed; we'd call if/when we needed her service.
Blu called me back today and his rate is definitely $100 per trip ($200 round trip.) However, his van can carry 8 to 10 people and has a luggage rack. Alas, when I answered his call I didn't have my notes handy so forgot to ask about forms of payment. I suspect cash only, though.Blu Graham at Lost Coast Adventures [...] For a single trip the price would be between $80 to $100.
UPDATE AGAIN on using Garberville airport as an alternate.
I had written:
She accepts cash only. Because she is also more expensive per trip and can carry only 3 people, I think she needs to be ruled out.
Blu called me back today and his rate is definitely $100 per trip ($200 round trip.) However, his van can carry 8 to 10 people and has a luggage rack. Alas, when I answered his call I didn't have my notes handy so forgot to ask about forms of payment. I suspect cash only, though.
On Friday the 17th he would be available most of the afternoon (at least as of today, the 2nd.) He is already booked to do some shuttling at 4 PM on Saturday the 18th, but would be available for shuttles between noon and 2 PM. He is available Sunday the 19th and knows that if we use him earlier we'd need him that day to get back.
I think Blu Graham is the best ground transport option, should anyone want to use it. Not cheap, alas, unless two or more groups can sync up to share costs. Personally, if it is severe clear on the coast because the wind is offshore and causing too much turbulence for my skill level as the air spills over the mountains into Shelter Cove then I'm more than willing to turn tail and try Garberville. So I made sure to let him know that even if there is no fog some of us might want to use his services anyway (assuming Garberville is calmer!) Of course he'd probably be available for other ground transport needs for traditional touristy things.
http://www.sheltercoveoceanfrontinn.com/restaurant.html
http://www.yelp.com/biz/cove-restaurant-whitethorn
John / Jim - will both of you join us for dinner or do you have other plans? I'll let you know when I confirm with the restaurant.
Jonathan - you too? How many? John and Jim are both parties of 2.
Can't find a menu, or prices, anywhere. Don't know if they'll let us all have separate checks. They have a bar there if we have to wait to be seated or arrive before the others do.
My wife and I will be happy to have dinner with you and whoever else wants to join up.
We aren't that particular about food (no dietary restrictions) so we're cool on whatever can be worked out.
OK. I tried calling the hotel (the restaurant is located inside a hotel). They did not pick up. I will keep trying the hotel just to figure out how soon I will hear back from the restaurant. Some people are leaving before us and I want to update this / other boards before Friday with our dinner plans.
Kimberly,
There will be two of us for dinner. We are still planning a Thursday arrival so we might check it out before Saturday. We'll report in as required. I spoke to Paul the other night and he was not encouraging about going far with the van. When I made our reservations a month ago, I mentioned to Mary Jane that we would like to go see the redwoods and she said they were just up the road. I'll be disappointed if we can't slip away to see them but I'm sure there will be other neat things to see.
Jonathan
That's not what the charter driver told me.
She said:
If you have AT&T, go to the light house, put one hand on the light house, put the cell phone on speaker phone, and aim the phone towards Fort Bragg, CA.... while spinning in circles.
She said the same for Verizon except they have to go to Black Sand Beach to get reception.
A lot depends on the individual phone as well.
She said the closest cell towers are in Fort Bragg and that other carriers (Sprint, Metro) might not get any service.
I think texting is best because even when your phone tells you there are no bars, it will keep trying to send that text until it goes through.
That's not what the charter driver told me.
She said:
If you have AT&T, go to the light house, put one hand on the light house, put the cell phone on speaker phone, and aim the phone towards Fort Bragg, CA.... while spinning in circles.
She said the same for Verizon except they have to go to Black Sand Beach to get reception.
A lot depends on the individual phone as well.
She said the closest cell towers are in Fort Bragg and that other carriers (Sprint, Metro) might not get any service.
I think texting is best because even when your phone tells you there are no bars, it will keep trying to send that text until it goes through.
Updated information on who to call for rides:
When you land at Garberville, if you have to land there, call Jill at Lost Coast Shuttle - 707-986-7437. There should be OK cell service at that airport.
Since I'm hoping to head down the coast (I'm assuming it wont clear till after noon,) I had not planned to depart till after 11 am, which will have us arriving between 2 and 3 PM.I told Jill that Jim and I won't land until Saturday, but some of you are landing on other days / times.
I should have done this sooner, but I just now left a voicemail and email for Blu Graham at Lost Coast Adventure Tours that we had arranged other transportation options. (Between us, Kimberly and I have contacted everyone who provides any sort of ground transport in the area.) However, if anyone does land in Garberville and can't raise Lost Coast Shuttle, then it can't hurt to try calling Lost Coast Adventure Tours.
Since I'm hoping to head down the coast (I'm assuming it wont clear till after noon,) I had not planned to depart till after 11 am, which will have us arriving between 2 and 3 PM.
I have no set departure time for Sunday - just a range of between noon and 4 PM at the latest.
Since I'm hoping to head down the coast (I'm assuming it wont clear till after noon,) I had not planned to depart till after 11 am, which will have us arriving between 2 and 3 PM.
I have no set departure time for Sunday - just a range of between noon and 4 PM at the latest.
I planned to arrive much earlier, but if I am stuck in Petaluma without being able to take off and I end up in Garberville, I'll keep your intended landing times in mind. Can you / your wife get texts in the plane? I would only text if I've landed or have a wx update for you.
Think there is anyone like that at Shelter Cove who can be called for that kind of prediction?Landed so that you know if we can group up in the van (depends where I land).
Wx update if I get one from the plane or from another local / pilot. This helped a lot last weekend in Little River, the airport manager looked outside at the same time each morning and predicted when the fog would lift - and he was correct. He lives at the airport and has been there for years.
I don't know - I think it best to assume no. Since NWS is forecasting a slight chance of thunderstorms between 77S and 0Q5 I'll probably contact FSS to get weather updates, though I'm pretty sure they wont be able to tell me what is happening at Shelter Cove.
Think there is anyone like that at Shelter Cove who can be called for that kind of prediction?