Approximately 250 miles North of San Francisco, the Mattole River reaches the sea and creates a lagoon and lovely beach. By cutting through the coastal range, the Mattole has also created several lovely benches to fly from. For family-oriented pilots, there is a small county park with wind-sheltered picnic areas and porta-potties that offers limited ad-hoc camp-out opportunities. Located just South of Cape Mendocino, the westernmost point in California, Mattole also offers frequent breezy conditions along with its lovely views and uncrowded airspace.

Of course such a pristine site does not come without bad news. It is a bit out of the way, especially for most BAPA members. I live 44 miles away, and it takes me an hour and twenty minutes via Briceland Road, Ettersburg Ridge/Wilder Ridge Road. Most of you, coming up Highway 101, would proceed to the Bull Creek Road turnoff some 20 miles North of Garberville (220 miles north of SF) and follow the signs to Honeydew. After a drive through a lovely Redwood Park you wind up over a hill and back down past several sites dying to be pioneered. 22 miles and 2000 turns later, you cross a one-way iron-work bridge and enter HoneyDew (don't blink). Turn north on Mattole Road and proceed 15 miles toward Petrolia. Just South of Petrolia you come to a wide, modern bridge with Lighthouse Road on the left (West). If you need a break, just across the bridge on the East is the Hideaway Cafe. Proceed West on Lighthouse Road, which changes from pavement to gravel after a few miles, 4.3 miles. Just short of the beach and porta-potties, the road forks, and a narrow dirt/gravel road heads uphill to your left (South). Six tenths of a mile up this rather steep, narrow, and winding road you pass a wood corral on the left (West) and a grass-covered track heading West to the lower launch cliff edge. This is a very, very hard right three-point turn onto this track, which goes in about 200 yards to a bare spot sheltered from the wind. Park there and take a 20 or 30 yard hike to the low (300 foot) launch. On any reasonable day, you can ususally bench up from here to the 800 launch if you wish. No trees, low grass, a few rocks -- lovely launch with the beach stretching North and South more than a mile in each direction. There is also a small bowl just to the North at the end of this first ridge before the Mattole River gap.

As you proceed up the road past the low launch access road and around a few switch backs, you will see the face of the 800 foot bench. About one mile past the low launch turn off there is a track turning back to the left (Eastish) that is very high centered. Sedans may want to park and look it over first. A short 100 yards or so in, the track turns South and passes through a fence line. This is the set-up area for the 800 foot launch. No trees, no rocks -- just a few cow pies. Sometimes, there are cows at one of these launches or the area between. Drive slowly, don't hassle them and they won't hassle you.

Mattole works best in NorthWest or West conditions, and when it's good it's very, very good -- incredible scenery and uncrowded air. The real bad news is the number of ways this site can beat you -- blown out often, dead calm when I get there (in April yet!), or perfect wind speed and direction in fog. Normally spring and fall are best, it is often fogged in summer until 2 or so, and when the fog blows off it's too strong. "Normal" hasn't applied this spring -- frequent rain and/or small craft advisory winds. Memorial Day looked doable from the low bench in 12 to 15 by staying under the fog, but the lift was insane and I did a rocket up and back into the white room and had a tussle getting out and back to the beach. Our September-October Indian Summer offers the best possiblilities of making a long trip worthwhile.

If you ever get a bee in your bonnet to fly Mattole, give me a call at (707) 923-3353. I try to keep up with the local flying weather, and have a friend that lives out near the launch areas that I can call for an update.