Clouds Above, Clouds Below

I had a few day-long meetings in Arcata California and I was nervous as my departure date got near and there was rain in the forecast.  There really isn’t an easy (low) way out of Arcata, the lowest route being 6,700 feet and in the winter time that could mean icing.  I don’t have any de-icing stuff on my plane.    Fortunately the freezing level was supposed to be around 8,000 feet and that proved to be true.

I filed my flight plan for 7,000 feet and for the first 30 minutes I was in the clouds and rain, but thank goodness not freezing clouds and especially not freezing rain.  I was prepared to turn around if I encountered ice since there were mountains below and I really didn’t want to risk trying to climb out of it.

After 30 minutes I popped out between cloud layers, and into one of the most spectacular 20 minutes of flying I’ve had.