Hot-air high

Reporter's notebook

By Christina Cooke

The Times, Jun 18, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009

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Propelled by the extra degrees, we leave the ground so gently I barely notice. The trip up is peaceful and quiet, aside from the periodic blasts of fire, and I feel completely stable and at ease in the basket.

As we ascend, the landscape opens beneath us. We can see the baseball diamonds on the other side of Cook Park, the Tualatin River winding through the trees and, in the distance, the homes and businesses of downtown Tigard.

“That’s Mount Hood over there,” Smith says, pointing to the massive white form to the east. “And you can barely see St. Helens. It’s like a shadow over there,” he says, waving his hand toward the north.

Smith has control over our vertical movement, but when it comes to the horizontal, we’re completely at the mercy of the wind.

“You just explore different elevations to find wind going the way you want to go,” he says. “It’s amazing, really, for its simplicity, how it all works.”

Though Smith’s balloon is licensed to go 11,000 feet in the air, he generally stays between treetop level and 3,000 feet when carrying passengers.

“We really don’t need to go any higher,” he says. “At 3,000 feet on a clear morning, you can see everything from Mount Jefferson to Mount St. Helens.”

On most flights, Smith’s crew follows his balloon from the ground as he travels an hour or two, 10 to 12 miles, toward Wilsonville.

But our time is limited. After reaching an altitude of almost 500 feet and drifting around over Cook Park awhile, Smith finds a wind current to blow us back toward our takeoff point.

Once we reach it, Smith pulls a red cord to release a circular piece of fabric from the top of the balloon. With the increased ventilation, we begin to move downward.

Once we’re within inches of the ground, the crew members grab the sides of the basket and pull us the rest of the way.

We settle on the grass as smoothly as we took off.

When it comes to hot-air ballooning, there’s no reason to feel queasy about height, I’ve realized. At least for me, the expansive views and the feelings of peace and serenity overpower all other sensations.

Smith seems to feel much the same way.

“You wouldn’t catch me on top of a 12-foot ladder,” he says.

THE FESTIVAL IN A NUTSHELL

What: The Allstate Festival of Balloons in Tigard

When: Friday through Sunday, June 19-21

Where: Cook Park, 17005 S.W. 92nd Ave., Tigard 97224. For mapping purposes, type in Tigard High School’s address (9000 S.W. Durham Road, Tigard 97224) as the Cook Park address may not be recognized.

Cost: $7 at the gate for a three-day pass ($5 if purchased in advance online).

More info: www.tigardballoon.org

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