Packwood Tour and Pro Solo (July 13-15, July 20-22)

[midship]

I can see a lot of competitive spirit in the club these days, and for those of you aiming to go to the next level in autocross and do some touring (hiking/wine tour etc), I would encourage you to try the Packwood Tour and/or Pro-Solo at Packwood, WA in July.

1. It's probably the most friendly regional Tour you can go to, and they have got used to the Canadians!  Ask Stephen!
2. Lots of national champions and national caliber drivers to pit yourself against.
3. Probably the prettiest site of all
4. head to head up against our BC neighbor
5. The Tour will qualify you for the National Championship in September

Many moons ago, Reijo took a few of us down and opened our eyes. We didn't even have the car prep correctly, wrong tires, wrong class and got lost getting there etc ... We were "chewed" up alive, but we saw where the bar was set.

I encourage those of you who are serious about getting better give this a try, I'm certain you will learn something! Besides, it's a lot of fun.

It may be already too late not because the event is full, but the accommodation in town is limited. There are vacation homes rental available in the area (ask Tom ), so if you can find a few people to share the accommodation that would be quite economical.

I am sure Stephen can give you some secret pointers as that was his home region! (And he was past Pro-Solo Champion!)


Tour (July 13-15)
https://www.scca.com/events/1990328-18-tire-rack-packwood-champ-tour

Pro-solo (July 20-22)
https://www.scca.com/events/1990258-18-tire-rack-packwood-prosolo


Hope to see some new faces down there with us this year!!

[MurrayPeterson]

We just made our hotel reservation yesterday, so the Mountain View Lodge still has space.

[94boosted]

Chris S and I are going down again and we've convinced two first-timers to tag along (Ken P and Jared C), we've got an Air BnB house booked, very excited.

[Derek196]

Hey im interested  in going too this year let me know if u have any more room at the air bnb

[midship]

Chris S and I are going down again and we've convinced two first-timers to tag along (Ken P and Jared C), we've got an Air BnB house booked, very excited.

What are you going to run Tom if not the Camaro?

[94boosted]

Hey im interested  in going too this year let me know if u have any more room at the air bnb

I think Wayne had previously expressed some interest so we'll have to see what the bed situation is like first.

Chris S and I are going down again and we've convinced two first-timers to tag along (Ken P and Jared C), we've got an Air BnB house booked, very excited.

What are you going to run Tom if not the Camaro?

Not sure yet, lots to think about and not that many events left before packwood

[JamesTCallaghan]

Tried to convince myself “if you don’t do it this year, you’ll be one year older when you do” but I just can’t afford the time off work

[Type_Yarr]

Sera and I are planning to head there as well. We booked our hotel in Dec and I believe things were already close to fully booked.

I never looked, but are there other towns within a reasonable drive for others to look at?

[midship]

Tried to convince myself “if you don’t do it this year, you’ll be one year older when you do” but I just can’t afford the time off work

You actually only need to take 2 days off. Leave Thursday after work, should get there by late afternoon. If you start early the next day, you might get to run some test and tune on Friday. That's probably the closest National Tour we can get to in a day. If they lose the lot (it is for sale) we might have to travel further.

[midship]

I never looked, but are there other towns within a reasonable drive for others to look at?

Paging Stephen ...

I think Murry said there is still room at the Mountain View Lodge. If you are thinking, maybe just book a room, they won't charge you right away.

[midship]

Not sure yet, lots to think about and not that many events left before packwood

 M2 is calling ... 

[Derek196]

Just booked at mountain view looks like 2 rooms left there

[PedalFaster]

Some comments:

5. The Tour will qualify you for the National Championship in September

You used to need to do a Tour to qualify for Nats, but for the last few years you were able to sign up for Nats without having done any other national-level events that year. I expect that will be the case this year as well.

Sera and I are planning to head there as well. We booked our hotel in Dec and I believe things were already close to fully booked.

I never looked, but are there other towns within a reasonable drive for others to look at?

The Packwood area has great hiking and fishing, so the hotels are in heavy demand all summer long.

Unfortunately, there's not much else close by. Lots of people bring or rent RVs and sleep on site, and a few camp in town. The next closest town in Morton, which has a few hotels, and which is an easy half hour's drive away. After that, you're looking at Yakima, which is about 90 minutes away (and which is on the way from Calgary).

You actually only need to take 2 days off.

You actually don't have to take any days off if you have a codriver. Fly into Seattle or Portland after work Friday, get a rental car, drive to Packwood (or Morton), and crash. Wake up Saturday, race for two days, fly home Sunday evening. I did this for a lot of national-level events back when I was doing six or more a year.

If they lose the lot (it is for sale) we might have to travel further.

Never say never, but they're unlikely to lose the lot anytime soon -- it's been for sale for a while, and recently went to auction without attracting any acceptable bids. Now that the logging industry has slowed down there, there really isn't much use for a large paved lot other than autocrossing when there's so much undeveloped space right next to it.

Two last points:

• Beware speed traps. As noted earlier, the area's quite busy during the summer, so cops will often set up speed traps right outside of town.
  
  
• I think everyone's talking about the Tour, but consider the Pro as well. I'd say Pros are roughly three times as much fun as Tours are. If you don't know what a ProSolo, this video gives a basic idea, albeit in the driest, most boring way possible.
  
  I don't know if I'm going to a Packwood event this year, but if I do, it'll probably be to the Pro.

[Reijo]

My post seems to have disappeared?   Anyway, Packwood is about 12 hours driving time from Calgary, a great event to go to to get a taste of the SCCA Nationals.

As Stephen mentioned, flying in may be an option if you have a co-drive and works well.

Nearby, you have Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier ... many great hikes and such there ... beautiful country.  I have the spent the week between the Pro and Tour there a few times now and have hiked on both ... great photos etc.!

Here's an SCCA video presentation of the Tour(s) from SoloMatters:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj7UgaC4wXc

[PedalFaster]

Jared's Airbnb reservation for the Tour weekend being cancelled reminds me of another advantage of the Pro: there are fewer people in town, thus it's easier to find accommodations than it is for the Tour.