Bill picked me up in Corte Madera and as we headed south along 101, we listened as we passed by.... beep, beep, beep. Frosty had hopped slightly northward to a another nearby eucalyptus grove, and spent the night just south of Marin City.
We headed to 1064 to pick up the equipment from the prior day, which was left there to charge overnight. With Maxine's Prius fully loaded with all of the equipment, we headed to San Pablo Ridge. From that location we had the signal until almost mid-afternoon. From that location we were also able to keep the other teams informed as they tried to keep up with Frosty as he flew NORTH! Yes, Frosty is another juvenile Redtail who headed north.
The three team leaders each had a handy app on their phones. By checking the app, we knew where each team was located, as well as how they were moving. Pretty cool. Barb and Monica were heading south on 101 on their way to Twin Peaks, and Bill and Rondi were heading westward to go up Hwy 1 (his last bearing headed westward). From San Pablo Ridge, our bearings indicated that Frosty was headed north, ...not south, ...not west..... north! We were able to stop Barb right before she was about to head across the GG Bridge. And we were able to stop Bill before he was on the wrong side of Mt Tam. It was cool.
We continued to get bearings moving ever northward. Eventually Bill and Rondi ended up on Mt. Burdell, and Barb and Monica ended up on Sonoma Mt. We remained on San Pablo Ridge, still receiving the signal when neither of the other teams did. Very frustrating. Finally, the Sonoma Mt. team picked up Frosty's signal. Actually, Frosty finally moved in a way which allowed the team to pick up his signal. The Burdell team came down from the mountain, and began to scour the Petaluma area and headed out to Bodega. No signal.
Meanwhile, back on San Pablo Ridge, we finally lost the signal and prepared to head north to the action. Maxine's faithful Prius, which was suppose to be in retirement from tracking, decided to let us know that it really wanted to retire. Dead Battery!!! So there we were off-road, with our phones close to dying, and we were unable to help the other two teams. So, about a hour later AAA came to our rescue. By this time, it made no sense to drive an hour northward, just in time for sunset, so we quit for the day.
So, an end of the day summary puts Frosty in the region around Petaluma, and the teams will work tomorrow to try to zero in on his location. I will be off the team tomorrow, but everyone else will continue. Oh, and checking with the two other team leaders, I learned that the two brand new apprentices, out in the field for their first day, did very well, indeed. An exciting day comes to a close.
Lynn
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