Day 1 US PG Ntls. Dunlap CA

Monday was the first day of competition. We had great conditions and about 14 pilots made it to goal. I launched close to last as I was taking photos on launch. Once in the air I had a good climb but my GPS ruined an otherwise potentially enjoyable flight. I spent the entire flight staring at the grey screen trying to figure out where I was in relation to the turn points.

My flight ended as I searched for light afternoon lift and instead found a bush. It took me 45 minutes to fish my wing out the thorny branches. All the while it sounded like the neighbors were strangling cats. On my hike out I passed a cock-fighting farm. If you have google earth download my track log and see the bush I picked as an LZ

There have been a few glitches in the event organization and the spot tracking device that I had rented hasn't yet arrived. When it does arrive I should be listed as pilot 35.

On launch:

. On launch Connie, the co-meet director describes where we can't land. For such a large valley there are very few options according to Connie.
"See the first pond on the left? Ok, don't land to the left of the pond, that is Dan's LZ, we are NOT ALLOWED to land at Dan's LZ. Clear? Ok, good. See the dirt road with the dog-leg? You can land to the left of that road, but not to the right. See the rectangular dirt patch? That land owner has arabian horses, we can land there, but if you see horse or people riding horses warn them that you are coming in to land. Clear? Ok. See the school across the valley? DO NOT LAND at the school. They WILL call the Sheriff. Clear? Ok, good. See the red barn? Ok between the red barn and the dog leg road, all the way out to the main road and over to the next pond is a DO NOT LAND ZONE! Clear? See the dump? It looks like there are a lot of trees there, but we can land there. That is a designated landing zone, in fact I land my hang glider there. Ok, see the next valley over? That valley is ok, but the next valley beyond that is not. Clear? Ok, see the .....":
pre flight game faces

GOAL!
Hayden:
Bradley:
Greecie:
Josh?








Pete:


Nate Scales:










Andy:






Mook:

-2 Days

Friday night we camped near launch at what looked like an old boy scout compound. "Smokey," a flannel wearing, rotund individual with a greasy Hoyt bow hunting cap ran the joint. Smokey was keen to watch some live concert DVD's of Genesis, John Fogerty, AC/DC, and the Eagles but we opted for spaghetti and the sleeping bag.

After a surprisingly cold night sleep (launch is at 4500') we woke to clear skies.

We launched a little after noon. Smooth, widespread lift allowed some of us to directly cross the valley, ignoring any terrain thermal generating rules. I had a great little out and back. Here is my track log.

On the road again

After a three hour thermostat fix in Mtn. Home Nate Scales left me this voice mail on my phone:

We left Boise around five and crashed somewhere just before Reno.

On Friday we drove through a winter-like snowstorm on Donner Summit before dropping into the Central Valley, stopping for an In and Out Burger and a beer run at the grocery store.

We arrived at the Dunlap launch with overcast skies and winds over the back, but a great forecast for the following day.

New Launch

Last Friday Patrick and Tyler pioneered a new flying site in Horse Shoe Bend. They still need to come up with a name but I'll call it Runaway Ridge because the launch is situated between two runaway truck ramps on the "new" Horse Shoe Bend grade.


Clancy and Tyler at the Runaway Ridge L.Z.

Hiking through sage brush on the approach.


Monday's forecast looked lame with a discouraging positive number on the thermal index chart, and high pressure. John Todd, Clancy, Tyler and I were willing to risk a sled ride however and we made the steep hot trudge from the last truck ramp up the north face to the new launch.

"Yea, I would like to sell all those Kyrgastani Som's I purchased two years ago and buy back my American dollars. Oh, really? I made that much?" - Tyler placing currency orders on the hike:



John Todd killing the kids on the hike:



On the hike up we observed one Red-Tail climbing out in light lift from the parking lot, and one crow playing in equally light lift just below launch.

John Todd's second launch attempt worked out well, and as he flew towards the highway we watched him fly through two small speed bump pockets of up before flying out over Horse Shoe view subdivision and drifting down to the rig.



Soon after Tyler cleaned some sticks from his lines and made a few boaty turns before heading to the l.z.








Clancy nailed his launch during a fairly decent cycle, but rolled unlucky dice flying into sink and bombing out.





I clipped in for a sledder, launched in a near calm lull, flew out over the road-cut and found some very slow rising air. I barely climbed above the ridge, took in some view of Bogus, scarred up a couple deer, had a look at a sheepherder's wall tent, and tried to fly to the gutter to see if I could convince any paddlers to learn how to fly. I didn't make it that far. If you have Google Earth you can download my track log.

Thanks to Patrick and Tyler for finding a new launch, and Clancy for driving. Hope to see you in the air more often John.

Whatever you do have fun.

Cream and Butter

Another incredible glass-off tonight. Incredibly, I was once again the only person in the air. Actually, I got a phone call from Clancy just as I landed. He flew his paramotor this afternoon, spent the evening searching out ridge lift on obscure ridges south of Kuna, then climbed to 6,000 for the sunset. Makes a fella want to get a motor. Hmmm....

I'm not complaining however. Thanks to my cousin Ryan for giving me the first set of images I've had of myself in the air in a long time:









The sunset was great again tonight. Let me know if you ever want to go for a hike in the foothills and watch the sunset over the Boise river together. Aren't we lucky?