Sat…all good things…
Weather looks ok this morn so go to join the circle of snails after breky…see aussie nick who tells me of a cool place hes been camping next to the river for weeks with no hassle…lots of r.v space…will check it out tonight as im still here…company will be cool also…sadly… regrettably… horrificly… depressingly…the spectre of my end of days in america looms unstopably like the dark cloak of night creeping over day…it hangs over my head like the sword of damiclees…like a gust front on a sunny day…like the perfect cumulus overdeveloping all around me…turning the sky black and turbulent with uncontrollable lift I am being cloud sucked toward oblivion into the pit of despair (or flat croydon as its known in south london))by the week day and hour…still all is not yet lost so I do a early lap…as I thermal around on the second I am aware this will probably be my last flight here so as uneventful as it is I stretch the flight to a full 2 hours never really much over the top of the mountain(400 ft 125m over takeoff )but always hoping for that single climb that will give me just a little more height to make the jump to the bigger mountain next door…I will miss this gondola set up…the easiest system I have come across yet to takeoff with zero hastle if you bomb…so a great place to hone your skills in the light stuff waiting for it to turn on…meet nick in the l.z…watch matt a local skygod make the jump and speck out solo…top land on a high mountain chill out for a while and fly off down the valley…so cool…get invited to a local pilot johns house for dinner with his wife…nice…we go to the campsite…situated perfectly at the riverside in the woods…I think I will invest in a pump to get water directly from safe looking water sources like clean rivers…then I wont even have to move to take on water in the right spots…johns wife does an absolutely bangin dinner on the barbie…we all chat wings and wind amongst other things and show off our photos...arrive back at camp late after a few britneys and light a fire…chat and drink some more an crash…
Wednesday, 24 September 2008
editors note
… a very cool surfing film was on in the mangy moose last night...under the influence …to hear them speak it is obvious the surfers belong to the same type of passionate lifestyle fraternity as us…some take it more seriously than others but for those truly immersed there is no escape with all spare moments spent traveling searching for the perfect wave and all spare thoughts are of it…to watch it was inspirational…membership of our fraternity however requires the completing of complicated initiation rituals along the lines of “do you have a wing”…"yes"…"will you jump”…"yes”"…right… you re in"…from the time I became a frat brother I feel I have been given a silver spoon and looked after and guided like a family member by my brothers and sisters all over the world …a great privelidge... i will be happy to extend the same curtisy to any and everyone who has done the same for me on any of my future travels and all will be made welcome aboard my ship... http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=cFJ55ApiBP8
Friday, 19 September 2008
Fri…
…cops come by around 10am to see what my story is…they are even nicer than the first lot and don’t even make me move…god bless america…when I was a younger man and very hotheaded I used to treat the police with utter contempt and tell them about their families in great detail…I also wondered why I spent so much time in court…the calm polite approach works much better when it comes to staying out of trouble and I am happy to say it has been many years since I have had to make a court appearance…go up the gondola after brekky and meet aussie nick shane chris wheels nicky matt chip and half a dozen others whos names I don’t recall…those of you who know me will know how well I have done just remembering them…my back is much better today and starting to feel once again like it belongs to homo-erectus rarther than one of the lesser great apes…go off for a sleddy and go back up…there are 15 pilots there by this time all waiting for it to switch on hoping for xc flights…the weather has other ideas however and clouds are building all around and you can see it raining a few miles away…the occasional gust over the back puts most people off but not your intrepid reporter who launches with 2 others and even finds a little love out there and gets up 1000ft…he also knows from the storm cells building around the valley not to hang around in the air too long giving it the large…land in the lz and meet a few pilots for a beer in the mangy moose…if the weather is the same tomora I will leave and start to make my way east to new york where my buddy bill lives in a big house with room to moor the skylark…meet a few pilots for beers in town at night as its once again an unflyable eve…zzz
…cops come by around 10am to see what my story is…they are even nicer than the first lot and don’t even make me move…god bless america…when I was a younger man and very hotheaded I used to treat the police with utter contempt and tell them about their families in great detail…I also wondered why I spent so much time in court…the calm polite approach works much better when it comes to staying out of trouble and I am happy to say it has been many years since I have had to make a court appearance…go up the gondola after brekky and meet aussie nick shane chris wheels nicky matt chip and half a dozen others whos names I don’t recall…those of you who know me will know how well I have done just remembering them…my back is much better today and starting to feel once again like it belongs to homo-erectus rarther than one of the lesser great apes…go off for a sleddy and go back up…there are 15 pilots there by this time all waiting for it to switch on hoping for xc flights…the weather has other ideas however and clouds are building all around and you can see it raining a few miles away…the occasional gust over the back puts most people off but not your intrepid reporter who launches with 2 others and even finds a little love out there and gets up 1000ft…he also knows from the storm cells building around the valley not to hang around in the air too long giving it the large…land in the lz and meet a few pilots for a beer in the mangy moose…if the weather is the same tomora I will leave and start to make my way east to new york where my buddy bill lives in a big house with room to moor the skylark…meet a few pilots for beers in town at night as its once again an unflyable eve…zzz
Thurs…watch and learn
Cool flights 1 sled 1 thermic…I get a good deal of height and practice more thermal tracking…some of the local skygods however realy speck out and reach 17000ft(over 5000m)and get long flights into the national park and back…one guy was getting low in there and could see 3 ranger cars converging on him from different directions ready to bust him for an illegal landing in the park…this is quite a major hassle involving a court appearance and a fine…he got a save at under 800ft and climbed away leaving them red faced shaking their fists…so long suckers…the set up here with the gondola is as near perfect to any ive seen…3000ft top to bottom..i have also discovered a couple of days ago pilots get a discount on the gondola and now I only pay $9 for as many rides as I can manage in a day…less than a fiver for all the fun of the fair…exelent…ive said it before and ill say it again…its hard being me sometimes…weather due to change soon …cirrus yest…cumys today…full moon tonight…rest my back…still no hassle about my camping…drive lill suzy around and find a couple of new spots in case …another curry…zzz
Cool flights 1 sled 1 thermic…I get a good deal of height and practice more thermal tracking…some of the local skygods however realy speck out and reach 17000ft(over 5000m)and get long flights into the national park and back…one guy was getting low in there and could see 3 ranger cars converging on him from different directions ready to bust him for an illegal landing in the park…this is quite a major hassle involving a court appearance and a fine…he got a save at under 800ft and climbed away leaving them red faced shaking their fists…so long suckers…the set up here with the gondola is as near perfect to any ive seen…3000ft top to bottom..i have also discovered a couple of days ago pilots get a discount on the gondola and now I only pay $9 for as many rides as I can manage in a day…less than a fiver for all the fun of the fair…exelent…ive said it before and ill say it again…its hard being me sometimes…weather due to change soon …cirrus yest…cumys today…full moon tonight…rest my back…still no hassle about my camping…drive lill suzy around and find a couple of new spots in case …another curry…zzz
Wed…ouch
Another cool day…higher than yest with a nice long flight above the mountain but the big boys are getting right away…must try harder and ask more questions…I don’t feel too bad as plenty of pilots are grounded before me and some of the guys who live here have been flying daily for well over 10 years…I wish I could get a matrix style download of their knowledge into the back of my neck…sit down just a little hard landing and aggrovate my old back injury…idiot…it now fells as crocked as a politicians smile…cook a mean veg curry for dinner…smile through the pain… crash…
Another cool day…higher than yest with a nice long flight above the mountain but the big boys are getting right away…must try harder and ask more questions…I don’t feel too bad as plenty of pilots are grounded before me and some of the guys who live here have been flying daily for well over 10 years…I wish I could get a matrix style download of their knowledge into the back of my neck…sit down just a little hard landing and aggrovate my old back injury…idiot…it now fells as crocked as a politicians smile…cook a mean veg curry for dinner…smile through the pain… crash…
Tues…foreclosures up…
Breky…teton…one flight cool for 90mins… loved it…go shopping and have my land on the snake reposed by cops on my return…I put all thoughts of mentioning real criminals and doughnuts to the back of my mind as they are very polite and more importantly armed to the teeth with pistol mace tazer and billy club…(“you can get a long way with a smile…but you can get a lot further with a smile and a gun”…al capone)…im surprised it took this long…ive been here 5 or 6 days paying nothing and without permission…find a new cheeky spot near the entrance to the national park…no river but its beautiful everywhere you look here…also I can see the launch and will know as soon as it starts working…lovely…see how long it lasts…but it’s the right price again…free…zzz
Breky…teton…one flight cool for 90mins… loved it…go shopping and have my land on the snake reposed by cops on my return…I put all thoughts of mentioning real criminals and doughnuts to the back of my mind as they are very polite and more importantly armed to the teeth with pistol mace tazer and billy club…(“you can get a long way with a smile…but you can get a lot further with a smile and a gun”…al capone)…im surprised it took this long…ive been here 5 or 6 days paying nothing and without permission…find a new cheeky spot near the entrance to the national park…no river but its beautiful everywhere you look here…also I can see the launch and will know as soon as it starts working…lovely…see how long it lasts…but it’s the right price again…free…zzz
Mon…peak practice
breky…sledders till it works at lunch…stay up till on 3rd flight for an hour scratching…good thermaling practice in the light stuff…chill in the field and meet more local pilots…so many names I cant recall one…talk is too light to fly this eve and king mountain a new site tomora…3 hr drive…and not as big as this local one…hmmm…maybe…zzz…
breky…sledders till it works at lunch…stay up till on 3rd flight for an hour scratching…good thermaling practice in the light stuff…chill in the field and meet more local pilots…so many names I cant recall one…talk is too light to fly this eve and king mountain a new site tomora…3 hr drive…and not as big as this local one…hmmm…maybe…zzz…
sun…happy returns
breky…teton…its my birthday today so I decide I will fly till I drop and start doing laps early with 3 sledys working on sats and wingovers…when I go up for the fourth I can see from the streamers way above its starting to go over the back…I don’t want to get the gondola down and its still blowing up on launch so off I go into the rotor for a last sledy…as I get through the rotor out front I hit convergence from the wind over the back and the thermals out front and unexpectedly corkscrew up 3000ft…I am the only one in the air and by the time the mad dash from l.z to launch is made by the others its unflyable and they can only watch me speck out…happy birthday…another super fun hour…I go to another launch just north of jackson town that eve and get my 15 mins and pats on the back from the previously grounded masses…only 1 other pilot got a climb all day…another lovely evening ridge flight 300ft over in the glass off for a couple of hours…feed the hms skylark…although I am camped on a boat launch site on the snake river my ship is totally self sufficient with piping hot shower kitchen heating air con and generator needing only to take on and dump water once a week or two…eat…crash…
breky…teton…its my birthday today so I decide I will fly till I drop and start doing laps early with 3 sledys working on sats and wingovers…when I go up for the fourth I can see from the streamers way above its starting to go over the back…I don’t want to get the gondola down and its still blowing up on launch so off I go into the rotor for a last sledy…as I get through the rotor out front I hit convergence from the wind over the back and the thermals out front and unexpectedly corkscrew up 3000ft…I am the only one in the air and by the time the mad dash from l.z to launch is made by the others its unflyable and they can only watch me speck out…happy birthday…another super fun hour…I go to another launch just north of jackson town that eve and get my 15 mins and pats on the back from the previously grounded masses…only 1 other pilot got a climb all day…another lovely evening ridge flight 300ft over in the glass off for a couple of hours…feed the hms skylark…although I am camped on a boat launch site on the snake river my ship is totally self sufficient with piping hot shower kitchen heating air con and generator needing only to take on and dump water once a week or two…eat…crash…
Sat …every rose
Brekky …teton…there are loads of pilots doing laps up the gondola…packed and carrying we all look like psycodelic two legged snails from behind…2 sleds for me and it blows over the back…curses…the trouble with the site is that although it is beautiful mountainous terrain the valley faces north south and the area has westerly prevailing winds that blow over the back at launch…the west facing slope there is in the national park and no launching or landing is allowed so it works best with no wind…I go to curtis… its kiteable but that’s all…peter calls and gives me directions to a much bigger launch at snowking mountain in jackson town but it’s a half hour hike…i decide to hike up as half an hour wont kill me and am mad for it...i have no idea how long the hike actually took but it was a lot longer than half a f%*!?ng hour and when I finally drag my panting disheveled carcas onto launch heaving my glider behind me I looked like I had been fighting a wet dog…and lost…and I only got a sledy…still…a good workout and just like the regiment days… forecast is to improve…go home…crack a beer and watch the river go by…sleep the sleep of the dead…
Brekky …teton…there are loads of pilots doing laps up the gondola…packed and carrying we all look like psycodelic two legged snails from behind…2 sleds for me and it blows over the back…curses…the trouble with the site is that although it is beautiful mountainous terrain the valley faces north south and the area has westerly prevailing winds that blow over the back at launch…the west facing slope there is in the national park and no launching or landing is allowed so it works best with no wind…I go to curtis… its kiteable but that’s all…peter calls and gives me directions to a much bigger launch at snowking mountain in jackson town but it’s a half hour hike…i decide to hike up as half an hour wont kill me and am mad for it...i have no idea how long the hike actually took but it was a lot longer than half a f%*!?ng hour and when I finally drag my panting disheveled carcas onto launch heaving my glider behind me I looked like I had been fighting a wet dog…and lost…and I only got a sledy…still…a good workout and just like the regiment days… forecast is to improve…go home…crack a beer and watch the river go by…sleep the sleep of the dead…
fri … wagadabadoo
breky…go to teton…2 sledys…I extended them both to about 20 mins from 10…it goes over the back…bugger…curtis canyon is the one for the eve…in the elk reserve through Jackson town on broadway to the dead end and left…3 or 4 miles a right and a left and the west wind over the back at teton is right on the slope…cool waga time low soaring and playing around for a couple of hours with a dozen pilots…paragliding is quite popular in this area with at least a dozen sites within an hour drive…but no hangliders…dunno why…home…have another cold river bath and swim just for fun…my genitals however want nothing to do with it and retreat to the safety of my stomach to wait for spring…eat…zzz
breky…go to teton…2 sledys…I extended them both to about 20 mins from 10…it goes over the back…bugger…curtis canyon is the one for the eve…in the elk reserve through Jackson town on broadway to the dead end and left…3 or 4 miles a right and a left and the west wind over the back at teton is right on the slope…cool waga time low soaring and playing around for a couple of hours with a dozen pilots…paragliding is quite popular in this area with at least a dozen sites within an hour drive…but no hangliders…dunno why…home…have another cold river bath and swim just for fun…my genitals however want nothing to do with it and retreat to the safety of my stomach to wait for spring…eat…zzz
thurs…some like it hot
my guests leave first thing…I wish them good luck…glad I could help out some fellow travellers…nice morning…go into town…hit the net for the wind direction…good forecast due to get better…find what I need…go to nearby teton village and find the paragliding club…(….jackson hole paragliding)…a very professional set up with a real counter in a shop and a full range of the usual services…get asked for a licence to fly!!!…this has never happened in all my trips away…don’t they know who I am?...im bloody superfly!!!...what do you mean you never heard of me?...waffle my way through and get put on the firm…meet peter…a local pilot on his way to the gondola cable car...he says he will call if its flyable…I see him shortly after on his way down the valley well above the mountain…that will do for me…pay 16 dollars for a ticket…get the lift up …it’s a near perfect launch with a long steep grassy slope…I waste no time getting strapped in and off…(check it out here http://www.livevideo.com/video/35E10141CF124DCD9DA20DF7FF8C62E4/paragliding-jackson-hole-wyomi.aspx ) a great flight working my way slowly up and over launch 17000ft(500m) and head down the valley too…peter calls while im in the air and tells me he landed 12miles (20ishk) away …cool…after half an hour or so in building cloud 200ft or so short of base it starts to snow lightly…it clouds over after an hour taking away the love and I glide in for a landing in the official l.z…peter calls and meets me there…we eat at the mangy moose in the village and go back up…it’s a sleddy but still fun cos I love to fly and for one payment you can ride up till you are sick and the l.z is next door…party 2nite…cool…have a river bath in the freezing cold snake river just cos im getting carried away with the whole thing…the party is in a bar in Jackson town and has a nice social scene…hang for an hour or two …meet a few locals…zzz
my guests leave first thing…I wish them good luck…glad I could help out some fellow travellers…nice morning…go into town…hit the net for the wind direction…good forecast due to get better…find what I need…go to nearby teton village and find the paragliding club…(….jackson hole paragliding)…a very professional set up with a real counter in a shop and a full range of the usual services…get asked for a licence to fly!!!…this has never happened in all my trips away…don’t they know who I am?...im bloody superfly!!!...what do you mean you never heard of me?...waffle my way through and get put on the firm…meet peter…a local pilot on his way to the gondola cable car...he says he will call if its flyable…I see him shortly after on his way down the valley well above the mountain…that will do for me…pay 16 dollars for a ticket…get the lift up …it’s a near perfect launch with a long steep grassy slope…I waste no time getting strapped in and off…(check it out here http://www.livevideo.com/video/35E10141CF124DCD9DA20DF7FF8C62E4/paragliding-jackson-hole-wyomi.aspx ) a great flight working my way slowly up and over launch 17000ft(500m) and head down the valley too…peter calls while im in the air and tells me he landed 12miles (20ishk) away …cool…after half an hour or so in building cloud 200ft or so short of base it starts to snow lightly…it clouds over after an hour taking away the love and I glide in for a landing in the official l.z…peter calls and meets me there…we eat at the mangy moose in the village and go back up…it’s a sleddy but still fun cos I love to fly and for one payment you can ride up till you are sick and the l.z is next door…party 2nite…cool…have a river bath in the freezing cold snake river just cos im getting carried away with the whole thing…the party is in a bar in Jackson town and has a nice social scene…hang for an hour or two …meet a few locals…zzz
wed…stormy weather
we loaf in jackson hole most of the day dodging the showers…aparently settlers blew a hole in the mountain to get here and that’s how it got its name…I get a lesson in resourcefullness as they wander around town turning up one freebie after another(drinks clothes magazines etc) even leaving pizza hut with 2 free large pizzas all without stealing a thing…they are obviously seasoned hobos and its fun for me to watch them ply their trade…we spend maybe a dollar between us all day and no one is hungry…its another small western town… the type of place I can wear my cowboy hat without fear of ridicule…where you can find both types of music..country and western…and the sales assistants in some clothing stores smile and give you quizzical looks and wonder why you would want one without the tassels…we play pool and cards and generally kill time waiting for the weather to improve..i am not really complaining as although I am gagging to fly this is the first rain I have seen in 2 months…we all crash in the rv again…
we loaf in jackson hole most of the day dodging the showers…aparently settlers blew a hole in the mountain to get here and that’s how it got its name…I get a lesson in resourcefullness as they wander around town turning up one freebie after another(drinks clothes magazines etc) even leaving pizza hut with 2 free large pizzas all without stealing a thing…they are obviously seasoned hobos and its fun for me to watch them ply their trade…we spend maybe a dollar between us all day and no one is hungry…its another small western town… the type of place I can wear my cowboy hat without fear of ridicule…where you can find both types of music..country and western…and the sales assistants in some clothing stores smile and give you quizzical looks and wonder why you would want one without the tassels…we play pool and cards and generally kill time waiting for the weather to improve..i am not really complaining as although I am gagging to fly this is the first rain I have seen in 2 months…we all crash in the rv again…
tues …long black and hard
…are just some of the ways I can describe the 20hr road to jackson hole(drag your mind out the gutter…what did you think I was talking about?) on route 89 in wyoming…I make port at a roadside diner and see a small group of hitchhikers on the roadside…30 mins later after shore leave I prepare to weigh anchor and they are still there looking very folorn so I take pity on them and pick them up…they will also help pass the time on the journey and I am not exactly short of space…they turn out to be cool peeps on their way to a natural skills training week in Idaho…(making fires…bows and arrows…skinning and gutting game etc)…these skills will probably make them the new world leaders after the global economy melts down…they are also big time hippies and we all bond by skinny dipping in the snake river as we cross…have loads of laughs… they hang with me the rest of the day…I invite them to stay as they are planning on camping out under the stars and its tres cold at night here and rain is forecast…we arrive in jackson hole and I get numbers for the local flying gurus but I don’t need them to tell me the weather is too crappy to fly…bummer…get a map…find a cool camp spot right on the river …I haven’t much food but treat them all to a plate of flavored rice as a thank you for not robbing and dismembering me…crash…
…are just some of the ways I can describe the 20hr road to jackson hole(drag your mind out the gutter…what did you think I was talking about?) on route 89 in wyoming…I make port at a roadside diner and see a small group of hitchhikers on the roadside…30 mins later after shore leave I prepare to weigh anchor and they are still there looking very folorn so I take pity on them and pick them up…they will also help pass the time on the journey and I am not exactly short of space…they turn out to be cool peeps on their way to a natural skills training week in Idaho…(making fires…bows and arrows…skinning and gutting game etc)…these skills will probably make them the new world leaders after the global economy melts down…they are also big time hippies and we all bond by skinny dipping in the snake river as we cross…have loads of laughs… they hang with me the rest of the day…I invite them to stay as they are planning on camping out under the stars and its tres cold at night here and rain is forecast…we arrive in jackson hole and I get numbers for the local flying gurus but I don’t need them to tell me the weather is too crappy to fly…bummer…get a map…find a cool camp spot right on the river …I haven’t much food but treat them all to a plate of flavored rice as a thank you for not robbing and dismembering me…crash…
mon…I want to break free
enough is enough…its now blowing a gale instead…I wonder if I missed it yesterday after the fog burned off but don’t think so…I want to fly and have a schedule so leave and bleech a few hundred miles east…sleep for 3 hrs and keep moving…I cross the entire states of california and nevada almost non stop and see the sunrise on the road as I pass the word famous bonneville salt flats raceway where all land speed record attempts are made…for those who don’t know it’s a huge flat basin with a salt floor that used to be the seabed before continental drift or the gods(take your pick)pushed it way above sea level and the sun dried it out…as a former big time petrol head this is cool place for me to see… however its v early and nothing is going on…I snap a few pics and keep moving…
enough is enough…its now blowing a gale instead…I wonder if I missed it yesterday after the fog burned off but don’t think so…I want to fly and have a schedule so leave and bleech a few hundred miles east…sleep for 3 hrs and keep moving…I cross the entire states of california and nevada almost non stop and see the sunrise on the road as I pass the word famous bonneville salt flats raceway where all land speed record attempts are made…for those who don’t know it’s a huge flat basin with a salt floor that used to be the seabed before continental drift or the gods(take your pick)pushed it way above sea level and the sun dried it out…as a former big time petrol head this is cool place for me to see… however its v early and nothing is going on…I snap a few pics and keep moving…
sun…look up…click…
still no wind(aaarrrggghhh) and its foggy so decide to wander round frisco looking up and takin photos…it is crazy city with more than its fair share of drunks junkies and nere-do-wells…cheap(read hot)goods and crack are offered with impunity on the sreets in parts and it screams more than most “gay so deal with it”…I do…I see alcatraz… loads of chess players on the street…hundreds of protected seals in the bay and the bubba gump shrimp co…wtf…it is of course a restaurant themed on the movie and I decide it will be a cool place to lunch… angelo(from deer creek) and my buddy bill from new York call to get updates on my progress…I fill them in and crash after a day as a reg tourist…
still no wind(aaarrrggghhh) and its foggy so decide to wander round frisco looking up and takin photos…it is crazy city with more than its fair share of drunks junkies and nere-do-wells…cheap(read hot)goods and crack are offered with impunity on the sreets in parts and it screams more than most “gay so deal with it”…I do…I see alcatraz… loads of chess players on the street…hundreds of protected seals in the bay and the bubba gump shrimp co…wtf…it is of course a restaurant themed on the movie and I decide it will be a cool place to lunch… angelo(from deer creek) and my buddy bill from new York call to get updates on my progress…I fill them in and crash after a day as a reg tourist…
sat…lets see
eat and go to launch…still no wind…it’s a nice cliff run right back to the rv tho and I don’t mind hanging out in frisco for a day or two to see if it switches on…but my desire to fly is growing exponentially as the days as a land lover pass…pick up some supplies and loaf around in the pool at the rv park feeling sorry for myself…
eat and go to launch…still no wind…it’s a nice cliff run right back to the rv tho and I don’t mind hanging out in frisco for a day or two to see if it switches on…but my desire to fly is growing exponentially as the days as a land lover pass…pick up some supplies and loaf around in the pool at the rv park feeling sorry for myself…
fri…keep on movin
I arrive frisco proper and find a sea view again in a place called pacifica but with no back yard mountain…the campsite guys once again know where the launch is…a little coastal spot 5 miles north on the 35 called fort funster…I wonder how much funster the Indians had…it is late evening now there is no wind and I know it cant be working even as I drive up there…be good to find the launch to save time tomra tho…get lost on the way back and crash late…
I arrive frisco proper and find a sea view again in a place called pacifica but with no back yard mountain…the campsite guys once again know where the launch is…a little coastal spot 5 miles north on the 35 called fort funster…I wonder how much funster the Indians had…it is late evening now there is no wind and I know it cant be working even as I drive up there…be good to find the launch to save time tomra tho…get lost on the way back and crash late…
thurs...what the?
I arrive at mount diablo in walnut creek just off the 680 near Oakland looking forward to flying a new site…it is a national park and the warden on the gate tells me the campsite is full here but he can direct me to another “close by” that he has already called to make sure they have space for me…he even gives me simple looking directions to get there but it takes me nearly two hours and I am so bummed when I do I cant be bothered with the drive back…crack open a beer and drown some worms..it is a beautifull spot though but HOT… turn on the a.c…ah well…zzz
I arrive at mount diablo in walnut creek just off the 680 near Oakland looking forward to flying a new site…it is a national park and the warden on the gate tells me the campsite is full here but he can direct me to another “close by” that he has already called to make sure they have space for me…he even gives me simple looking directions to get there but it takes me nearly two hours and I am so bummed when I do I cant be bothered with the drive back…crack open a beer and drown some worms..it is a beautifull spot though but HOT… turn on the a.c…ah well…zzz
wed… smile
breky and head out…the landing field is on the way to launch and there are some guys packing thereafter a sleddy and getting ready to go back up so I scrounge a ride up…nice…the day has switched on nicely when we arrive and although we loose a lot of height to start we all catch the same thermal and climb way over take off…im feeling pleased enough with myself to follow one of the guys away from the mountain…unfortunately for me he turns out to be a master pilot on a hot wing and I only last about 20 mins more in the flatlands and am given a lesson in working the light stuff as he gets a low save at around 200ft and patiently spends 30 mins working at it to get back up for another hour flying the valley flatland…I am very impressed…I had been working the same zero for a couple of mins and decided nothing could come of it and landed…way cool to see a jedi master use the force…a couple of other bomb outs join me in the landing field where the skylark is moored and invite them in for a beer …they pepper my maps with flying sites on route in return…fair exchange… I bid them farewell after a couple of hours hanging out and head for frisco…crash on the way after a couple of hours at the helm at sacremento….zzz…
breky and head out…the landing field is on the way to launch and there are some guys packing thereafter a sleddy and getting ready to go back up so I scrounge a ride up…nice…the day has switched on nicely when we arrive and although we loose a lot of height to start we all catch the same thermal and climb way over take off…im feeling pleased enough with myself to follow one of the guys away from the mountain…unfortunately for me he turns out to be a master pilot on a hot wing and I only last about 20 mins more in the flatlands and am given a lesson in working the light stuff as he gets a low save at around 200ft and patiently spends 30 mins working at it to get back up for another hour flying the valley flatland…I am very impressed…I had been working the same zero for a couple of mins and decided nothing could come of it and landed…way cool to see a jedi master use the force…a couple of other bomb outs join me in the landing field where the skylark is moored and invite them in for a beer …they pepper my maps with flying sites on route in return…fair exchange… I bid them farewell after a couple of hours hanging out and head for frisco…crash on the way after a couple of hours at the helm at sacremento….zzz…
sun… take cover
the wind is even worse this morn and the good ship skylark rolls on the swell on the way to the casino…ah well I have had a good run so far in cali with the flying so I decide to read write and potter around the rv and relax in the pool and spa…the waiting game begins…I think the mountains may outlast me but I hope the wind does not…I talk to vic…he is in manmoth about 200 miles south of me and he says its blowing a gale there too …ahh well cest la vie…guess I just have to wait…
the wind is even worse this morn and the good ship skylark rolls on the swell on the way to the casino…ah well I have had a good run so far in cali with the flying so I decide to read write and potter around the rv and relax in the pool and spa…the waiting game begins…I think the mountains may outlast me but I hope the wind does not…I talk to vic…he is in manmoth about 200 miles south of me and he says its blowing a gale there too …ahh well cest la vie…guess I just have to wait…
sat…severe weather
I weigh anchor first thing and head for rose mountain and stumble across the launch at slide bowl on my way down the mountain…hurray…its deserted windy and over the back…booo…I find a spot under mountain to park with a view off take off and resolve to spend some quiet time waiting out the weather with a book…the wind picks up as forecast so I go into nearby carson city for a look around the place made famous by so many westerns…it is full of casinos amongst other things all of which have very reasonably priced rv parks with full services including cable tv and as a guest you are then entitled to use all the facilities such as spa pool hotub etc…hmmm…do some research and talk to a local microlight pilot…he says its gonna be bad tomorra too… I sulk call him names and slam the phone down…no but I am a little disappointed so look for the nicest casino in town and decide to move in the morning…chill…zzz
I weigh anchor first thing and head for rose mountain and stumble across the launch at slide bowl on my way down the mountain…hurray…its deserted windy and over the back…booo…I find a spot under mountain to park with a view off take off and resolve to spend some quiet time waiting out the weather with a book…the wind picks up as forecast so I go into nearby carson city for a look around the place made famous by so many westerns…it is full of casinos amongst other things all of which have very reasonably priced rv parks with full services including cable tv and as a guest you are then entitled to use all the facilities such as spa pool hotub etc…hmmm…do some research and talk to a local microlight pilot…he says its gonna be bad tomorra too… I sulk call him names and slam the phone down…no but I am a little disappointed so look for the nicest casino in town and decide to move in the morning…chill…zzz
Fri …severe weather warning
I leave Yosemite early next morn after a hearty breky and push further north arriving atlake tahoe in the late afternoon…I find an rv park to stay and question the owners about the local flying…they tell me Friday is the day the local pilots all fly at a spot called kings beach on the north shore of lake tahoe so I head off to interrogate whoever I can find…it’s a little ridge soaring site about 400ft top to bottom…as its late in the day I decide not to bother going to take off and talk to some guys already packing on the beach…they tell me of a larger thermic site a couple of hours away on rose mountain…a local also emails me info on sites near my next stop on the coast san Francisco…he also tells me of a gust front on the way due to arrive in the morning and last the weekend…curses…I thank him and decide to head out in the morning…eat…zzz
I leave Yosemite early next morn after a hearty breky and push further north arriving atlake tahoe in the late afternoon…I find an rv park to stay and question the owners about the local flying…they tell me Friday is the day the local pilots all fly at a spot called kings beach on the north shore of lake tahoe so I head off to interrogate whoever I can find…it’s a little ridge soaring site about 400ft top to bottom…as its late in the day I decide not to bother going to take off and talk to some guys already packing on the beach…they tell me of a larger thermic site a couple of hours away on rose mountain…a local also emails me info on sites near my next stop on the coast san Francisco…he also tells me of a gust front on the way due to arrive in the morning and last the weekend…curses…I thank him and decide to head out in the morning…eat…zzz
Thurs…special forces training
I wake eat and go into” town”(such as it is…1 road)to make flying enquiries at the local tourist office as I still have no signal or wifi access here…the lady tells me there is world famous soaring at my next stop in lake tahoe… hurray…but nothing round here…booo…I drive into yosemite national park to explore the guerilla possibilities…paragliding is certainly possible here but not for the average pilot…not even for the above average pilot but for the commited(read certifiable)vol bivouac athlete who dosent mind minimum 5 mile walkups the launch and top landing possibilities are endless…for here in the high sierra mountains the gods have created not their usual display of dragons teeth and fangs but an endless smooth granite ocean light grey in colour with swells and tidal waves in excess of 3000ft(1000m)…the low lands are covered in pine forests… lakes teeming with fish and even the occasional landing field…gigantic male pattern bald cranium like highpoints protrude from their forested hairlines and produce thermals that can be clearly traced to their white fluffy destinations above…this is a great wilderness almost totally inaccessible(1 road right through and out) except by foot trails and this is I am sure what keeps the pilots away… it is a truly spectacular playground…there are also of course the bears and wolfs to think about when camping …the conditions on the day I was there were near perfect with light winds and a clear sky peppered with white fluffys…as my sas days are behind though me I decide not to opt for the twenty mile speed march and relax with a beer next to a lake and drown some worms to amuse the fish…quiet evening/night…move on in the morning…zzz…but no bloody flying…
I wake eat and go into” town”(such as it is…1 road)to make flying enquiries at the local tourist office as I still have no signal or wifi access here…the lady tells me there is world famous soaring at my next stop in lake tahoe… hurray…but nothing round here…booo…I drive into yosemite national park to explore the guerilla possibilities…paragliding is certainly possible here but not for the average pilot…not even for the above average pilot but for the commited(read certifiable)vol bivouac athlete who dosent mind minimum 5 mile walkups the launch and top landing possibilities are endless…for here in the high sierra mountains the gods have created not their usual display of dragons teeth and fangs but an endless smooth granite ocean light grey in colour with swells and tidal waves in excess of 3000ft(1000m)…the low lands are covered in pine forests… lakes teeming with fish and even the occasional landing field…gigantic male pattern bald cranium like highpoints protrude from their forested hairlines and produce thermals that can be clearly traced to their white fluffy destinations above…this is a great wilderness almost totally inaccessible(1 road right through and out) except by foot trails and this is I am sure what keeps the pilots away… it is a truly spectacular playground…there are also of course the bears and wolfs to think about when camping …the conditions on the day I was there were near perfect with light winds and a clear sky peppered with white fluffys…as my sas days are behind though me I decide not to opt for the twenty mile speed march and relax with a beer next to a lake and drown some worms to amuse the fish…quiet evening/night…move on in the morning…zzz…but no bloody flying…
Wed… rocky II
Sky check…lovely…wind check…lovely…breky…lovely…load lill suzy…lovely…off to fly…I reuse my improvised launch from the previous day(whitney portal rd off the 395 in lonepine…on the roadside just before it disappears from the mountain front into the forest if you are looking)…the weather reports on line shows a light north wind right down the valley for now so things should be smoother than yesterday…although I have a fair amount of experience of simple/intermediate paragliding I am still very much on the learning curve and have virtually no experience of simply making it up with no help and advise from others…this along with the areas reputation is making me super cautious…we all know(and I have found out the hard way) this sport can be a very unforgiving mistress…as I set up on the roadside more bloodthirsty locals stop to see if they can witness my horrible bonecrunching demise…there are dollar bills being put in a jar I think…but once again I leave them disappointed and am away into the blue and loving it…suckers…the thermals today are smoother and each one takes me higher than the previous…my flying is also improving and I ride each to its bumpy limit being aggressive when the thermal is placid when it is not…as the day turns on my height gains improve and i can think my first flight over the highest point on any continent is here…the day only improves and I make it well above the highpoint and fly along and back over the spectacular peaks and needles… time is unfortunately limited and although this is the kind of day I can fly for miles I realize a retrieve except on my ones and twos for hours in the 95+degreedesert heat will kill any possibility of further progress north today (and possibly me)which I need to make to keep my schedule to new york…I decide to land next to lill suzy to make life easy on myself and save it for europe and asia where I will have unlimited time to get lost and practice my sas survival techniques(or get a cab)…I return to the hms skylark weigh anchor and make sail…I set a course 200miles north to yosemite…the landscape begins to become greener and the vegetation taller…I ascend almost the whole journey…the temperature falls into the comfortable high 70s…even some of the valley floors are over 8000ft up…I arrive at night and find a spot to crash…zzz
Sky check…lovely…wind check…lovely…breky…lovely…load lill suzy…lovely…off to fly…I reuse my improvised launch from the previous day(whitney portal rd off the 395 in lonepine…on the roadside just before it disappears from the mountain front into the forest if you are looking)…the weather reports on line shows a light north wind right down the valley for now so things should be smoother than yesterday…although I have a fair amount of experience of simple/intermediate paragliding I am still very much on the learning curve and have virtually no experience of simply making it up with no help and advise from others…this along with the areas reputation is making me super cautious…we all know(and I have found out the hard way) this sport can be a very unforgiving mistress…as I set up on the roadside more bloodthirsty locals stop to see if they can witness my horrible bonecrunching demise…there are dollar bills being put in a jar I think…but once again I leave them disappointed and am away into the blue and loving it…suckers…the thermals today are smoother and each one takes me higher than the previous…my flying is also improving and I ride each to its bumpy limit being aggressive when the thermal is placid when it is not…as the day turns on my height gains improve and i can think my first flight over the highest point on any continent is here…the day only improves and I make it well above the highpoint and fly along and back over the spectacular peaks and needles… time is unfortunately limited and although this is the kind of day I can fly for miles I realize a retrieve except on my ones and twos for hours in the 95+degreedesert heat will kill any possibility of further progress north today (and possibly me)which I need to make to keep my schedule to new york…I decide to land next to lill suzy to make life easy on myself and save it for europe and asia where I will have unlimited time to get lost and practice my sas survival techniques(or get a cab)…I return to the hms skylark weigh anchor and make sail…I set a course 200miles north to yosemite…the landscape begins to become greener and the vegetation taller…I ascend almost the whole journey…the temperature falls into the comfortable high 70s…even some of the valley floors are over 8000ft up…I arrive at night and find a spot to crash…zzz
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