Drive to O.D.

Two consecutive days provide monsoonal moisture and instability over Northern California. No sense in trying to pick the best one, I'll just try them both. Off tow in the blue on day two, at Goat Mountain where I struggle to get up. I have motivation as clouds are beginning to pop over Snow Mountain, just to my North. Further, at 55 miles, I can see the beginning of overdevelopment.

Over Snow Mountain I spin it up. Late July and there is still snow.
I work North as the sky starts to develop nicely by mid-afternoon. A fun hop from cloud to cloud with lift right to their bases.

Following my stepping stones North, I'm getting closer to that O.D.

Black Butte off my left wing with Covelo over the far ridge, as I drive towards Anthony Peak.
I come to a blue hole and just beyond, BAM. Maybe this a good turn point for my return.
I work South and notice my clouds are starting to dry up. Then, GULP, I come to a 25 mile blue hole all the way to Snow Mountain, with WSC an additional 35 miles beyond. Oh, did I mention I had a 10 Kt tailwind on my out leg, now a 10 Kt headwind.
Needless to say I struggle, but keep an airport in glide, get to that cloud at Snow pretty low, climb to it's 10K foot base and have a fun, fast, 35 mile final glide, all the way home. Day two was well worth the effort with a fun three hour drive North and struggle home to the edge of Monsoonal O.D.

Almost Epic Monsoonal Air

High hopes of epic soaring over the Mendos were not to be. The monsoonal moisture and instability were "blowing up" over the Sierras but provided only a slight boost, despite high hopes, over the Mendos. I took "JH" up for a 3.7 hour spin over Goat, Snow, St. John, Sheet Iron, Hull, Walker and Rumsey. Due to camera failure, only words can describe the beauty of the mountains today. The highlight of today, was a flyby over Hull Mountain, high above several hang gliders scratching low over Broadman Ridge. I saw only one pilot even with the peak and noticed gust lines from the West on Lake Pillsbury. Suspecting Hull was influence with marine air, my visit was short, as I retreated to Snow. A fun, pictureless flight on an almost epic day.

Roughing it at Lake Almanor

Murphy invites some of the fire crew up to his Lake Almanor cabin for a "four day." Humm, sounds rough but, maybe I'll get some airtime.
A hard way to start each day, with a session of "morning glass."
As the day warms up, the lake gets rollers and I switch to the wake board. Man this is miserable.
Back to the hot tub for breakfast, before sailing. Very stressful.
The afternoon hits and I finally get a break. I go to Keddie Ridge, slap the glider together and climb out from launch.
It's a tough way to spend a four day but, I'm hanging in there with Mountain Meadows Reservoir in the background.
Up high, I find a nice view of the Sierras with Cummies and their shadows speckled on the forest below.
As the evening approaches the lift begins to die, so I head out to Indian Valley.
And bring it in for landing.
Back to Murphy's shack for more suffering, as I repeat the cycle.
And manage to tough through it for four days.

Hot Midsummer Day

As high pressure builds over the Four Corners, the first of several hot days are in store for Northern California. I sit in "Juliet Hotel" while talking to Rex, on the 100+ degree tarmac at WSC as I wait for my tow and some cool mountain air.

When its hot, it can boom, or it can bust, as the heat needs to overcome a stable atmosphere. Well, I'll give it a try. After finding only burbles at Tree Farm, I cut to Goat Ridge, arrive low and find a solid climb that abruptly tops at 8K'. I cruise the area and hope to blunder into more, but consistently top at 8K. This is a scenic area for thermal hunting as I peer down at the campers by Lett's Lake who must be waiting for the cool evening to come.

A lone Q forms high and deep above Snow Mountain. I realize 8K is it, so off to Snow, on the wire.
The last sparse snow line on Snow Mountain in the middle of July.
I work low over Snow and get closer and closer to those ridges and tree tops, trying to find my ticket up to that Q. Strong, small bullets rocket through, the kind a flex wing hang glider is made for, but I can't core small enough to stick it in the lift and find I'm often out in sink. I remember Rex telling me how hang glider pilots often get into trouble in sailplanes because they feel to comfortable scratching the terrain so I reluctantly move out to lower ground for some clearance. I find myself below 7K and 35 miles out, time to head back. At least I have a long glide to soak in the sights like East Park Reservoir and far away cloud streets over the Sierras.
Once again no records were threatened, but hey, playing in some refreshing mountain air on a hot midsummer day was just the ticket for a fun way to escape the heat.

Yosemite

The grandeur of Yosemite attracts over 3.7 million people a year. Most, visit the valley floor. Some, hike the trails and are rewarded with a breathtaking view. A few, climb the massive granite walls for adventure and a different perspective. On July 9th, only one visitor, enjoyed the awe inspiring sights from a hang glider.

Being able to hang glide Yosemite is a true privilege. As a child, an annual backpacking trip to The High Country and wintertime visits to The Valley hold strong memories. In my early twenties I climbed many of the rock walls on both sides of the valley and would occasionally gaze up, at the hang gliders.
On Friday, flying alone, amongst those familiar sights, was like a dream.
When the weekend came, so did the responsibility. One whole hang glider pilot to monitor. So, I showed Gerry the launch path.
And helped him with the precarious carry, man this guys a lot of work.
Once Gerry was airborne, I grabbed my glider and powered off again.
We drove straight for Yosemite Falls. At 2,425' Yosemite Falls is the highest waterfall in North America and one of the most popular attractions in Yosemite. There are several different ways to see Yosemite Falls. The Lower Falls are easily accessed from Yosemite Lodge. The Upper Falls can be reached by a steep 3.5 mile trail out of Sunnyside Campground.
I've got my own access, to both.

More images which don't do "it" justice are on the slideshow. The weekend was great and after flying in the mornings, Teri and I enjoyed a different hike each day. I caught my first Yosemite thermal, shown at 1:30 in the video below. By soaring standards this was a poor a thermal, but at 9 am in Yosemite, it bought me 4 additional minutes on the predominate sled ride. The video is taken from the three separate flights aboard my WW S2 and U2 .

Hang Gliding at Yosemite to Pachelbel from Matt Epperson on Vimeo.

Gliding Over The Marine Layer

Observations this morning revealed a well established, deep marine layer, holding firm over the entire Bay Area. Only an extended sled ride could be counted on at Mount Diablo. What are my choices? Something else, or hang glide. I decided a summer day in the beautiful outdoors doing what I love, if only for a short time, beats most anything else. So I set up at Juniper Launch on Diablo as fog spilled around the base of Mount Tamalpais in the distance.

Off Juniper I decided to forgo a futile attempt scratching washed out thermals which would eventually lead to a breezy and bumpy Thousand Footer LZ. Instead I concentrated on my glide and figured if I could capture distance above the sea breeze, I should make Macedo Ranch in Alamo, even on a Sport 2. I questioned this move once above the no mans land of a marined out Pine Canyon but, I still made the crossing for the LZ thats easy in a sea breeze. The nice break down area at Macedo Ranch.
A minute and a half film, which is only slightly shorter than the actual flight. Ah yes, I got to hang glide.

Lift and Sink in Local Mountains

My best opportunity for soaring this week looked to be over the Mendocino Mountains in high performance glass, so I decided to take "Juliet Hotel" out to Tree Farm for some soaring. I found challenging conditions but eventually climbed out for a nice view of Goat Ridge with Clear Lake in the distance.

The day was a mix of convergence and thermal lift which provided big lift and big sink. The standard spectacular views were present as I watched a couple kayakers tour Lett's Lake as I thermaled above.
I would continually top out at 8.5K with the occasionally 9K. Several attempts to the North towards Snow and St. John each resulted in being slammed down by big sink.
For some reason my heart wasn't into a nail biting glide through sink to the next mountain which would end up out of glide of WSC so I decided to stay local. Eventually the lift began dying and I moved out. The convergence line had shifted East to East Park Reservoir so I continued my local soaring over the foothills.
After three hours of stick time I headed back and arrived nice and high above WSC.
A sweet landing was the perfect end after flying the lift and sink of summertime thermals and convergence above the local mountains.