A dry, hot and relatively calm day for Northern California. Maybe summer is finally starting, I better go fly. With no clouds to mark the lift, tactics change to intuition and my personal favorite, using luck. This means I'll have to poke around a bit, return back to previous lift when necessary and keep my glides relatively short.
"22Z" gives me a lift out to the Mendocino Mountains.
Off tow at Goat a feathered flyer marks my first blue thermal of the day. I climb nice and high above the ridge.
North to Snow Mountain for another big climb before heading to St. John.
Looking straight down, high above St. John Mountain.
Back to Snow before I try several routes North making it a little past Sheet Iron. I find the lift is working better each attempt further West so I change my plan and head towards Hull Mountain. Approaching Rattlesnake Canyon I notice the road on the left leads to a barren Timberline Launch on this midweek day.
I fly into Westerlies and sink nearing Rattlesnake Canyon and turn around before reaching the likely lift over the summit. Leaving Lake Pillsbury I notice strong gust lines coming from the West and figured I just saved an expensive tow out of Gravely Valley.
I head back East where I hook up with the open class ASH-25 "FNX" and climb over the West slopes of St. John looking towards Snow Mountain.
I finally look at my clock, WOW it's 4:15. Maybe an overload of fun, but I had no idea that it was getting so late. Just enough time for an attempt racing South. I follow my route to Goat and stop for only the best lift. I continue South past Goat and find a nice thermal over the North shores of Indian Valley Reservoir.
Further South over the confluence of Cache Creek and Bear Creek.
Late in the day after a final blue climb I race home to WSC at 115 KT for the last 20 miles and get it on the ground just after closing. Thanks to WSC for waiting, it was a lot of fun.
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