Crestline Soaring Society

March 31, 07. Today's flight was my best Marshall flight ever. I rode up on the 2:00 pm McKenzie express. It was fairly windy at launch with strong gusts coming through. I launched at about 3:15 pm after it seemed that the gusts had subsided a bit. I worked the house thermal for a while. It was rowdy and boisterous, but not so bad that I was suffering tip collapses. After about 10 minutes of maintaining, I hooked a good thermal and went to 5500'. The thermal had pushed me back behind the ridge towards Crestline. I have never made it to Crestline and have always wanted to try. I headed out for Crestline and immediately hit sink, so I chickened out and heading back for Marshall. I was rewarded for my efforts with big sink all the way back to Marshall peak.

I hit the house thermal again and managed to get to 5000'. I decided to head over to Cloud and see what I could find over there. I didn't find much and was soon at 2800' and thinking that my flight was done. I had been up for an hour and was pleased with my flight. Rowdy thermals are still a bit of a "white knuckle" affair for me, so an hour flight is a lot of work and I was wanting to rest for a bit before considering another flight. I normally fly with my feet on my speed bar, but I don't like to land that way because the speed bar drags the ground, so I secured the speedbar in preparation for landing. (you know, seat backs and tray tables in there upright and locked position.)

I had just passed the 750 hill and all of the sudden the vario starts beeping. So I lean to the right and crank a turn. Well this thermal is a monster. I immediately start upwards and the vario starts screaming. My new thermal technique is to pull about 6 inches of right brake and then grab the riser to hold that brake position. The vario is indicating 400 to 1000 fpm with 600fpm as the average and I am holding on for dear life. I noticed another hang glider has jumped into the thermal right under me. I later learned that it was Dusty and while I was nervous about how close he was, Dusty did a great job of sharing the thermal with me. The thermal finally tops out at 6550' while I am marveling at the power of thermals the entire ride up. I have never had such a long and powerful ride on one thermal. 4000' in one thermal is an amazing feeling.

Looking out I can see the Hisperia fire, Lake Gregoryand many other amazing sites that are only available when you really get high. I decide to make my way to Crestline. This time I set out with purpose and the confidence of 6500'. I have no problems getting to Crestline and am still at 6000' by the time I get there. I make my way to the billboard and check off another first. I can now hang out in the LZ and casually mention the billboard as no big deal like the rest of the big shot pilots.

As I am thermalling over the billboard, I see Jerome and call him on the radio. He calls back and says he is heading for Pine Mountain. What the hell, I have already smashed through all my personal best records for the day, why not add a few more, so off I go behind Jerome and Bob on my way to Pine Mountain. We get to Pine and start working the hill for lift. I get lower and lower and the LZ is looking really far away. I wonder how long it is going to take me to hike back to the LZ from the bottom of Pine. Fortunately, Jerome found a good thermal and we all jump in. I work back up to 5000' and see Bob heading for Marshall. I decide I have pushed my luck enough for one day and begin the journey back. It seems like a very long distance back to the LZ, but I make it without incident.

I once again resecure my speed bar in preparation for landing, but this time I really am going to land. I am coming in for landing and three other paragliders are converging on the LZ, so I try and hang back a bit to let the others land. I am over the ranch and over the tree line and all of the sudden the vario starts beeping again. I think to myself, maybe... Then I take stock of my physical capabilities. My heart has been pounding for two hours and the adrenaline has been flowing freely for most of that time. I am tired and sore. In fact, I realize that my legs are not working so good and I wonder if I am going to be able to stand up when I land. Fortunately, the wind was blowing nicely in the LZ so the landing was feather light. If I had hit the ground hard, I am not sure my legs would have held me up.

Dusty came over to talk to me in the LZ and we jabbered like pilots do when something cool happens in the air. You can always tell when pilots are talking about flying because the hands are always a necessary part of the conversation. Dusty offered me a beer. I think it was about the best beer I had ever had. Food and beer tastes really good after epic flights. Thanks for the beer, Dusty.

Then I noticed that Owen was cooking hot dogs. Being the kind and generous soul he is, he offered up a fabulous hot dog and the second best beer I’ve ever had. Thanks for the beer and the dog, Owen. What a way to cap off a fabulous day.

Joe Popper