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PG Epic Flight From Mission Ridge
By Tom Moock - April 11, 2003 (Diablo to
Discovery Bay)
Yes, good flights were had by all.
Long ago I realized that I didn't have what it takes to keep up with Eric, so my
only choice was to get my very own tricked-out Kortel Kanibal "Instinct of
the Killer" harness. So after we launched Eric shot up above me while
I tried to figure out why the risers were behind me, why my feet were over my
head, and what all those zillions of little cam straps and pulleys were for.
We hit cloud base fairly quickly, with Eric above and Steve catching up.
Eric went southish, toward Windy peak, but starting sinking quickly and came
back. I headed toward the north peak and climbed back up to base in some
fairly nasty air. Steve Young was nearby, and as I surfed the south face
of the clouds to about 5700 ft I yelled "I'm outa here, to the East!"
and laid flat for the cruise. Steve took my lead.
To the east were broad arrays of clouds and flat fields below. Further
north was water but still more clouds. Steve and I shared a thermal
getting up to the clouds again, but Eric radioed that NE looked like a better
direction to him. I don't know when or where, but Steve thought the same
and abandon me to fly with Eric. (Some friend: I've known Steve since
dinosaurs roamed the earth, and what does he do? How many times did I pick him
up in Mexico? I would like to think that he'd stick with me through thin
and thin, but NO! He thinks he'll do sooooooo much better with Mr.
Fly-to-Modesto pointing the way. But I digress, sorry).
The early glides and climbs were pretty good: I could get to cloud base and then
drift in zeros underneath, but eventually things got tougher. The lift
became broad 200fpm ups that took patience. But I was topping out lower
and lower. I checked in with Steve and Eric, who were still in the air but
I couldn't see them.
When I got lower I checked the landing options: still lots of fields, but
no near highways and a lot of water channels. Wait a minute: those
are...islands! Yuck, I'm over the delta. The few thermals I had were
drifting toward the south, and I could see Hwy 4 in that direction. Anyway
I cruised and used whatever I could get but eventually landed near Hwy 4, about
5 miles east of Discovery Bay. A not quite unappreciably
disrespectful 23 mile flight, 2:20. I couldn't raise Eric and Steve on the
radio, but we made cell contact and each made his own way back. I hitched
and taxied to the north gate, while Eric collected his car at the Athenian, then
picked up Steve at the Walnut Creek Bart and then myself at the gate, and we all
went up to retrieve my car.
Phew! Ya just gotta love this sport. |
USHPA Advanced Paragliding
Instructor & Observer