Tasting Sky: A Step into Free Flight: Return to Oregon (part II)

With my glider freshly treed, retrieved, and visually inspected to fly again, I headed out the next day for my first flight at Yaquina Head since I had left for Hawaii. As I stood on launch in gentle 6 mph winds from the south, I couldn't stop thinking about whether my glider was good for flight or not. The treeing event of yesterday lived fresh in my mind. I was unreasonably and unusually nervous.

Ryan getting ready to launch

Ryan launched first into a sledder. I waited until conditions strengthened. As they did, the wind became more westerly, which was bad for the site. After I felt the base winds were strong enough, I launched. I had to kite the wing for a few minutes before I was confident enough to turn and commit, but airborne I became. The lift band was narrow and small, really small, but that didn't stop me from reveling in the coastal air. I turned and played with break control until Ryan returned to the air. With two gliders in such a small lift volume, we were nearly flying on top each other as we struggled to both stay airborne. Then a sudden bout of turbulence accompanied an abrupt change in wind direction from more south to more west. The lift band shifted toward the west face of Yaquina Head. The lift band also widened and grew.

Ryan thought the very westerly winds meant he could soar the smaller, west facing ridge toward the south. He tried to go cross country along the ridge, but sunk out a half mile down the coast. I stayed over Yaquina Head trying to take in as much as the flight as I could. A red-tailed hawk flew beside me a bit. He was more interested in looking toward the ground for his next meal than me and I had to squawk at him to grab his attention before an eventual near miss.

I eventually headed toward the beach to land. I, however, found the wind had grown a bit stronger and the ridge was now soarable. For over twenty minutes, I worked the twenty foot berm and was delightfully surprised that such a small feature could be giving me lift. After over an hour and a half of airtime, my legs were becoming stiff with cold and other bodily functions needed to be addressed. I landed to Colin and Ryan working on their ground handling.

The flight left me tired and cold, but my nerves had healed. My fear of flying would not cripple me that day. I'm under the firm belief that one needs to get back in the air as soon as possible after a significant incident. The potential for that fear to grow into something prohibitive is too strong and the appeal of safety too great. Standing on the Yaquina launch, I felt as many emotions telling me to not launch as I had saying to launch. Despite the fear and fresh memories of yesterday, I was still left with only one simple decision - to launch or not to launch. The answer that resounded as my feet left the earth was one filled with pride.

The next days brought about several flights at Peterson Butte. Some days only held sledders, others had soaring conditions. The hike to the summit provided me with an excuse to train for the Appalachian trail with a 50 lbs. pack. Peterson Butte, I quickly discovered, has a high density of bald eagles. Every visit brought a few eagle sightings with it. Flying often meant a bald eagle sortie coming to check the wing out for just a few minutes. I was also amazed with the sheer beauty of the site once in the air and above the butte. From the ground, the farm fields of the Willamette lowlands, a view that reminded me of where I grew up around the farmlands of Frederick, were visible. From the air, the Cascades skyline's prominent snow covered peaks stood out against the blue skies. Over those days of flying, I found myself realizing that flying Peterson Butte was strikingly familiar to the Appalachian flying that got me started with paragliding. It was relaxing and a little nostalgic.

Northerly view from Cape Kiwanda

A new friend in flight, Levi, and I headed to Cape Kiwanda for a day of kiting. Conditions strengthened from nearly a dead wind on the saddle until the cape was barely soarable. I was only a few feet above the ground, but I took advantage of these prolonged Kiwanda flights to practice landing approaches, tight turns in rotor, and, in general, benign crashing. The term sheer play best describes how I felt each time I ate sand into the side of Kiwanda.

Levi also offered to swap wings for a bit, which I was more than happy to do. For the first time in over a year, I took control of something other than my Ellus 2. The Rush 2 from Levi was a pleasure to kite. It was lighter, wanted to inflate itself, and rose effortlessly over my head, where it waited for some direction. I was reluctant to return his wing, but I was pleased with its performance and grateful to have had the opportunity. I am that much more excited to be buying a new wing in the fall.

Sunset at Cape Kiwanda

As the sun was setting, the winds died. We packed up and headed back home. Cape Kiwanda again lived up its reputation as a flying playground, where mistakes, though sometimes serious, are often forgiven.

My final flight in Oregon came a bit unexpectedly. Per usual, I brought my wing with me as I left the valley on a ski weekend to Mt. Bachelor, but flying Mt. Bachelor, especially this time of year, is highly improbable. High winds and low cloud cover on the summit usually preclude the possibility of flight. Nevertheless, Steve R. let me know that conditions looked favorable for flight that Saturday. I told him I would be ready and made sure I was prepared in every capacity for a flight I may never have again.

For the uniformed, Mt. Bachelor is a 9000' peak in the Oregon Cascades. The composite shield volcano has relatively steep slopes and stands out as one of the prominent peaks of the Cascades skyline. The mountain has operated as a ski resorted for decades now, giving us easy access to the top of the mountain.

I met Steve and others at the LZ the next day. Conditions were still favorable. Rick, another pilot I met that day, talked and walked me through getting my glider on and off the ski lift. Walking the lift lines with my glider made me feel like the prettiest girl at prom. Everyone, skiers, boarders, lift attendants, even ski patrol, was eager to chat briefly as we passed. After departing the summit lift, we began our hike.

Summit lift after walking a few minutes

We climbed higher nearing the summit

As we crested the summit of Bachelor, I knew we would be flying that day. The wind was ideal, not too light, not too strong. Still, I waited for Steve, the site guide, to arrive to the top. I wanted his OK, not for my own safety, but more as a sign of respect. I could tell that he was a little uncertain if letting me join was a wise decision. Steve and I had corresponded by email since the previous summer. We had even been in the air together, but had never spoken face to face until that day at Bachelor. Mt. Bachelor is a P3 site because of its high elevation and restricted LZ. Even more so, Mt. Bachelor isn't a Cascade Paragliding Club site. The Desert Air Riders are in charge of Mt. Bachelor flying. I was a visiting pilot and, as a guest, I didn't want to overstep my welcome. Therefore, waiting for Steve's approval was a sign of respect. When he gave me the green light, I immediately began launch prep.

That feeling when you know the wind is perfect

I had many concerns. I had never launched on snow. I had never launched at 9000' nor had I ever landed at 6000'. My hands fought the cold as I unfolded the glider, checked my reserves, cleared my lines, and inadvertently deposited some Cape Kiwanda sand on Mt. Bachelor's summit. I buckled, clipped, and snapped everything in to place. Checked my fittings and then rechecked them again. Our launch area was wide. Rick had already launched. Everyone else was still grounded. I kited toward the edge, brought the wing to rest, and then with a single pull, brought the glider above me, turned and ran.

My launch

Rick was landing as I was launching. I knew this was going to be a sledder. The other pilots told me Mt. Bachelor flights were, more often than not, sledders. After launching, I found no lift. I scratched the side of Mt. Bachelor before setting a glide toward the LZ, which seemed too far away. While there was no lift, the air was extremely smooth and the surrounding mountains were beautiful. I played with the speed bar, trying to maximize my glide ratio in the head wind. I arrived over the LZ with an extra 1000'. I couldn't resist the prospect of a few 360s before setting up to land. The landing itself was perfect. I gently glided to the center of the LZ where my feet touched down as soft as a feather. It was fast, but the well timed flair did its job.

I packed as a college buddy, who had seen me land, skied up to me. An hour later, I skiing with him and my girlfriend on the mountain. I took one more picture of Mt. Bachelor from the top of one of the ski lifts and gave it a new name.