Super-Clover Flies Again!

I was able to get away from work early yesterday so Jordan, Clover (the Flying Dog) and I headed out to Short Divide for some late-season airtime! Upon arrival at launch conditions looked great: Straight in at 16-18 mph, a crisp 70 degrees, and a few high wispies.

Clover has nearly doubled in size since her maiden flight in March, so I had to re-size her harness. She may grow a couple of pounds more, but I made the harness adjustable to allow for that.

I set up, hooked in, hang-checked and walked out to launch.

K-9 Hang-check!

Conditions were still very good so once we were in the slot with wings level off we went! The cool fall air was much smoother than the summer heat, with very smooth-edged thermals or just wide areas of general lift. We quickly climbed to 500' over launch and then benched up over Clarkston Peak. I helped clover climb up onto my back, as she is more comfortable there than "dangling" alongside me!

We explored over Gunsight Peak and enjoyed the beautiful fall foliage below.

Clover was getting a bit chilled as we topped out at 8,500', so I radioed to Jordan that we were going over the back and to meet us at the Clarkston LZ. By now Clover had crawled up my back so she could use my helmet as a windbreak but still enjoy the view. Maybe she needs some goggles! She was a little unnerved by my playful wings & wangs as we descended in the buoyant air, but overall she did great and seemed right at home in the sky.

We came down for a decent landing not far from Jordan,

and then Clover supervised the glider breakdown, accounting for each and every batten.

Thanks Jordan-rama!

Airtime: 1 hour 14 minutes (x2!)

Say it isn't Snow

On the first full day of Autumn, the morning clouds revealed on the highest peaks surrounding the valley...SNOW! For once the weatherman was right - just a dusting. There was a heavy frost on the lawn, and I suffered a minor brain freeze on my ride to work this morning!

I actually don't mind the snow - I enjoy some winter sports. I know we need to build a winter snow pack to sustain our water supply. I guess it would just be nice if it stayed in the higher mountains, and did not obstruct my ability to drive to launch!!! (After all, I do only have a 2wd!). But that is probably wishful thinking. So I will just enjoy the Fall and make the best of the flying days which remain :-)

Learning to Fly

When I heard Tom Petty on the radio Thursday morning at work, I had a feeling I was going to get some airtime soon!

I left work early on some comp. time, picked up Landon (85 lb. 11 y.o.) and pointed toward Short Divide, only to find launch conditions a bit too strong: 30 mph out of the southwest gusting to 35!

The winds were in advance of a cold front which was forecast to arrived sometime Saturday. I even heard the weatherman use the four-letter "S" word - but only "a dusting" on the tops of the highest peaks! At 3:30 pm, it was still early, about 85 degrees, not a cloud in the sky, and I knew it would mellow out in the next few hours if we were patient. So we set up behind the protection of the junipers, and then re-checked conditions: 25 to 30 mph - better, but still a bit too strong for my glider.

So we passed some time playing with a medium-sized dark-colored setter-mix which had appeared on launch. He was friendly enough, but must have strayed from one of the hunting parties scattered about on the mountain.

By 5:00 pm it had mellowed to a steady 24-26. I was comfortable with that speed because there was almost no gust factor, and with Landon on board I would be near the top of my glider's weight range. With my wing loading I knew that I would have adequate control and penetration, so we hooked in, hang-checked, and carefully walked out to launch...

wings level, clear, lean forward, three steps, going UP!

We quickly climbed to about 600' over launch, with a ground speed of about 5 mph! I soon recognized that the wind was much more westerly than usual, creating more of a lift band along the small launch ridge, but making it difficult to "bench up".

We cautiously crabbed sideways, being careful to avoid the venturi which forms in the gap over the cattle guard, until we arrived half way up the lower face of Clarkston Peak, facing due west and parallel to that ridge. We inched along, carefully contouring every little bump & gully, in zero to 100 fpm lift along the way, with the bar pulled in just past my waist in about the 35 mph position. The horizontal wind was mostly "sliding" across the face, but we found some lift on each little spine.

We continued to "beat" upwind and slowly climb for about 20 minutes, until we finally made it around the corner. On the west face the lift suddenly took on a much more vertical component, allowing me to ease the bar out and relax in the smooooooooth lift as we quickly climbed over the top,

revealing the beautiful 360 degree view! We then headed over to Gunsight Peak and boated around at just over 9 grand, where the air was noticeably at least 20 degrees cooler. The rusty fall colors which blanketed the mountains were nice, but a bit muted compared to some years, due to the hot, dry summer. We took some pictures, noticed different "objects" in the irregular shapes of the big plowed fields below, watched a farmer feeding cows from his truck out on the range, and just enjoyed the view. All of this as people were furiously driving from point "A" to point "B" on interstate-15, encased in their cocoons of steel and plastic, oblivious to our flight, nearly a vertical mile below and to the west.

I let Landon "drive" a bit, as this was his 4th flight with me, and he is a great co-pilot! We started back toward the Divide which gave me an opportunity to teach Landon about the difference between ground speed vs. air speed. When we were going into the stiff wind, the GPS showed a ground speed of 5-9 mph. When we turned-tail and stuffed the bar, we got up to 61 before I eased the bar back out! I explained how, with the higher wind, we had to be very aware of our ground/mountain clearance, and not 360 until we were well out front and/or over the top. I pointed out how if you watch a distant point beyond a ridgeline, you could, without the help of a vario or altimeter, determine whether you are going up or sinking. I told him how, as a pilot he needs to imagine and learn to visualize how the air moves around the land formations - not only to maximize the lift, but also to stay safe! I also reminded him (and myself) that an "old" (ie: not bold) pilot always flies so that an LZ is within a reasonable glide - a lesson which I had to learn the hard way on a shoulder of Oxford Peak a couple of months ago :-}

With the shadows getting long, we shot through the gap at about 8,000', rode out some mild lee-side rotor on the Clarkston-side descent, and felt the air warm our faces as the ground came up to meet us. We came in for a "safe" belly & wheel landing, and then broke down "Ol' Sport" in the shadows of Clarkston Peak. We got back to launch to retrieve the pick-up just as the sun was setting,

and it was still blowing about 18!

On the ride home we recounted our exciting flight - which was a good review and reminder of some hang gliding basics for me, and a fun time for both of us! Much better than our last tandem flight (riding the storm out)! What a nice day, Learning to Fly!

Airtime: 1 hour 10 minutes (x 2!)

Nucor Dust Devils

While cruising over Gunsight Peak at about 8,900' (about 4,500' above the valley floor) last Saturday, I was intrigued (and tempted) by a series of dust devils. I noticed them form on the south end of a large plowed field immediately east of the Nucor Steel plant. I watched as they tracked to the north all the way across the field, leaning over, growing taller as they went and leaving behind a lighter "track" in the field. They were obviously traveling slower than the traffic "flying" by on the interstate, but they were still moving at a pretty good clip - maybe 20-30 mph.


My digital point-and-shoot is a bit antiquated and does not have the best resolution, but you get the idea from these images. It was interesting how occasionally 2 or 3 were on the field at the same time, and at one point 2 of them met and combined into one! I also noticed that they would form at regular intervals, so that there was always at least one on the field for a period of about fifteen minutes. Then there would be none at all for a while, then they would start all over again! (It doesn't take much to entertain or fascinate me!)

It was a blue-thermal day on Saturday, so I couldn't really see how high they went. I do recall seeing them a couple of months ago on a day that each dust devil was topped off by a nice little newly-forming cumulus cloud at cloud base! By "connecting the dots" I could visualize how the thermal was leaning downwind.

I was tempted to fly toward the field, come in a couple thousand feet above one, see what kind of lift they indicated, and explore how high it went. I decided I would leave that for another day, as there was a fairly stiff head wind, and I might end up sinking out. Even if that happened, it would be easy to land by the Chevron. Maybe next time!

Divide Glass

Cody and I met out at Short Divide on Saturday, as we were both jone'sin' for some airtime. Landon came along for company and...

Clover served as the "launch monitor".

There was a decent pre-frontal forecast, and conditions on launch were pretty good, blowing straight in at 14-16 mph, but it was occasionally cycling up and down, leaving some "holes" in the lift, making it challenging to bench up.

Nice launch, Cody!

Cody, right after launching.

After a little over an hour of nice but textured air time for both of us, we landed on the Box Elder side. Cody nailed his landing right in the slightly-uphill sweet-spot which makes it much easier in a light to no-winder. I must have caught a puff and overshot my target a bit, and found myself in an extended ground-effect in the slightly downhill sloping part of the LZ. I waited and waited, and thought for sure I would beak it, but I finally punched it out and up and there was just enough momentum for a stand-up landing. Cody said, "nice" - and I said, "No - lucky!"

We were breaking down around 5:30 when two guys in a white pick-up drove up with their gliders loaded through the slider window into the cab and resting on the tailgate of their truck. After they stopped, we realized it was the Box Elder Boys (Dave & Zane) heading for launch! Perfect timing for a lift back to our rides!

Cody and Dave helped "throw" Zane off first into the obviously mellowed glass-off conditions. Zane showed us old guys how to do a seriously healthy launch!

Way to get through that control bar!

Then Dave had a nice launch too.

Cody, Landon, Clover and I then left as they were still boating around...

in the sweet pre-sunset air!

When do we fly next?!

Airtime: 1 hour 21 minutes!

26.2

Landon and I had the opportunity to join about 15 other volunteers at the mile 13 aid station of the ninth annual Top of Utah Marathon.

We camped out in our pickup Friday night at the pull-out in Blacksmith Fork Canyon, along with a couple of other volunteers. The canyon is closed to traffic at 6 am Saturday, so we got to sleep in a bit and not worry about beating the closure.

The buses transporting nearly 2,000 runners did start whizzing past on their way to the starting line at about 5 am. Almost every morning (from about 1 am to 10 am) there is a stiff down-canyon wind, and race day was no exception!

The race starts at 5,700' at Hardware Ranch, follows the canyon downhill to the valley, has some ups and downs through Millville and River Heights, and finishes in Logan at about 4,600'. It is a beautiful course with great potential for PR's. The downhill through the canyon (the first 14 miles) is steep enough to give you some extra momentum, but not so steep that it hammers your quad's (like St. George). With the bonus tailwind and cool starting temps. it was a perfect day for 26.2!

At about 7 am we started setting up tables, filling water & Gatorade cups, cutting up bananas and oranges, marking and setting out trash boxes and clothing boxes, and practicing our "hand-offs".

As the runners approach some of them slow down and some don't. You have to call out what you have to offer -

"Water!", "Gatorade!", "Banana!", "Orange!" - then look for some kind of sign or indication of what they want, and then do your best to match their speed and make the hand off. Runner fatigue at mile 13, combined with a dexterity-reducing wind chill and runner congestion can make this a bit of a challenge -

But we did our best!

The race started at 7 am,

and the first wheelchair racer flew through our station about a half hour later. The lead runner,

Hobie Call, came through at about 1:09, ten minutes ahead of the next runner. Call finished first and obliterated the course record by over 5 minutes with a time of 2:16:39! He was averaging about 5:21 per mile!

The second place runner, Kenyan Ezekiel Ruto, finished with a 2:24:26. For complete results go to the official TOU Marathon website: http://www.topofutahmarathon.com/

A few of the fast early runners were a bit demanding and became miffed if we couldn't properly interpret their wild gesticulations and hand them just what they wanted, but generally speaking they were all very appreciative of the hundreds of volunteers who, combined donated thousands of hours.

"Sorry - no doughnuts!"

There seemed to be two different types of runner attitudes: (1) Those who were more serious about a fast finish time or placing at the top of their age group, and (2) those who were much less concerned about speed and time, and more concerned with just finishing and having fun!

In my book they are ALL winners - even the DNF'ers! At least they had the courage to sign up and attempt the marathon. I know how many hours and miles of physical and mental preparation and dedication it takes to prepare for, run, and complete a marathon, and they all have my sincere admiration!

We finished up around 10:30 am,

as some of the last participants slowly came through after being on the course for over three hours...

some in need of first-aid.

The spirit, atmosphere and camaraderie felt at a marathon is one which you will never forget

- whether you are running, walking, cheering, or volunteering. You can witness countless demonstrations of courage -

each one with a story behind it. The next time there is a marathon somewhere near you, get out, get involved, and...

Have some FUN!!

Early Exits

Most of my postings are generally light-hearted and recreational or family-fun based. After a number of recent local and national events caused me to pause and reflect, I decided to write some thoughts which have been bouncing around in my head lately. You are, obviously, under no obligation to read or respond to this or any of my postings - but you are more than welcome to. Thank goodness this is a FREE country!!

Some people are born with great fanfare and depart with widespread ceremony and accolades, being immortalized in history for centuries. Some leave a legacy of evil, destruction and infamy. Others are remembered for marvelous inventions, advancements in science or medicine, tremendous feats and accomplishments, or a lifetime dedicated to service. Most people, however, seem to make their way through life coming and going with little publicity and generally unnoticed - other than by a few close friends and family members.


On September 11th, 2001 over 2,700 people lost their lives in a series of senseless, devastating acts of destruction. Regardless of your political, moral or religious views regarding this tragedy, the fact remains that this event has in some way affected the day to day life of nearly every American, either directly or indirectly. Our lives will never be the same - for better or for worse - as a result of this day's events.

Why do some people suffer such a sudden, untimely, seemingly unfair death and early departure from this life?

A couple of months ago, while working with some hazardous chemicals over his summer vacation, a well-liked local elementary school teacher suffered a lethal exposure and soon found out at the ER that he had only hours to live. At least he had time to gather his family around him and say goodbye.

Last month thousands of people flocked to Graceland in sweltering heat to remember "the king", thirty years after his death at age 42.

Nine coal miners recently perished in a cave-in accident, leaving behind spouses, children, and other family members.

A couple of weeks ago our neighbor's 30 year-old daughter, a wife and mother, died very unexpectedly during the night.

Last week Luciano Pavarotti died at the age of 71 after his battle with pancreatic cancer.

Hundreds of volunteers spent numerous days searching for a missing 22 year-old BYU student, only to find her body on a steep mountainside, having died as a result of an apparent hiking accident. A candlelight ceremony was held that night in her memory.

A few days ago, while playing ice hockey with family and friends, a 44 year-old local small businessman, husband & father died suddenly. He did not have the chance to say goodbye, but at least he was with his family.

This posting is not intended to be negative, depressing or morbid - but rather to serve as a reminder, mostly to myself, that life is way too short to waste any time holding on to feelings of resentment or anger, nursing a grudge, delaying forgiveness, or leaving something un-done while waiting for "someday" to arrive. I should not pass up any opportunity to tell and show my family that I love them. In the big scheme of things, a lot of things that I may lose sleep over, really don't matter! I believe that although some days are not easy and far from fun, life is meant to be enjoyed!



When I leave this earth, what will be my legacy? If my time to go happens to be today, will I have any regrets? Will I have left anything undone or unsaid? Regardless of one's beliefs in an afterlife, each one of us writes the story of our own life every passing moment of every day. Is one person's life of more value than another's? Many of life's questions, I do believe, may not be completely answered during our short time on earth.


Even if my passing doesn't make the national or world evening news, I can still make a difference in my own way. I can leave this world a little bit better than when I arrived!

Hopefully my life will not be defined by my mistakes - of which there are many - but rather by what I have accomplished, who I have become, and how I have affected those around me, in spite of my poor choices. Hopefully I will be remembered as a caring father, loving husband, respectable citizen, contributing community member, and honest employee. This is all just wishful thinking - unless I do the things now which will cause me to become this kind of person, as if tomorrow or "someday" will never arrive. For me, this is only possible if I do my best to "not sweat the small stuff" and focus on the things that really matter.

Some of these lessons took me decades to learn. Some of them I could only learn by passing through struggles, challenges, and difficulties. Such life-changing events serve to remind me just how short life is, and give me a new perspective and "fresh eyes". Such experiences have taught me to give thanks for each new day, each new experience, time with family and friends, sometimes each new moment.


I am also grateful for those who have sacrificed their lives and those currently serving to provide and defend the freedom which too often I take for granted.

Home in the Sky

Today was a pretty lazy day for me, but that's OK - once in a while. I am recovering from a head and chest cold, so I didn't feel like doing much today anyway, and figured that I better recuperate in time for work Monday! The wind was a light north/northwest today, which is no good for flying Short Divide, and I didn't feel like a road trip, so I did a few things around the yard and house, and changed the oil in my pick-up. Then I napped in-between college football games. It was not a very productive day, but nonetheless somewhat satisfying!

Our house has two huge 40' + tall willow trees in the backyard, which were overgrown with branches clear down to the ground when we bought the house about 7 years ago. It took weeks of trimming branches before the sun could finally get through and reach the grass below. The debris covered the entire backyard like a 6' tall jungle. I lost count of how many trips to the green-waste facility I made with my overloaded pick-up. After completing the massive pruning project, I realized the tree house potential held by these trees! As long as I can recall I have always loved climbing as high as I could - including (but not limited to) trees, fences, houses, schools, mountains, etc... I was not very old as a kid when my mom received a call from the neighbor, asking her if she realized that her two boys were on top of our two story house! (sorry mom!) Growing up we had a few different tree houses, but most of them were poorly designed and of flimsy construction.

After I had mentioned the idea of a tree house in our backyard, my boys never let me forget, and regularly asked when we were going to build it. Finally, "someday" came in the spring of 2005 and construction began. I looked at all kinds of extravagant plans and designs on various internet websites, but we were on a tight budget, and I wanted something fairly simple and open, yet sturdy, roomy, and functional. I didn't want something that was an eyesore, but rather a tree house which blended into the form and color of the tree. I knew it had to be very sturdy, and I puzzled over how to design it to withstand the occasional windstorm, microburst, or canyon winds. I finally decided that I would build the main deck or platform on the ground out of a 2 x 6 framework, hoist it about 25' up, and suspend it between the 5 main trunks with heavy chain pieces. This would allow the entire rigid platform to "float" with the movement of the tree when the wind blew, and not just twist it to smithereens!



I began by "laying it out" in thin air, and came up with a rough pattern or template for the main frame.



The completed platform ended up being hexagonal in shape, and quite heavy. We first tried rounding up all of the neighborhood kids


but were barely able to lift it off the ground! Then I borrowed a come-along, and my neighbor brought his rock climbing gear to assist. I climbed 30' up and ran a rope over a branch, and then tied off to our apple tree.


We used a combination of the hand-winch and Jumar ascenders to slowly raise the deck, inch by inch, until we finally got it secured and into position!


It took a lot of trial and error to get it suspended and level.



My neighbor had loaned me his climbing harness and a rope for safety, but I didn't need them - or so I thought... While securing the platform it shifted unexpectedly, and the last thing I remember was the ground coming up at me very fast. When I came to I was face down on the lawn on my right side, and, looking up, I realized that I had just fallen about 23 feet! I was afraid to move, wondering what the damage would be, but soon came to realize that nothing seemed to be broken, although my right shoulder and thigh were obviously bruised. After lying there for about five minutes, I crawled and dragged myself into the back door, where the family was just sitting down for dinner. Seeing my obvious pain, my wife exclaimed, "what did you do?!" I bashfully admitted that I just fell out of the tree. At first I was just glad to be alive, then I was embarrassed, and then I was just mad at myself for allowing this to happen and worried about being able to go to work. Other than severe bruises down the right side of my body, the worst injury was a badly torn right groin. You don't realize how much you use these muscles until they become injured, and then almost every movement causes severe pain to shoot through your body. I couldn't get out of bed for about 3 days, but finally found a combination of an ace bandage wrap and alternating hot/cold therapy which allowed me to get around and go back to work. There was no "quick fix" (no pun intended) for this injury - just time and patience - neither of which I had in great supply. Finally, about a month and a half later, I was able to resume work on the tree house.


The next step was to build a sturdy rope ladder with 2 x 2 rungs.


Then I added 4 x 4 posts at each corner, and built a 4' tall railing all the way around with closely spaced baluster and a 2 x 4 cap.


The railing was sturdy and independent of any tree trunk or branch.


Then I added some final trim, and finally two coats of oil-based deck stain. I also attached a small crate with a rope for safely hauling up supplies. Before the inaugural "sleep-out", I ran power and cable and built a small platform for a TV, and mounted an exterior light. We were all pleased with how it turned out. It has room to sleep about 5 kids or 4 adults. It has a beautiful view,


looking out on neighboring hay fields and beyond to the Short Divide, and it is so nice to spend a warm summer night with a nice breeze blowing through the willows. It has weathered the past 2 years quite well, and last summer I added a "crows nest" one-person sleeping platform,


which is suspended about 5 feet above the main platform (30' above the ground) by climbing ropes at each corner. Any "floating" movement of the main deck is almost imperceptible, but the crows nest will rock you to sleep very nicely on a breezy night! The boys and I enjoy weekend camp outs well into the fall,


and they have had some popular sleepovers too! They are now lobbying me to add a zip-line, but that might be a little too much of a liability - although the idea is tempting (I'll always be a kid at heart!) I'm glad that "someday" actually arrived before the boys grew up and out...


...and in time to build some unforgettable tree house memories!