Recovery has its Rewards

It's been over a month since I have had time to just go fly, and I have been long overdue! Friday marked an auspicious milestone date, and everything seemed to come together on a beautiful fall day allowing for a memorable flight. I had the afternoon off, and the southwesterly winds filled in nicely on the Short Divide. Dallen, a friend and aspiring pilot, accompanied me for moral support and to drive retrieval. Upon arrival at launch conditions were near perfect - straight in at 15-17 mph on a bright, sunny fall day of about 70 degrees. There were hunters all over the main road and back roads, scouting out prospects for opening day the next morning. After setup, pre-flight, and hang check, I walked out to launch with Dallen on a wire. Once in the slot, I paused for a minute to check conditions, wings level, neutral, walk, jog, run, FLYING!!

I turned left and cruised along about 75 feet over the small ridgeline over launch in the smooth, fall lift. I decided to keep it simple today, flying without any instruments, to see if I could tune in to the gentle thermals enough with my own senses to bench up and climb the upper mountain. After a few ups and downs, I found a ride up to about 200' over launch. It turned into zero sink, but I managed to drift with it all the way back to the upper face, where I slowly began my ascent. I hugged the lower flanks, contouring every bump, bowl and gully to stay in the lift, flying at minimum sink with just enough airspeed for a margin of safety.

After nine or ten passes I finally crested the summit ridge,

rewarded with an incredible view over the back, to Idaho and beyond. There was a bit of haze in the air from farmers burning off some stubble in the valley below, but overall it was a clear, crisp, sunny fall afternoon.

Over the peak the lift was smooth, widespread and plentiful, although the lift band was not a large as it can be during a summer glass-off. The mountainsides were mostly orange, brown and rust colored, with the muted fall colors beyond their peak. After enjoying the view for an hour or so, I did a few wingovers in celebration and "just for fun",

and then flew over the back to begin my descent as the evening shadows lengthened. The wind in the landing zone was a bit stronger than normal - about 12 mph. As a result I came up a little short of my target, but it was inconsequential, and actually turned out quite well with a gentle no-step landing where Dallen was waiting. A fitting end to another magical evening over "the Divide." Recovery definitely has its rewards!

Airtime: 1.5 hours!