I thought I would recap our trip to King Mtn. for those who couldn't make it. You missed a really good time.
First there was Hurricane. Greg (me) Arthur and Will got to Hurricane ready to fly on Saturday afternoon, the 12th. Things didn't work out that day but we did some exploring. Sunday we set up but the wind was high and I was the only one willing to launch. (Hey, I'm getting old, how many chances do have to fly there?) Elevatored straight up from launch and had a nice ridge flight several miles down range, taking in great views and interesting landscapes in the late afternoon light. I could see some great hikes down there for unflyable days.
The next day was very light, though we could see big cells developing around us. We seemed to be in a stable hole so we all launched and had to earn our way up. Art's luck ran out pretty soon but Will and I managed to get a decent flight in before we noticed that the cell behind us was growing. As we headed toward the airport below the beeps stopped, all the lift had turned to sink and it was now blowing down. We landed in quiet air and got our gliders into the shade behind the pilot's lounge 5 minutes before a good gust front blew through. Poor Arthur was in the other field getting wire burns on his fingers trying to hold his glider down. Other than that, no damage.
Steve and Pat arrived that evening at Kanarraville and we all flew (sort of) Tuesday. Steve was on the ground in a few minutes and I did worse with one beep all the way to the airport in the weak conditions with barely any wind on launch. It looked like Will would follow soon but he made a low save by the airport, got up to 12K and flew to the swimming hole where we met, swam and watched the dutiful Mormons jumping into the water wearing dresses down to their ankles.
That night Marshall arrived but we were ready to move on, so we headed to Inspiration Point in Provo in time for a flight in the afternoon. Even though there were threatening clouds behind us -
https://goo.gl/photos/d81ZoBCmRZk5hR5F6
conditions were tough again. Only Will managed to get up again and have a nice flight up in the 12k range while we landed in switching conditions. Steve and I landed simultaneously in opposite directions. Mine was the wrong guess and I think it was only the soft ground that spared my downtube.
On to King Mtn. the next day. We had high pressure there the whole time which produced progressively weaker conditions for the next four days, but maybe that was not such a bad thing as it was still pretty rowdy the first two days. The place lived up to its reputation and Marshall and I had excellent flights on Thursday and Friday. I crossed Ramshorn canyon both days and flew the convergence over Sunset Ridge and some truly spectacular places. Friday was one of my best flights ever, tiptoeing in light convergence 100 ft or less over that ridge in mainly a straight line for miles, landing back at John Kangas' impressive flight park. No big accomplishment for that place but it was a perfect and glorious introduction to the area.
Oh yeah, and there was also an eclipse. Coolest thing I ever saw and worth the trip for that alone.
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