Sunday, May 29, 2016
Saturday, day two of Demo days. I woke up early, with not enough sleep. The Upanishads teachings were as good as any! It was pouring rain outside, and there were yellow breasted finches jumping and playing outside my window. My book was keying on birds at the time, and I was feeling great with little sleep. I made it down to the lz, and it was still raining. The day is not looking good. We hang out in the lz, just talking story. A lot of the local pilots don't even show up. I am hanging with this kid, my age, named Willy, he is a tandem pilot and makes his money in hangglinding, super cool! The day goes on slow, with optimism, cause it can always change. Finally around 3p.m. the weather starts to improve. Only one demo run going down today. I spent most of the day playing hackysac with cool a dude from California, Brian and Sparky. I was jamming my terrible music, having a blast. We headed up to launch, and the only glider left to demo, was the alapha. This is the retro trainer glider, which is as wide as it is long. Willy teaches with it, and has had good things to say about it. So, its a huge 210 sized glider, with light air, I am imagining its gonna be sweet, lol sure. We go up to Marshall full of optimism. I am cracking jokes and Ken is gonna fly his tandem solo, so were kinda equal, but he flys here everyday. Set up is quick, and Ken gets off quick. He is doing ok, so I launched too. Bad idea, to early again. I am flying this trainer glider slow as fk. When I make my turns next to the mountain, it feels like i'm gonna get stuck and pound in. lol Not really. but everytime I pull in to make a tighter turn, I sink out. I started chasing Ken around, but not getting much. I see this bird thermaling, so I try to steal it, lol. I am going so slow that it flys right in my face and flutters at me! Best part of flight. I get to regionals, and catch something, but I drift strong with it, without much gain. Ahh this glider has no penetration, and I will top land if i keep flying. Also there was a guy on a Sport, he kept dive bombing me because he couldn't get up either. Im low, slow and it's crowded. Not in a comfortable place, I bail for something else. No luck... Ken is getting up, and I am milking it hardcore, this is not working out. I scratch for twenty minutes, but there is no chance for me. I barley make it to the lz, which was starting to get windy. This means it has turned on, and I am nowhere near getting up. The best I can do is entertain the lz crowd. I put myself over the crowd, push-out, and fly backwards for an extended amount of time, trying to freak people out ;). After enough of that, I do my normal full speed approach and land the trainer glider effortlessly. I wanted to go up again pretty badly, but it was taco night, and it was already late. My first real burnout day :( bummers. Luckly Kelsey and her Mom where there to chat, and I took reigns of one of their dogs while we ate dinner. I was super happy to chat, joke, and converse with them! Its not hard to get me in a good mood, as long as I don't look up lol. Then Mitch, who flew the second alpha landed. Even though he got above launch, he burned out quick as well. Then more people came down and landed, as the cloud shadow blocked the sun again. It was a pretty weak day, but it was fun. I then got asked to play hackysac by some kids. I had burnout energy, so I played and entertained the kids for a couple hours. Chris who I flew with, the day before was handling the grill, and I was playing with his kids. One of them had a whiny ouch when i threw my hackysack at him, and I made fun on him all night. Not my best move, but he was so whiny and funny I couldn't help myself. It brought me some joy lol. Sorry dude. Aooowwwchhh lol so funny. Helped give me my own personal sad perspective. I was tired, and I had little sleep the night before, so I enjoyed the movies and went to bed early.
Friday, May 20, 2016
Marshall Island 3 Demo Day1
The next morning, I do my readings, and cry lol dang smart India religious stuff. :) No time to really help Steve, and the full excitement of Demo days is here. The campground filled up overnight, and there are a lot of pilots in the Lz. I excel in small group conversations, but I don't deal with crowds as well. I have made friends, and will still make more! The evening before, I watched one of the Wills wing guys preform a perfect landing. Mitch is gonna record and critique all the landings of the day. In the previous week, I email Steve Pearson, to get on the list to demo gliders, and we have a nice chat. I see the guy who I watched land perfectly the night before, and I assume is Steve Pearson. He also assumes correctly who I am, and we meet and say hellos! Boom, instantly super excited and stoked! A little small talk, and it's time to sign up for gliders. All Krishna'd up I let everyone choose there gliders, so all that is left is a 170 falcon. Whoo hoo falcon again, fake excitement, but still super stoked! I chat with Ken for first time as well, a facebook friend and Wills Wing glider builder, my favorite person of the team. I ride up with Mike Meirers the last top dawg of the Wills Wing team! I try my best to control my ego and excitement with an overactive, talkative attitude. I also try to be as respectful as possible. We drive up to the Marshal launch, and I am first to set up and fly around 11:45. Mike helps me with a few things, and he un-farmiliar with my flying skills :). I asked, "Where is the proper launch spot", cause I have no clue :). O, right next to the that first cross launch platform duh. I give a hard walk, jog, run run run and I'm off. O yeah I'm a good launcher for sure :). This Falcon has a tight mylar sail and is flying a lot faster and tighter than the 190, I have been flying. Also, the air was a bit early, and the thermals are kinda weak. I scratch for about 30 minutes, and I don't get it. My first burn out of the trip :(. I have a great landing, and Mitch critique's my techniques. He shows how my legs swing around causing a little bit of cross control. He also tells me how to swing forward, to land land like Steve P. Most of the other pilots are staying up, and I am a little bummed. I know I launched early, but I thought it was gonna be another gimme, nope. At the Lz I meet Steve Pearson's lovely wife and daughter. They are both super nice, and his daughter who is my age even fly's! I am kinda crushing for sure! But I am in dumb puppy mode anyways, so I am just a goof :). Then Nofly Steve goes, "Cruser want to go up?", well hellz yeah. I just burned out, and I don't want to wait two hours for the next demo run, I just want to fly! Ken, "ahh I dont have bags and ahh um can I bail on putting the glider away cause gonna be hour till the glider bag is down..." Lol he says, "I got you buddy, go". Whoohoo outta here. I meet Local pilot Chris, and throw my glider on! Me, him, and Steve are outta there! We chat alot about Maui and things, and get up to Crestline! Whoohoo, I set up quick and Launch! Straight to billboards, and I thermal up to cloudbase!. Chris doesn't get it right away, and I can tell he's like dang, f that kid jokingly :) He bails on his high performance glider to go have his own sick flight. I fly all over the place, to Marshall and back up to Crestline. I fly downwind to scope new areas, and find Stephen with Lua doing a tandem, fun flight. I loose a ton of attitude, and bail on them. I trying to milk every nook and crack. Ahh, I am downwind and as low as Marshall. I head to the Billboards, but way below, then boom. 4 to 6 grand at billboards, and in the clouds! Ok lets cross the upwind valley to pine peak. I hit strong headwinds, and make it. I see clouds, but I am not getting up. I scratch till I I hit my bail altitude of 3700ft. Thinking I will have tailwind, I head back. Um sink, sink, sink ah not gonna make it. I am stuck scanning for bailouts, but I reach regionals and climb out. Wohooo. Back to Marshall, and I enjoy the rest of the flight. I have another 3-4hr flight with a perfect landing! Super stoked, I stay up late talking technique, and sharing videos with Kevin and the other pilots.
Yesterdays flight video...
Yesterdays flight video...
Friday, May 13, 2016
Marshall Island Part Two
Day three, I scheduled a ride and a glider with Rob Makinzy. He is the main instructor and tandem pilot on the hill. I did my routine; read, helped out Steve, then hung out at the Lz to wait for the ride up! Around 2, a group of pilots showed up to catch the shuttle with Rob. I was super stoked, and super excited like I get. I was chatting up a storm with some of the local pilots, while we drove up to the Marshall launch. Rob's wife cracked a joke saying that she thought I was related to JD, because I was so chatty :). Funny to those who know JD, and I was pleased too, cause its nice to be picked on. At Marshall, Rob was quick to take off with his tandem, leaving me kinda clueless about the launch. So, I just did what he did. I launched off the platform, in a bit of a crosswind. This is normal for me, but not the right spot :). I got a nice thermal off the start. Still flyin the falcon, I didn't get to crazy. I flew for another 3 hours; trusting the hill, learning the trigger spots, and having a great time. Rob went up for his second tandem flight, so my goal was to out last him! Rob thermals, and has hour plus tandem flights both times. This is really awesome, because you can learn a lot from that! The winds in the Lz were strong and from the west. The lift was endless, so I had to dive down and fly fast just to land. I am used to strong landing winds, so I showed off. Right above the Lz, I put myself in a headwind, and allowed myself to drift backwards, to grab the attention of the audience. I then cranked a full speed downwind, base leg, and final. I came in super fast and had a no flare, standstill landing :). I didn't talk to much in the Lz, knowing some didn't get the longest of flights, but I was full of stoke and excitement! I love this place and the all you can eat attitude! I hung out and chatted with pilots until past dark just super happy! Me and Stephen did the normal story chat. The talks of real jobs, lifestyle choices, reasons to live, and ect. The life of an action sports bum is not for everyone, and it's nice to meet kindred souls lol.
Day four was a rainy morning, Stephen and I just kicked backed and continued to talk story. I guess they don't get a lot of rain or clouds, so jokingly I claim to have brought both from Maui :). Around 12 or so, I see rob pull in. I race down to the Lz like an excited puppy. It looked like a sled run, and I didn't really want to pay the 15 bucks for nothing. Rob didn't say anything at the Lz, so I just eye flew. I missed my opportunity to go up. By the time he was set up and launched, the clouds had burned off, and the wind had picked up. I was bummed. The Wills Wing Demos started the next day, and more pilots began showing up. I saw my opportunity and jumped! Mind if I bum a ride :)?!! "Sure dude", whoo hoo! Amping, I got my glider ready. Then before going up we introduced ourselves. Sparky, was a pilot from Colorado who had previously chimed in on my flying post on hangglide.org, and knew my uncle Mark Rowland from Colorado! Boom instant friends! He had even flown some of my local sites back in the day! So awesome! His buddy was Kevin Carter, whom became a good friend and mentor later in the week! We drove up to marshall, and got set up. I had the easiest glider to set up, so I am off first. I decided to try the top launch that the local kid mentioned the the day before. Walk, jog, run run run and woah, I get lifted way before the hill faded away, and I had to be on it. lol, Another easy but slightly weird launch for me. I did it perfectly, it just felt weird watching the slope not change, no biggie. We flew around for another 2 hours, and I had a blast testing my limits. I would get low, and work my way back up. I like giving myself a bit of a challenge :). I milked every bit of lift I could, until the clouds covered the sun. This was my only poor, or slightly bad landing. The winds were nil, and I flared a little early. I landed softly on my feet, but I let the nose of the glider slowly and gently touch the ground. I hear Kevin, who is right above me, setting up his landing approach yell, "Wack" :). Come on dude, so not a wack, but you got to be perfect here :). Still, I am super stoked, and real happy that I got to fly again! Stephen takes me to my first Del Taco, chicken soft taco thursdays! So cheap and better than Taco Bell! Then off to free pool night to share some drinks with Dusty and Kathy, the hardcore San Bernardino locals, and Lua, Stephens paragliding girlfriend. Still making friends! Friday is the beginning of Wills Wing demo days so gotta get some rest :).
Day four was a rainy morning, Stephen and I just kicked backed and continued to talk story. I guess they don't get a lot of rain or clouds, so jokingly I claim to have brought both from Maui :). Around 12 or so, I see rob pull in. I race down to the Lz like an excited puppy. It looked like a sled run, and I didn't really want to pay the 15 bucks for nothing. Rob didn't say anything at the Lz, so I just eye flew. I missed my opportunity to go up. By the time he was set up and launched, the clouds had burned off, and the wind had picked up. I was bummed. The Wills Wing Demos started the next day, and more pilots began showing up. I saw my opportunity and jumped! Mind if I bum a ride :)?!! "Sure dude", whoo hoo! Amping, I got my glider ready. Then before going up we introduced ourselves. Sparky, was a pilot from Colorado who had previously chimed in on my flying post on hangglide.org, and knew my uncle Mark Rowland from Colorado! Boom instant friends! He had even flown some of my local sites back in the day! So awesome! His buddy was Kevin Carter, whom became a good friend and mentor later in the week! We drove up to marshall, and got set up. I had the easiest glider to set up, so I am off first. I decided to try the top launch that the local kid mentioned the the day before. Walk, jog, run run run and woah, I get lifted way before the hill faded away, and I had to be on it. lol, Another easy but slightly weird launch for me. I did it perfectly, it just felt weird watching the slope not change, no biggie. We flew around for another 2 hours, and I had a blast testing my limits. I would get low, and work my way back up. I like giving myself a bit of a challenge :). I milked every bit of lift I could, until the clouds covered the sun. This was my only poor, or slightly bad landing. The winds were nil, and I flared a little early. I landed softly on my feet, but I let the nose of the glider slowly and gently touch the ground. I hear Kevin, who is right above me, setting up his landing approach yell, "Wack" :). Come on dude, so not a wack, but you got to be perfect here :). Still, I am super stoked, and real happy that I got to fly again! Stephen takes me to my first Del Taco, chicken soft taco thursdays! So cheap and better than Taco Bell! Then off to free pool night to share some drinks with Dusty and Kathy, the hardcore San Bernardino locals, and Lua, Stephens paragliding girlfriend. Still making friends! Friday is the beginning of Wills Wing demo days so gotta get some rest :).
Saturday, May 7, 2016
Marshall Isand
So I took my first personal trip off the Island. Thanks Alex Aguera, it wouldn't have happened with out my knee stitches lol.
Bargain fair is great, a cheap flight, and I had the entire row to myself. :) Three seats and plenty of sleep on the airplane, I was comfy lol. I Jumped off the plane, and took a quick bus ride to the train station. A funny looking white boy, with two bags and a pillow, straight to murder capital of the US, San Bernardino lol. I had a nice train ride, and a twenty minute walk to the bus transit station. I was throwing shaka's and smiles to all the homies. I took a thirty minute minute bus ride through the hood, to Cal State. I walked through the university and b-lined it to the mountain range, I had been studying. I could see soaring birds and strong winds, but no one was flying. I cut through the back of the campus across the brush, only to be welcomed by some police :) They gave me some grief, but how could you not love a Maui boy with a pillow looking for some Hang gliding. I was on the right path, and I was tired of caring my stuff. I hiked into the Cross Country Ranch, and made it to the empty Andy Jackson Landing Zone. All stoked up, I continued to search for some people for more information. I stuffed my stuff near the first building, and got invited to feed the horses, already sweet situation. Super blown away by the area, I made my way to the top of the camp site, and found Margret, whom gave me the rundown. It was cold as Kula and nowhere for my hammock, sweet.. She told me to go next door to the Paraglider's Stephen. He is and instructor, and it was a goal to get some lessons, so sweet! I went and said hello, not knowing I was meeting my best friend! We instantly kicked it off as hommies as it started raining, lol great. He said lets go to a biker bar with a fire stove, and out of the rain. We rambled down in his car to the screaming chicken, slippery chicken as I named it. :) It was early so the rowdiness was not there yet. I got the beers, then whooped him in a couple games of pool! I saw some titties, and a quick fight, I felt at home. Still raining, I was quite unsure about my sleeping situation, and pretty uneasy. We pulled up to Stephen's home at the top of the Cross Country Ranch, and he offered me a van to sleep in, Sweet! I opened the back, and there was a bed full of pillows and blankets! Super Sweet! I knew it was gonna be one blessed trip! Me and Stephen would have tons of awesome conversations, and fun the whole week! Like minds are always bros!
The next morning I would start the process! I woke up early, like I do, and would read my new favorite book, "The Upanishads"! I have been all Krishna'd out for weeks, and would cry every morning reading this book! They had a hot shower down below, and I wanted to stay in good hygiene. I had the intentions of helping any way I could at the camp, and that's what i did. I just bothered and helped whomever was up doing stuff! I met the locals and rode around in the gators. I am pretty blown away by the paradise above San Bernadino. I hooked up with Nofly Steve, who pretty much ran the camp grounds! Awesome dude, full of stoke and love for the camp and the flyers! I would hang out and bother Steve most mornings. Then I decided to walk to the nearest store for some supplies. Worried I would miss my first opportunity to fly, I rushed. I picked up some granola bars, peanut butter, raisins, and water. Walking back uphill, I tried to hitchhike from the college kids and hommies, with no luck. Then, I jay walked through a red light between two semi trucks and got busted by the police again. After coming up with no warrants and a good lecture I was freed, lol. I made it to the Landing Zone with minutes to spare!
One of the reasons I came to San Bernardino, was a youtube and facebook friend Jonathan Dietch. He is one of the local Cross Country pilots. He brought me his 190 falcon to to try out, and we booked it up to fly. I went up with a couple of JD's buddies and nofly steve as driver. We went straight to the upper launch named Crestline. I have been flying alot and my confidence making me comfortable. I, having the most basic of gliders got set up first. I was ampped to join the one soaring paraglider! Steve looked quite nervous for me, but I was feeling like a boss :). I got a quick hang check, and Steve wire walked me to the windy launch! The only words of wisdom I was given was "there's a house thermal to the right called billboards", ok a little nervous but still confident.
"Walk, jog, run run run", and I am off! The landing zone is not visible from this launch, and it is about 1500ft above the mountain in front called, Marshall Peak. I took a little sink to the left, then booked it hard right to the area known as billboards. After loosing a few hundred feet, I hit my first bump. I cranked a hard turn, and dove straight at the cliff side. Rocks and trees were closer to my face than I had ever experienced, but I was gaining some altitude. I cranked and banked it like a mad man! After a few minutes of exhilarating thermaling next to the hill, I was getting up. Then a hawk approached me, and he started thermalling right next to me! I bee lined it at him, and joined him all the way above the wall. My glider being a falcon, which is commonly known as a beginner glider was rocking! I have not flown a falcon since the first week of training, so I had to be conscious of my performance and drift. I made it above the cliff with my hawk buddy, and I started drifting back. My dad always told me not to leave lift, but after a couple hundred over and a little back, I kicked out to check penetration. Sink, sink, sink, geez I barley made it out above the trees. Ehhh, what is it gonna be like heading to Marshall? Wind penetration is definitely my biggest concern. I hooked another another thermal, and got a few hundred over the hill. Now, is the time to buzz launch, and show the locals I could handle. :) I shadowed the glider on launch, and I felt pretty good! I headed downwind looking for another spot to thermal, but I found nothing. Now, way lower than launch quick, I turn back and check my headwinds back to Billboards. I am now way lower than last time, and I am fighting my headwind on my low performance glider... Mind begins to race a little, but I hit some lift close to the same place! Sweet, an actual house thermal that really exist! First time for that lol. By this time Dave, Jonathan's friend who has launched on his U2, (what i fly at home) has come and joined me in the mix. Nervously, I work with him close to the wall and get up. I watch him go a little out in front, and catch a boomer. Ohh, I don't have to dive bomb the the wall super close to get up. Lol O well, I had built a comfort level and I was kinda getting amped from flying so close :). JD had launched at this time and joined us. Dave got a big one and bailed to the next mountain upwind (prob not wanting to fly with this greenhorn so close), JD hung around just long enough to get up and then bailed downwind on his high performance T2 to start his XC flight. I was happy to be soaring, and I just stayed around Billboard, which I finally saw, after 20 mins of hardcore windy thermaling. I stayed at Crestline for over an hour, just happy to be up and soaring. Finally some more people launched and burned out. I was able to watch there flight path across, to the side of Marshall, with no problem. I gained as much altitude as I could and followed. I lost a lot of altitude heading across the gap, but I was still higher than the guy who crossed first :). I hooked a banger thermal as soon as I hit the side of Marshall called Regionals. I could see the landing zone, and a few other thermaling pilots. I was fully confident, and felt super safe! I climbed and drifted to the Marshal Launch, where I saw a paraglider throwing down some sick acrobatics! He thermaled right back up easily and headed toward me. He then spun backwards lol. It was my buddy Stephen who gave me a bed to sleep in! I waved the he went into another round of hardcore acro! He later ditched his glider and based jumped to the Lz. What a freaking boss right!. I was in heaven with thermals everywhere! "All you can eat", was Stephens famous accurate quote! I stayed up for a while trying to drift and work thermals behind the Marshall launch. I had the feeling that I could make it back to Crestline. After my third attempt, I had it! Back to where I started and back to billboards! So epic! I did that three times during this first flight! I flew for over 3.5 hours till I was beat! Alright next phase the landing! Flying the falcon I knew I couldn't mess up my landing :) JD had already landed from his 30 mile triangle or something, and he was waiting in the landing zone with his Gopro to congratulate me in my first flight! I dove in hard, straight at him, and pulled the trigger on my flare. Ahh a little early, but I stuffed it and took a few steps. The glider landed softley. I had never landed on flat ground or short grass, so I would have to figure that out a little in my next few flights :). I was incredibly stoked, Jonathan was super stoked for me! Stephen was down there packing his base chute super stoked! It was beyond epic! JD offered me his falcon for the week, so I guess I passed! Me and Stephen went out and did some celebrating and chatted about epic flying and epic lifestyles like friends do!
Bargain fair is great, a cheap flight, and I had the entire row to myself. :) Three seats and plenty of sleep on the airplane, I was comfy lol. I Jumped off the plane, and took a quick bus ride to the train station. A funny looking white boy, with two bags and a pillow, straight to murder capital of the US, San Bernardino lol. I had a nice train ride, and a twenty minute walk to the bus transit station. I was throwing shaka's and smiles to all the homies. I took a thirty minute minute bus ride through the hood, to Cal State. I walked through the university and b-lined it to the mountain range, I had been studying. I could see soaring birds and strong winds, but no one was flying. I cut through the back of the campus across the brush, only to be welcomed by some police :) They gave me some grief, but how could you not love a Maui boy with a pillow looking for some Hang gliding. I was on the right path, and I was tired of caring my stuff. I hiked into the Cross Country Ranch, and made it to the empty Andy Jackson Landing Zone. All stoked up, I continued to search for some people for more information. I stuffed my stuff near the first building, and got invited to feed the horses, already sweet situation. Super blown away by the area, I made my way to the top of the camp site, and found Margret, whom gave me the rundown. It was cold as Kula and nowhere for my hammock, sweet.. She told me to go next door to the Paraglider's Stephen. He is and instructor, and it was a goal to get some lessons, so sweet! I went and said hello, not knowing I was meeting my best friend! We instantly kicked it off as hommies as it started raining, lol great. He said lets go to a biker bar with a fire stove, and out of the rain. We rambled down in his car to the screaming chicken, slippery chicken as I named it. :) It was early so the rowdiness was not there yet. I got the beers, then whooped him in a couple games of pool! I saw some titties, and a quick fight, I felt at home. Still raining, I was quite unsure about my sleeping situation, and pretty uneasy. We pulled up to Stephen's home at the top of the Cross Country Ranch, and he offered me a van to sleep in, Sweet! I opened the back, and there was a bed full of pillows and blankets! Super Sweet! I knew it was gonna be one blessed trip! Me and Stephen would have tons of awesome conversations, and fun the whole week! Like minds are always bros!
The next morning I would start the process! I woke up early, like I do, and would read my new favorite book, "The Upanishads"! I have been all Krishna'd out for weeks, and would cry every morning reading this book! They had a hot shower down below, and I wanted to stay in good hygiene. I had the intentions of helping any way I could at the camp, and that's what i did. I just bothered and helped whomever was up doing stuff! I met the locals and rode around in the gators. I am pretty blown away by the paradise above San Bernadino. I hooked up with Nofly Steve, who pretty much ran the camp grounds! Awesome dude, full of stoke and love for the camp and the flyers! I would hang out and bother Steve most mornings. Then I decided to walk to the nearest store for some supplies. Worried I would miss my first opportunity to fly, I rushed. I picked up some granola bars, peanut butter, raisins, and water. Walking back uphill, I tried to hitchhike from the college kids and hommies, with no luck. Then, I jay walked through a red light between two semi trucks and got busted by the police again. After coming up with no warrants and a good lecture I was freed, lol. I made it to the Landing Zone with minutes to spare!
One of the reasons I came to San Bernardino, was a youtube and facebook friend Jonathan Dietch. He is one of the local Cross Country pilots. He brought me his 190 falcon to to try out, and we booked it up to fly. I went up with a couple of JD's buddies and nofly steve as driver. We went straight to the upper launch named Crestline. I have been flying alot and my confidence making me comfortable. I, having the most basic of gliders got set up first. I was ampped to join the one soaring paraglider! Steve looked quite nervous for me, but I was feeling like a boss :). I got a quick hang check, and Steve wire walked me to the windy launch! The only words of wisdom I was given was "there's a house thermal to the right called billboards", ok a little nervous but still confident.
"Walk, jog, run run run", and I am off! The landing zone is not visible from this launch, and it is about 1500ft above the mountain in front called, Marshall Peak. I took a little sink to the left, then booked it hard right to the area known as billboards. After loosing a few hundred feet, I hit my first bump. I cranked a hard turn, and dove straight at the cliff side. Rocks and trees were closer to my face than I had ever experienced, but I was gaining some altitude. I cranked and banked it like a mad man! After a few minutes of exhilarating thermaling next to the hill, I was getting up. Then a hawk approached me, and he started thermalling right next to me! I bee lined it at him, and joined him all the way above the wall. My glider being a falcon, which is commonly known as a beginner glider was rocking! I have not flown a falcon since the first week of training, so I had to be conscious of my performance and drift. I made it above the cliff with my hawk buddy, and I started drifting back. My dad always told me not to leave lift, but after a couple hundred over and a little back, I kicked out to check penetration. Sink, sink, sink, geez I barley made it out above the trees. Ehhh, what is it gonna be like heading to Marshall? Wind penetration is definitely my biggest concern. I hooked another another thermal, and got a few hundred over the hill. Now, is the time to buzz launch, and show the locals I could handle. :) I shadowed the glider on launch, and I felt pretty good! I headed downwind looking for another spot to thermal, but I found nothing. Now, way lower than launch quick, I turn back and check my headwinds back to Billboards. I am now way lower than last time, and I am fighting my headwind on my low performance glider... Mind begins to race a little, but I hit some lift close to the same place! Sweet, an actual house thermal that really exist! First time for that lol. By this time Dave, Jonathan's friend who has launched on his U2, (what i fly at home) has come and joined me in the mix. Nervously, I work with him close to the wall and get up. I watch him go a little out in front, and catch a boomer. Ohh, I don't have to dive bomb the the wall super close to get up. Lol O well, I had built a comfort level and I was kinda getting amped from flying so close :). JD had launched at this time and joined us. Dave got a big one and bailed to the next mountain upwind (prob not wanting to fly with this greenhorn so close), JD hung around just long enough to get up and then bailed downwind on his high performance T2 to start his XC flight. I was happy to be soaring, and I just stayed around Billboard, which I finally saw, after 20 mins of hardcore windy thermaling. I stayed at Crestline for over an hour, just happy to be up and soaring. Finally some more people launched and burned out. I was able to watch there flight path across, to the side of Marshall, with no problem. I gained as much altitude as I could and followed. I lost a lot of altitude heading across the gap, but I was still higher than the guy who crossed first :). I hooked a banger thermal as soon as I hit the side of Marshall called Regionals. I could see the landing zone, and a few other thermaling pilots. I was fully confident, and felt super safe! I climbed and drifted to the Marshal Launch, where I saw a paraglider throwing down some sick acrobatics! He thermaled right back up easily and headed toward me. He then spun backwards lol. It was my buddy Stephen who gave me a bed to sleep in! I waved the he went into another round of hardcore acro! He later ditched his glider and based jumped to the Lz. What a freaking boss right!. I was in heaven with thermals everywhere! "All you can eat", was Stephens famous accurate quote! I stayed up for a while trying to drift and work thermals behind the Marshall launch. I had the feeling that I could make it back to Crestline. After my third attempt, I had it! Back to where I started and back to billboards! So epic! I did that three times during this first flight! I flew for over 3.5 hours till I was beat! Alright next phase the landing! Flying the falcon I knew I couldn't mess up my landing :) JD had already landed from his 30 mile triangle or something, and he was waiting in the landing zone with his Gopro to congratulate me in my first flight! I dove in hard, straight at him, and pulled the trigger on my flare. Ahh a little early, but I stuffed it and took a few steps. The glider landed softley. I had never landed on flat ground or short grass, so I would have to figure that out a little in my next few flights :). I was incredibly stoked, Jonathan was super stoked for me! Stephen was down there packing his base chute super stoked! It was beyond epic! JD offered me his falcon for the week, so I guess I passed! Me and Stephen went out and did some celebrating and chatted about epic flying and epic lifestyles like friends do!
Thursday, April 7, 2016
Feeling good
Hmmmm a blog post, that is a novel idea, lol. Lets see.
I would start by saying, I am enjoying the unemployed lifestyle again. Do to some good fortune and a unrealistic source of occupation, I find my self with my greatest set up yet. I love my Kite Family, and I understand that life would not be as great without them, Many Thanks!!!!!
This winter like most, was the best winter ever! Godzilla el Nino, global warming, or just an average winter.... whatever you call it, it was epic! I believe we are in a grand solar minimum and without an active sun, how are we gonna have overactive storms???... (Everyone should follow Suspicious0bservers on Youtube.)
I did not spend all my mental energies and every waking moment thinking about Peahi, or did I get hundreds of barrels at the bay... I choose the Waiehu way of surfing. For early season we started off with a bang, Ho'okipa was the spot for weeks! Getting into surfing is Key. Motivation everyday is important. I developed new techniques and surfed on bigger boards. I learned that on a 7ft gun, Surfing gets way easier. I bought a used Marzo 6'4, and felt happy as a lazier surfer! But shortly there after it snapped kicking out of a closeout at the bay. :( Back to the 6ft epoxy Kiteboard from SOS. Then it got big, Jaws was breaking every week or so, and Ho'okipa was to big almost everyday for months. I, living on the Waiehu Coast took advantage of the Wrap. Almost every morning I would solo session the Rivermouth in all sizes. Since it is a wrap the biggest of NW swells were surfable!! Then I would surf later in the day. One of my newest favorites is Big Lefts, this is the wave closest to the Rivermouth, but has a bigger channel and holds a bigger wave. I was introduced to the wave one windy evening with my buddy Trevor and some other bruddhas. We paddled to the outside around all the big waves and waited for the sets. Back to back, the 8ft roll in's were the easiest things ever. I caught a bunch of huge waves on my 6'0 and I was hooked. Every session after that was in the afternoon with a light wind and no crowd, big waves, and my 7ft gun. I caught more big wave drops and rides than I can think of!! There were quite a few early morning at Honolua Bay with only some old guys at the cave, epic! Then I bugged friends and finally locked up a Windmills trip! I hopped into the transit with my buddies and we booked it backside to go surf something new. After learning the proper safety, Out there! Caught tons of waves and learned a lot. I surfed there a few time afterwords in various conditions! I got in my first fight, and scored some Kapunas! The surfing was epic and my health was top notch! Then got the flu... lol end of winter :)
But surfing was not the only activitie. I steadily rode my exercise bike for lower back pains, and it helped! We would get windy weeks here and there throughout the winter. Two weeks of surf then a week of Kiting and Flying! Now that Haleakala lands are back open, I took as many opportunities to fly as possible. I will admit to some epic days, and some sled rides. Each and every flight was important for keeping comfort levels up, and motivation churning. As for Kiteboarding or really only Kitesurfing there was alot. I kited Lanes so many times, and mostly alone catching thousands of waves with hundreds of turns... lol. As for Ho'okipa I scored that a lot too, mostly alone and big, but I lined up plenty of great waves! Down the coast I Kited Kanaha a lot, but not as much as recent years, I scored one Giant scary day at Outer Spreks, I need footstraps and weighted board for that next time. Yikes! Then there were the WestSide Sessions, numerous long drives and fun waves for the taking over there this year too! All in all I made the most out of everyday that was brought forth! I ate super healthy and lived simple! I have adopted this lifestyle and when I am in it, I am truly Happy and Healthy. I think that Bike Tour Job would have drained and ruined me lol, but happy to have made a chunk of savings!
Now the Agenda is set. I started showing the interest in learning to paraglide, and I flew the wing for a few hours at ho'okipa! (was stupid easy lol) Hopefully when there are no waves to chase I can develop the motivation to learn and fly Poli poli in the mornings, which would also keep me up the Mountain for more HangGliding. I also returned to the Swimming pool and rediscovered my Favorite exercise as a Kid! No waves no problem, an hour at the pool and your stoked! My mind is getting refreshed as well. I am kicking some habits and building new ones. I rediscovered the desire to read, and the Krsna Book was Amazing!! A little bit of inner self teachings as well!
Now I am sitting here with my re-busted stitches from hydrofoil kiting mishap... I have been playing but keep getting shut down by my body :(. But spirits are High! I impulsed a trip to Crestline for some roughneck camping at end of the month. Hopefully I score a ton of HangGliding. I never travel, and I am not planning of spending much money unless it involves HangGliding, and I do not really know anyone there, so Weeee! The community seems great and I'm not really worried at all, except the rattlesnakes. Can't wait to expand my HangGlide bubble and point of view! So nothing to complain about here, I got my beans and rice, alot of local veggies, and a costco card. Ready for the next epic day, except for this busted knee that I won't allow to heal.
The moral of my story is, Save up some money, quit your job, live simple, and enjoy everyday to the best of your abilities. This may lead to happiness and health! And give thanks to everyone who as ever provided for you. Remember that this Earth was given to Us to Experience. Always thank the Creator and live as if Everything is within you, and is taking care of you. The inner self, god, or whomever you Thank for Life deserves the acknowledgement for making this beautiful world we can enjoy! I haven't given up my materialistic desires, but I am Thankful and try to Enjoy my Experiences for the collective whole.
Thank you Everyone, and Everything
I would start by saying, I am enjoying the unemployed lifestyle again. Do to some good fortune and a unrealistic source of occupation, I find my self with my greatest set up yet. I love my Kite Family, and I understand that life would not be as great without them, Many Thanks!!!!!
This winter like most, was the best winter ever! Godzilla el Nino, global warming, or just an average winter.... whatever you call it, it was epic! I believe we are in a grand solar minimum and without an active sun, how are we gonna have overactive storms???... (Everyone should follow Suspicious0bservers on Youtube.)
I did not spend all my mental energies and every waking moment thinking about Peahi, or did I get hundreds of barrels at the bay... I choose the Waiehu way of surfing. For early season we started off with a bang, Ho'okipa was the spot for weeks! Getting into surfing is Key. Motivation everyday is important. I developed new techniques and surfed on bigger boards. I learned that on a 7ft gun, Surfing gets way easier. I bought a used Marzo 6'4, and felt happy as a lazier surfer! But shortly there after it snapped kicking out of a closeout at the bay. :( Back to the 6ft epoxy Kiteboard from SOS. Then it got big, Jaws was breaking every week or so, and Ho'okipa was to big almost everyday for months. I, living on the Waiehu Coast took advantage of the Wrap. Almost every morning I would solo session the Rivermouth in all sizes. Since it is a wrap the biggest of NW swells were surfable!! Then I would surf later in the day. One of my newest favorites is Big Lefts, this is the wave closest to the Rivermouth, but has a bigger channel and holds a bigger wave. I was introduced to the wave one windy evening with my buddy Trevor and some other bruddhas. We paddled to the outside around all the big waves and waited for the sets. Back to back, the 8ft roll in's were the easiest things ever. I caught a bunch of huge waves on my 6'0 and I was hooked. Every session after that was in the afternoon with a light wind and no crowd, big waves, and my 7ft gun. I caught more big wave drops and rides than I can think of!! There were quite a few early morning at Honolua Bay with only some old guys at the cave, epic! Then I bugged friends and finally locked up a Windmills trip! I hopped into the transit with my buddies and we booked it backside to go surf something new. After learning the proper safety, Out there! Caught tons of waves and learned a lot. I surfed there a few time afterwords in various conditions! I got in my first fight, and scored some Kapunas! The surfing was epic and my health was top notch! Then got the flu... lol end of winter :)
But surfing was not the only activitie. I steadily rode my exercise bike for lower back pains, and it helped! We would get windy weeks here and there throughout the winter. Two weeks of surf then a week of Kiting and Flying! Now that Haleakala lands are back open, I took as many opportunities to fly as possible. I will admit to some epic days, and some sled rides. Each and every flight was important for keeping comfort levels up, and motivation churning. As for Kiteboarding or really only Kitesurfing there was alot. I kited Lanes so many times, and mostly alone catching thousands of waves with hundreds of turns... lol. As for Ho'okipa I scored that a lot too, mostly alone and big, but I lined up plenty of great waves! Down the coast I Kited Kanaha a lot, but not as much as recent years, I scored one Giant scary day at Outer Spreks, I need footstraps and weighted board for that next time. Yikes! Then there were the WestSide Sessions, numerous long drives and fun waves for the taking over there this year too! All in all I made the most out of everyday that was brought forth! I ate super healthy and lived simple! I have adopted this lifestyle and when I am in it, I am truly Happy and Healthy. I think that Bike Tour Job would have drained and ruined me lol, but happy to have made a chunk of savings!
Now the Agenda is set. I started showing the interest in learning to paraglide, and I flew the wing for a few hours at ho'okipa! (was stupid easy lol) Hopefully when there are no waves to chase I can develop the motivation to learn and fly Poli poli in the mornings, which would also keep me up the Mountain for more HangGliding. I also returned to the Swimming pool and rediscovered my Favorite exercise as a Kid! No waves no problem, an hour at the pool and your stoked! My mind is getting refreshed as well. I am kicking some habits and building new ones. I rediscovered the desire to read, and the Krsna Book was Amazing!! A little bit of inner self teachings as well!
Now I am sitting here with my re-busted stitches from hydrofoil kiting mishap... I have been playing but keep getting shut down by my body :(. But spirits are High! I impulsed a trip to Crestline for some roughneck camping at end of the month. Hopefully I score a ton of HangGliding. I never travel, and I am not planning of spending much money unless it involves HangGliding, and I do not really know anyone there, so Weeee! The community seems great and I'm not really worried at all, except the rattlesnakes. Can't wait to expand my HangGlide bubble and point of view! So nothing to complain about here, I got my beans and rice, alot of local veggies, and a costco card. Ready for the next epic day, except for this busted knee that I won't allow to heal.
The moral of my story is, Save up some money, quit your job, live simple, and enjoy everyday to the best of your abilities. This may lead to happiness and health! And give thanks to everyone who as ever provided for you. Remember that this Earth was given to Us to Experience. Always thank the Creator and live as if Everything is within you, and is taking care of you. The inner self, god, or whomever you Thank for Life deserves the acknowledgement for making this beautiful world we can enjoy! I haven't given up my materialistic desires, but I am Thankful and try to Enjoy my Experiences for the collective whole.
Thank you Everyone, and Everything
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