
I wrote about the first flight a few weeks ago here: sweet ridge lift mixed with gentle thermals and buoyant air over the meandering Shenandoah River, at a site two hours west of DC. I flew with Hugh (the president of the DC club), local comp pilot Tom, and newer local pilots Charlie and Laszlo.

I helped Laszlo launch, and then I followed. The two of us bumbled around in weak and disorganized thermals for an hour before landing in a field below, and making the really had decision to try and follow the powerline trail back up to the top. Laszlo said he had heard that the hang glider pilots used to hike back up in the old days. He figured it wouldn't take us more than an hour. I wanted to take our bags, but he convinced me that we should drive back for them after we got the cars. We left our gear at a nice lady's house, and she warned us about rattlesnakes, copperheads and bears. She also said she and her husband had tried for years to find a way up to the top and had never managed it.
The powerline trail turned out to be a dense thicket of sharp thorny brambles, so we veered into the forest to make our own trail through the trees and bushes. The forest was steep and also quite dense, and we made very slow progress, sometimes crawling on hands and knees through gnarled groves of mountain laurel, other times scrambling up granite boulder slides. At one point we disturbed a wasp nest, and after several incredibly painful stings each, we fled back down the slope to navigate a wide path around that spot. Several times we thought we must be near the top, but each time our hopes were soon dashed by a glimpse of the faraway ridgetop. After three long and tormented hours, we emerged onto the Appalachian Trail at the summit.
Laszlo called Tom and found out that he had sunk out over the back, and then managed to catch a ride all the way back to his house, a two hour drive with some helpful stranger. Then we got a call from Juanito who told us he had landed after flying four and a half hours. It turns out he had flown the entire length of the Park, and kept going towards Richmond, making it almost 70 miles, and setting the Virginia state XC record. Laszlo went to get our bags while I went to find Juanito. What an unforgettably long and crazy day that was.

Thanks to all the local DC area pilots for their hospitality and help. I will definitely be back with my wing for more flying adventures on future trips.
1 comment:
Jaunito rocks. Just sorry he didn't make it out to Oregon this year.
Make way, the king is coming, the king is coming.
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