Saturday, September 29, 2012

Alien Evasion

There are aliens among us! One must be cautious to avoid their grasp. Being overtaken and outrun by a certain purple and orange alien glider has become a commonplace occurrence in our skies of late. One rarely gets the opportunity to go further and none faster than this mysterious sky pirate as he casually blazes back and forth across the blue expanses. Some claim he's an otherworld observer mocking our meager slow moving craft, usually from above or far ahead.

Today I had my doubts. As seems to be the norm, the forecasters were all a bit off. The winds were a bit brisker than predicted. The direction was not optimal. None the less, Duck made the call that Kahana would be good by noon or 1pm. When I arrived there around 12:10 McStalker Jeff had already put his gear on and was ready to hike. The conditions seemed reasonable so I followed shortly followed by Duck. Jeff got off low east launch, and then some clouds moved in and the wind picked up for a bit. Duck was next off in a nice lull. I waited a bit longer and got off. Good fortune was on our side after all, once again we were lucky enough to be airborne, enjoying the feeling that one can only get in free flight. We all flew around in relative silence for a while. Then there was a short transmission from an unknown source in a language that translators took a moment to decipher. "Seems awfully quiet up there" the voice was reported to say. And then not long after the alien was sighted zooming around the low areas of our wondrous flying domain. Climbing with utmost efficiency and speed. Where did that thing come from and where is it going? Other unintelligible gibberish floods the airwaves, translators told us the alien was inviting us to join him on a venture to other nearby airspace. We had to grab this chance, to at least try to fly in near proximity to that speed demon.

Duck didn't hesitate, blazing off in the direction of Punalu'u before the alien took notice. It was a bold move that paid off for a short time. Soon the rocket ship was on his heels. Lastly I followed suit drawn almost hypnotically in the wake of that machine. We all arrived on the ridge in good condition, although the alien did venture a bit further back toward Sacred Falls than Duck or I. I guess if we had that kind of acceleration available we would have too. Then some unsettling weather approached, once again through translators the alien called our attention to some ominous looking clouds approaching. I opted to run toward Hau'ula Beach park almost immediately presuming the alien and Duck wouldn't be far behind. As it turns out both the alien and Duck had decided to try to push back toward Kahana. Who knows perhaps the alien had to make a few new crop circles in the fields of that verdant valley. I didn't capture any photographic evidence of the encounter, you'll have to use your imagination.

I barely beat the incoming squall in to land in brisk conditions at the park, folded up as quickly as I could, and then ran under cover just as the rain started and the wind picked up.

On rare occasions one gets to go further than this alien who is quite friendly and generous. It's not due to skill or speed but by luck alone.

Other pilots sighted flying- Gaza, Tall John, Woody, RK Jeff. On the ground Ginny, Harvey & Maui Mark.

Thanks to Ginger for her generosity in picking us up, Duck for pipikaula & poke, The Alien AKA Alex for road sodas, Harvey for chips.

4 comments:

Alex said...

What a fun story, Jim! Crop circles indeed. I knew my predilection for grass landings had a scientific explanation!

Thom said...

Stories like this is why I BITCH so much!!!!!!

This was a good one that truly did not need any color what so ever, the words drew the pictures.

I am thrilled you got to see the top of the alien craft and land out just a little further.

Where did the Alien craft land? I heard Punaluu with a Duck. So you got'm and its documented.

This was a close encouter worth writing about. Go Aspen3!!!

Its Time To Fly Get Your Gear Go!! Just a little further than aliens!!

Alex said...

Also I think we need to add Bonnie to the roll call, I'm pretty sure she flew earlier and landed just before I hiked up.

Unknown said...

Great story, This padawan hopes for an alien encounter someday.