29 Hours Story (Photos 3-11)

Adam called the Monday before Thanksgiving and proposed a one day trip last Sunday to Moab to do cliff launches in Horse Thief Canyon. I was in Philly for most of the week, but the prospect of hucking off the cliff one last time with the boys from Salt Lake was just too enticing to turn down. Jo got off work at 5:00 pm on Sat night so we planned on leaving shortly after. She thought I was crazy for wanting to drive 6 hours each way for a 5 minute flight, but just being in the desert is sacred to me. Plus every time Adam, Jeff, and I do the cliff launch at Horse Thief I'm stoked for months after.

After loading up new friends, Molly Dog and Deogie, fueling up on Starbucks and 17 gallons of 87 octane Jo and I were on the road by 7:00 pm. We were at the campsite by 1:15 am and managed to avoid the tomfoolery Adam and Jeff had planned for us (see yesterday's post). Even though it's in the desert, the elevation at the cliff launch is over 4000 feet which means extremely cold temps in the winter. It was just below freezing when we arrived. Adam and Jeff had the fire stoked for us in no time.

Adam Stoking the Fire



Adam woke me up at dawn, but the temp had dropped significantly so getting out of my sleeping bag was going to take a while. I opted to stay in my bag and inch-wormed over to the fire while we planned our flying for the day. A strong winter storm (which had dumped a foot of snow at my house this morning) was headed our way meaning strong winds by the afternoon. We decided to cliff launch in the morning and tow behind Jeff's jeep in the afternoon.

Planning our Day



Against my will Jeff stripped me of the warm cocoon that was my sleeping bag and we started the 1/4 mile scramble over boulders and cracks out to the launch site. Deogie and Molly are polar opposites when it comes to heights. The normally timid Molly has no qualms about being inches from the cliff edge while the more aggressive Deogie took one look at the first ravine we had to cross and aborted running straight back to the truck. Jeff and Adam rigged my glider while kept tabs on Deogie and woke Jo up. Not only did she brave the freezing cold to come watch, but also she agreed to photograph us and wanted to fly herself. My girlfriend is hardcore!

Jeff and Jo with Camera 1



The wind was crossing slightly from the left but it was launchable. The order would be Jeff, Adam, and me. Jeff had a great launch and flew in his quintessential style buzzing a mesa above the landing area before a perfect landing. Adam would be next. Molly freaks out when I fly, so I tied her up so she wouldn't get in the way while I gave him a hang-check. She barked non-stop the whole time. "Nothing compliments my anxiety more than Molly's panic-stricken barking." were his words. I couldn't agree more, no cliff launch would be the same without her! Adam had a textbook launch and made a couple passes against the far canyon wall before a great landing.

Jeff Launching



Adam Against the Canyon



Our normal no-wind technique at this site is to run a couple steps, so the glider has some airspeed (i.e. controllability), before reaching the edge. Jeff had talked about doing a tip-toe launch by just stepping off into the abyss as we walked out to launch. I was a little apprehensive about such a technique in my high performance glider, but today was my day. Jo gave me a hang-check as I listened to the voice of reason in my head ask "Why are we about to just step off a 1000 foot cliff again?" Sometimes it's best not to overthink things. I walked out to about 6 inches from the edge, took a deep breath and stepped off.

Jeff said he heard me say "I'm gonna go now..." rather apathetically from below, but I have no memory of that. I just remember the sinking feeling as I stepped off and the priority of keeping the nose of the glider down to get the wing flying as soon as possible. It always fascinates me how time slows down in those situations. I was 100 feet below the cliff and flying within 2 seconds, but it felt like hours. When I was a kid and I would stand on the edge of a cliff and dream about flying off (never realizing it was possible). The eternity of those 2 seconds was sheer bliss!

2 Seconds of Biss



After pulling out of my dive I did a couple wingovers and headed to the mesa Jeff and Adam had landed behind. I pulled in as much speed as possible, came over the top of the mesa at 6 feet. After clearing the mesa I went right into a wing over in each direction rolling out of the last one into my landing. It was the best flight I've had all year!

After breaking down we all had lunch at the campsite. Jo needed to study and wanted to go for a ride while Shela was content to enjoy the peace and quiet of the desert. The SLC boys and I headed out to the dirt road to tow. I drove the jeep for Jeff first who had a 30 minute flight in soarable conditions. Adam went next, but I got a little fast misreading the towline pressure gauge. He pinned off early, but the conditions had changed to mostly sink so he didn't get up. After forgiving me we broke the gliders down and headed back to the campsite for a sunset walk out to the cliff.

Reservoir Dogs



Jo, Alex, and Molly Dogs



Shela and Adam are off to South Africa on the 8th for good. Adam will be back in the states for work occasionally, but not until next year at the earliest. When Jeff, Adam, and I get together we feed each others creativity, flying, and photography. It's truly a relationship where the whole is greater than the parts. I couldn't think of a more fitting way for us to end Adam's chapter in the States.