Elk Christmas - Winter Flight

What an abrupt change in temperature after sunny Maui! But after a lazy week in Hawaii we needed some exercise so Pete and I decided to do a quick Christmas day afternoon hike&fly up Elk Mountain. Almost didn't make it because the snowshoes slowed us down (not needed except for the last 100 meters) and it clouded in and got dark. As always its smart to get an early start for Elk paragliding.

Hawaii

After rainy and stormy November and December we get finally some sun and warm temperatures in Hawaii! Since my first visit in 2003 we haven't been back to Maui but explored the Big Island and Kauai instead. Maui stands up to the other islands with nice beaches for snorkeling and buggy boarding and good hiking, though Big Island is still my preferred island for the variety of activities and relative scarcity of tourists. My favorite on Maui is still the hike through Haleakala crater, the same we had done with my parents 12 years ago. Good thing we didn't bring our wings, it was way too windy to even consider flying.Even our golf players had to seriously adjust their game.  Interesting to see the spread of an invasive species over much of the highlands on the southwest side - rubber vine.

Feathered Friends - Eagles, Geese and Owls

A cool place to see tons (likely thousands) of eagles is the Chehalis River estuary. The annual Fraser River Eagle Festival takes place mid November but the eagles are still there feasting on (rather ripe, don’t expect sushi) salmon. There are a couple of official view points (first picture was taken at one of them) at the Sandpiper Golf Course (Pretty Estates) and Eagle Point Park.

Snow geese near George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary on December 6th. Hope that won't be the only white we get to see for Christmas in Vancouver ... still 18 days away.

Last but not least I practiced BIF photography. For those who don't know (like I a couple of weeks ago) BIF is birds in flight. Short eared owls at Boundary Bay in late October.

First Snow - Nov 21

First day of back country skiing in Manning Park. Even if it looks like lift assisted skiing, the ski hill is still closed. Good snow cover, but the quality wasn't quite up to our standards. It was nice to get out anyway. The XC trails were open and in very good conditions so we swapped the skinny sticks for the wide ones and did a few laps.

Blanchard Magic - Nov 11

Super smooth lift at Blanchard today. Flying out way over Samish Bay, to Chuckanat Ridge and towards Edison. Lots of happy pilots and eagles out to enjoy the reprieve from the bad weather. But temperatures are winter-like... cold-finger forced landing after a little over 2 hours.

TJ over Samish Bay

November Flying - November 4

What an amazing flight for November! Eagle were showing us where to stay up in light thermals. One-and-a-half hour airtime floating around clouds that formed and dissipated in front of us. But winter is coming: first snow is visible on the higher ridges and my fingers were cold.

AlexR Photo... finally a photo of me and not me taking photos of others flying ;-)

Short-eared Owls - October 28

Fall has arrived in Vancouver and that means 'hunting' time ... but after my hunts the animals are still quite alive. I'm quite happy just taking photos of birds and beasts. I revisited Boundary Bay south of Vancouver where short-eared owls reside all year long. The owls hunt during daytime on overcast days. They have a rather erratic flight path and it was quite a work-out to keep them in the frame of my camera. Maybe I need some exercise?

Saddle Mountain Soaring - October 24

The weather forecast looked dismal for southwest BC but rather promising for Saddle Mountain in Central Washington. So we took a chance and drove the long drive (actually very close to our old climbing grounds at Frenchmen Coulee).

We were rewarded with an excellent ridge soaring session! Our success with Saddle is much better than with Fort Ebey. Out of 3 times we visited: one time too windy, one time good thermaling/ridge lift and this fun ridge soaring session.

Wind speed and direction were just right for a sweet session with lots of top landings, low passes and best of all... it was just the two of us there! Pete estimated that he doubled the number of his top-landings, and he has done quite a few of them. I must have at least quadrupled mine.

Spain’s White Villages (Sept 25 - Oct 7)

After visiting various flying places in the Alps over the last few years we decided to try something new and check out Algodonales in Spain. Algodonales is one of the scenic Andalucian ‘white villages’ (called so because of the white houses) but much off the beaten touristy path. With its setting in a hills of the Sierra de Lijar and architecture Algodonales reminded us much of Valle de Bravo except for the lack of buzzing activity at all times and many groves of olive trees (the noise and the diesel stink of Valle was not missed at all). Although the town square restaurants are busy with diners late into the night (great food, btw… I recommend Schweinebäckchen = Carrilada), the rest of the town was asleep at night.

Turns out Algodonales was a great choice for flying. Peter bagged a +100 km out-and return and couple of nice triangles even with his not-so-aerodynamic hiking harness (we left the pods at home to fit the camping and via-ferrata gear which we didn’t use because the flying was so good). The main site has 3 launches for different wind directions (NW, SE and more challenging N). Although the launches are reasonably high (600 m AGL) the rest of the flying is a mix of flat-land and mountain flying as elevation differences in the surrounding terrain are smaller. In addition to good cross country flights scenic evening soaring flights were to be had. On one occasion we watched the sun set from the air, landing just in time to pack up and enjoy a nice cold ‘Lande’-beer before it got dark. The many big and friendly vultures make perfect wind techs. They are noticeably larger than our bald eagles and like to thermal close to our wings but apparently there has only been one collision in 20 or so years.

Several companies cater to PG pilots (accommodation, drive to launch and retrieve from XC flights, pick-up from nearby airports). We went with ‘Ganterfly’; very good and friendly service, excellent flying advice and generally a lot of fun with dad Gerhard and his two sons Carlos and Manuel. As Algodonales is pretty quiet compared to other flying sites in Europe or Valle de Bravo it may take some research and prior arrangement for independent flyers to get rides to launch (at least at the time of our visit).

There are several other flying sites nearby including beach flying on the Atlantic coast at Matalascanas and Conil de la Frontera. We flew Vejer, a ridge-soaring/thermal site just in front of a white wind mill and picturesque white town which is perched on a hill. Unfortunately we arrived to a full day of rain in Matalascanas and, when it didn’t stop raining at noon the next day, we left. People flew in the evening and on the next day a pilot on an M6 flew 100 km (two out and returns) on the amazing looking sand dunes.

Non-flying tid-bits of the trip: my suitcase didn’t arrive in Madrid (ironically it was my carry-on but I gave it up voluntarily for extra check-in)… but Carlos took pity and gave me a free T shirt! Temperatures were higher than I expected, often reaching 30oC. But at 2500 meter it was cold enough for double jackets, thick gloves and gaiters.

Gibraltar was worth a visit. Amazing caves with cathedral-high caverns draped with stalactites and stalagmites. Cheeky monkeys all over the place, running through the car, hopping over my lap and taking a seat on Pete’s shoulder. Driving through narrow streets of Cordoba was memorable. Pete was worried about getting stuck in the labyrinth and I set out on foot to find our hotel. But getting back to Pete and the car was a challenge, since my cell phone turned off navigation as I had already reached the destination (on foot). But success! Back in the car we had to put on ‘big ears’ (fold in the mirrors) and pedestrians had to step into door-ways to let us pass.

We didn’t have much luck with sightseeing in Granada and Sevilla: we were warned that visiting the Alhambra in Granada may require booking tickets ahead and yes, it did. When we visited Sevilla it was Monday, the day when some museums are closed or have limited hours and we didn’t get in the Cathedral. The line-up at the Alcazar was too long for our liking. But our visit of the Mezquita cathedral in Cordoba was a success. An Algo co-pilot (and also the hostess of our tiny hotel just across from the cathedral) suggested an early morning visit. Relatively few people visit the mosque/cathedral that early in the morning and as added bonus there was no fee. A friend warned us that one can easily end up paying more for traffic tickets than for the car rental. Pete tried hard but the limits are not very well posted – hope there won’t be a reminder in the mail.

Glorious Fall Colors at Illal - September 13

 Wonderful fall colors at Illal Meadows this weekend. The meadows had been on my list of places to explore and a couple of weeks ago a paragliding friend confirmed that it was well worth a visit. Its a relatively quick hike in so carrying over-night gear was not much of a pain. The trail is about 4 or 5 km long and elevation gain around 500 m. There are very nice camp spots in the meadows, but care should be taken to pick a sheltered spot as it gets windy here - a look at the trees tells the story ... they have no branches on the windward side.

We wandered up some ridges to Illal Peak and enjoyed views of Needle, Yak and other peaks in the Coquihalla area (even saw Robbie Reid and the Judge on the horizon). On the second day we circumnavigated Jim Kelly. Although the scramble to the top is reportedly not too bad we skipped the summit as winds were still very strong and we didn't want to get blown off the ridge.

Glorious yellow mountain ash and red blueberries leaves but the berries were almost done; the ones left had started to dry out and ferment. I had much better luck with berries at Elfin Lakes 3 weeks ago. We didn't see any wildlife such as goats or grizzlies, but some disturbed spots could have been grizz digs. Up on windy (white-capping) Illal Lake we met hunters who said they were looking for deer - not exactly deer country ?

Some more notes: Trailhead is off a branch road of Tulameen FSR (from Coquihalla highway, around 19km mark), the last 3km on the branch requiring 4WD and reasonably high clearance (the Tracker had no problem).

Glorious colors with the Old Settler, Robbie Reid and the Judge

Pete hiking on Illal Peak, Coquihalla Mt in the back

Looks like a painter had an accident and spilled his/her colors

The Milky Way from the sleeping bag. Without realizing I also captured 2 shooting stars in this exposure. Quite different from the outing on Mt Seymour to watch the Perseids when we spotted only a few meteorites and I captured just a single one.

Downton and Marble Range - September 15

Was this the last long weekend of summer or first long weekend of winter?

We convinced friends to join us to explore the Downton area some more but were stopped from getting onto the high and lofty ridges by snow. Still we did one hike/scramble into the ‘Valley of many lakes’ but I found the amount of boulder-hopping rather annoying.

In search of snow-free summits we drove on to Lillooet and north on West Pavillion Rd where we spent the night with Fraser River views on a bench above the canyon.

The next morning we took Big Bar Ferry, had a nice chat with the ferry man and went on to bag Mt Bowman in Marble Range Provincial Park.

Interesting to see on West Pavilion FSR over hundred deer grazing in the irrigated fields above the Fraser just beyond ‘no hunting’ signs – apparently these deer are educated and can read!


 

  

  

  

  

 

 

Drought and Rain - August 29

Summer 2015 was very dry and hot, with just 35 mm rain during May, June and July combined (normal would be 155 mm for the three months). Fierce wildfires started (Boulder Creek, Elaho and later in Rock Creek, where several houses were lost). The BC wildfire budget was blown early on in the summer.

But at the end of August we got drenched: 65 mm rain in 6 days (19 and 22 mm on August 29 and 31) - and this was at the airport where its usually a lot drier. This rain came with a 'late fall-like' storm that left 50% of the population in the lower mainland without power, some for days.

Wedgemount Lake and Elfin Lakes (August 27)

In August it was time for some hiking and exploring closer to home. I had never been to Wedgemount Lake before and enjoyed the short but steep trail that got me on a glacier in 2h driving+3h hiking from our doorstep. Glorious views to be had but apparently lots of loose rocks to watch out for when scrambling the surrounding peaks.

A week later I went for a 3-day hike to Elfin Lakes and although there were other hikers at the campsites and cabin I had most of the place beyond this for myself. Great scenery at Elfin Lakes, Gargoyles, Opal Cone and Rampart Ponds in Garibaldi Park, a mix of moonscape, Haleakala and Nepal. And there was special light show for night entertainment. The northern lights. It wasn't very strong and rather pale so at first I didn't realize what it was - just wondered why there was this bright area to the north; there are no cities in this direction. But when I reviewed the photos on my camera the green was very obvious.

Gathering and harvesting (but no hunting)

Fall is harvest time. This year rain was sorrily lacking and my plants looked rather skinny, despite my rinse water collections. But I still could harvest a good number of tomatoes, beans, carrots and potatoes.

And what pleasant surprise: we had never paid much attention to a bushy tree in the corner of our garden. This year it grew plenty of plums and we picked 8 kg of them.

But not only our garden provided us with food, we also found plenty of mushrooms, blue- and blackberries (although I had to discover that the sweetest of the blackberries were also most likely to host unwanted inhabitants).

Garden yield

Forest goodness - King boletes and some other mushrooms

Mt St Benedict - August 22

First time for us to fly Mt St Benedict (or Benny) in Miracle Valley. The road to launch is rough and requires a high clearance 4WD vehicle, so it doesn't see as much traffic as the more popular launches at Woodside and Bridal.

But this weekend a big group congregated for a ad-hoc fly in. Great views were had all day as the smoke from the WA wildfires never quite reached this part of Miracle Valley. Although I don't quite agree with Al that the air is much smoother than in the Fraser Valley, many thanks to him for excellent site guiding and developing the site (and all others who had a hand in this).

Early bird Pete

Robbie Reid and Judge Howay behind Stave Lake

Dry and Hot - Spring and Summer 2015

It was a dry and hot early summer in southwest BC. We saw very little rain in May and June (May 4.2 mm vs. 60 mm average, June 11 mm vs. 59 mm) and many temperature records were broken in the second half of June. Cliff Mass blogs about this heat wave here.

Lack of rain in addition to this year's very low snow pack is a bad recipe for the wild fire season. Several big fires are burning already (Elaho, Boulder, Sechelt). Here is hoping for cooler temperatures and rain!

Smoke from the Boulder Creek fire creeping into Pemberton Valley

Jupiter and Venus getting close - June 30

Venus and Jupiter getting up close and personal in the western night sky (a conjunction). If you look close you can see 4 of Jupiter's moons, called the Galilean moons. Galileo observed and described them in 1610.

Venus and Jupiter June 31, 2015

Jupiter's moons. I wonder if the different colors are for real or an artifact?

Howe Sound Exploration

Temperatures this weekend (June 27/28) called for aquatic adventures, so we packed our ocean kayaking gear for some Howe Sound exploring. Paddled around the north tip of Anvil Island to the norths side of Howe Sound and on to Gambier where we found a great little camp spot (OK, we actually had some beta from one of Pete's UWH buddies, thanks!). Nice hanging out in the shade of a big cedar tree in the morning. Had a late morning start and paddled down the eastern coast of Gambier when we were surprised by a humpback surfacing just behind us. Came up 20 meters from Pete! The whale didn't mind us kayakers and kept traveling close to shore. On the way back from the southern most tip of Gambier we stopped at Pam Rocks to visit the seals on our down wind/flood tide paddle back to Porteau Cove. Afternoon strong winds were predicted by the marine forecast but never materialized.

We even got to test some of our safety equipment (our pumps) when we came across a half sunken canoe and 5 kids in the water. They wanted to swim it back to the dock which was a couple of km back but we convinced them it would be easier to get it to shore (50 meters away) and empty it.

I emailed the whale sighting to the Cetacean Sightings Network (@Vancouver Aquarium) and received the following reply: "While we are not sure exactly why these animals are visiting Howe Sound more often, it may have to do with recovering forage fish stocks in the area, as the Sound continues to recover from historic industrial activity." --- Nice!

Getting High in the Fraser Valley - June 14

Light outflow winds in the Fraser Valley. Sometimes that means not the best flying conditions and bumpy air, sometimes its epic. Sunday was one of the epic days, getting a ways above Mt Cheam summit elevation (though for me not directly over the peak). Pretty amazing nevertheless, flying and looking down at the Cheam range.

Cheam Range: Mt Cheam, Lady Peak, Knight, and Welch.

Looking south Mt Baker, McGuire (middle ground), Tomyhoi, Shuksan and the Border Peaks, Mt Slesse.

East view Fraser Valley and Harrison Lake upper left.

Seed Peak - June 6

We finally bagged Seed Peak last weekend on the third attempt. It has been on our list for a couple of years. Nice trail through majestic mountain hemlock old growth, along an alpine ridge with gorgeous views and up the still snowy bowl of Seed Peak. Photo shows us coming down from Seed Peak, Mt Gillespie in the middle and Judge Howay and Mt Baker on the horizon.

The only drawback were the many wash-outs on Mamquam FSR. Our trusty Tracker overcame several of the obstacles but in the end we had to hike more than an hour on the logging road to get to the trail head.
There was a major washout even on the main Mamquam FSR. Would have been another 1.6 km (one way) if the Tracker wouldn't have made it across, with more smaller washouts even before this. Maybe this was caused by the same rain event that caused the Seymour slide? We were in the area last fall and the roads were OK then.

Pete descending Seed Peak, Mt Gillespie in the middle, Robbie Reid left and Mt Baker on the right horizon