A late start and wind from lots of different directions at various altitudes. Pete and a gaggle of other adventurous flyers race the sun on their way south to the Fraser Valley for 160km, at times no landing options along the route. Meanwhile I fly 70km out-and-return. Nice climb at Barber with the Birkenhead crew. Strong wind on the other side of the Hurley so I turned around.
Pete's view of Harrison Lake J.E. Photo
Meanwhile my view of the Lillooet Valey
'Hammertag'
in the Fraser Valley! Our little gaggle went to Hope (about 5km short
of it). New terrain for me ... I had never been so far east in
the Fraser Valley. Recovered from 2 mistakes (first one trying to join two eagles at the nose of Bear - it took some pushing into the wind to get out of that hole, second was flying out into the valley low but together with another pilot we found a smooth mid-valley thermal that got us back into play.) Didn't recover from the third mistake. There was no way to return on the north side of the valley and we left for the south side from too low elevation. And I hadn't done my pre-flight homework ... just
couldn't figure out how to get back (excuse: I didn't think of the route
as an option). On the bright side I explored some new terrain, enjoyed great views and got exercise in at the end of the day.
Finished the day with a hike&fly at Bridal. Launched 18:30, found some very light thermals that took me higher than I had been all day and enjoyed a smooth glide back across the Fraser to the Agassiz school field. The photo is from the first flight/first crossing looking at Harrison Hotsprings and Harrison Lake. Two more adventurous fellow pilots flew across the lake where the islands are, continued north, came back and a then lot more!
