The gamble paid off, and conditions were actually pretty darn benign by 5:15, so I got to enjoy a short flight today! But that was only so because of Gary S : The day wouldn't have been possible without him!
And remember that lesson from your mom? "Always return things to where you got them from." Well, read on....
I wasted valuable time hemming and hawing, rather than simply heading out at a more reasonable time. Gary was clearly interested in flying but didn't want to push, knowing that I had a 2 hour drive, and that there had been a 40mph gust at Winchester at noon. I finally said 'Ah, what the h@ll?', but didn't hit the road until 1:40pm.
The plan was to meet at the back and hike in if we had to. And yes, it figures, the road was closed.
I didn't roll up until 3:40, but knew that the gates were locked dues to a heads-up from Chris T (new H-2!), who had decided to check out the LZ. I got in touch with him with Dan T's help, and tried to provide directions that would get him to the back gate. Chris figured he would just come up and see what launch was like.
When I arrived, Gary (THE MAN!), had brought along two cart-contraptions of his design, which allowed us to pull our gliders and harnesses up the road via a tow-rope around the waist. I
might have been able to hoof my gear up in time without the cart, but in doing so probably wouldn't have enough time to recover and fly before sunset. So I owe Gary big on that one.
Up top, I re-vectored Chris to the site because he'd missed the Fort Valley Road turnoff from 55. It was really nice of him to keep trying to find the site, because it meant that we would both have a hand at launch. Thanks Chris!
Winds at launch (now 4:30pm) were strong enough that I seriously thought that I wouldn't bother to hike the glider to the set-up area. But after all that effort, there was no way I was going to leave without at least setting my glider on its basetube. I mean, really, it's a matter of principle! So I did that (ya never know).... While still pretty sure that I'd be hiking back down to the truck.
Gary decided to do the same, but in doing so he started to feel pretty lousy, and was thinking that maybe a lurking cold/flu had had enough and decided to make its presence known, at the worst possible time.
He eventually decided that it wasn't a good idea to fly.
Some major lulls started to occur and I went into full-setup-mode. Thinking they might be sucker lulls, I kept a very close ear to the trees, while trying to pick up the pace (pretty slippery in spots). By 5:15 it was clear that we were getting very good launch cycles, and the winds weren't howling anymore during the up-cycles. Chris arrived. I finished my preflight... Laid out the harness.... Looked down, and was about to pick it up and hook it into the glider.....
And with a sinking feeling, I knew: There was
*NO* CARABINER underneath that harness. Why? Because I'd been to Taylor the prior weekend, and had removed the 'biner so that I could use it with my knee-hanger. It was in my truck down at the locked gate. Flashed back to the moment at the end of a long Taylor day when I had thought to myself: "Hmmm, maybe I should put that 'biner back on the harness right now? Hmmm. Nah, I'll do it later."
Oh CR@P!
I was all ready to jog down and try to get back up top, but Gary *had* hiked his harness in, and simply offered to let me use his 'biner. So we get things squared away, and I'm thinking 'Saint Gary' sounds right at this point.
Launch was fine, into a completely reasonable cycle, and I was up over the ridge with no worries, no hassles. A _little_ bit on the strong side (pulled 1/3 VG a couple of times), and about a 30-degree cross (probably due West). I topped out at about 600' over, and had a nice 30 minute flight. The highlight was watching sunset, and also a super-late-day thermal that I rode from the bluffs near the waterfall back to the ridge, slow-and-lazy.
I landed at the bridge field in nearly calm wind. Didn't expect that, and it made for a longer walk back than I would have liked. Ah, perfect, MORE exercise!
And now Gary comes to the rescue again : In spite of some dinner plans, he offered to come around the mountain, pick me up, and then return me to my truck. So Gary, my friend, next time we're hoofing it up Woodstock in the winter... *You* are going first, I'll help you set up, and I'll chase after you. Thank you!
MarkC
and/or a 
.
. on the bright side - i don't have to shave my back as often.
