With forecasts of SSE I went on a deep space mission down into Alabama where myself and a local flew paragliders (only the 4th and 5th flights for PG's at this site) off of a cliff site called Jenkins which is roughly between Birmingham and Gadsen. Another typical launch for this region--a plateau edge which ends at the edge of a limestone cliff. This area, however, features large fields on top so it was easy to topland. Despite a weak forecast with low winds--it was quite strong and thermals were abundant. The ridge system goes for hundreds of miles to the north and parallels highway 59 for much of the way--I foresee big xc's from here in the future.
I'm amazed at how much rock in the sandstone cliffs there is in Alabama, GA and TN--it rivals all the rock I've seen in southern france--except the cliff bands aren't as high. I'm going to try to get back into rock-climbing--there's so much of it here.
marc
Jenkins, Ala
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