Turned left into the expected cross, and got up easily. Loitered around the launch area in the hopes that Romano would soon join me. My loitering was interrupted by a glance upwind to Line Mountain. A small rain cell was due north of launch just behind Line Mountain. So I beat feet to the west, to outrun the shower. The air was turbulent on the trek to the Klingerstown Gap. Jumped the gap easily, and now there is another shower to my right that had just blossomed out of nowhere. Headed as quick as I could towards Pillow. The shower caught up w/ me about halfway to Pillow, but dissipated quickly. A few raindrops pelted me and the glider. Just then an extraordinary sight developed, as a rainbow arced to my right, with the end just off my right wing. As I got to the Pillow Gap, another shower appeared just upwind of Pillow. I crossed the Pillow Gap w/ less altitude than I usually do, and reached the other side just below ridge level.
As I was benching my way up to above ridge level, with my nose pointed at least 30 to 40 degrees away from the mountain, my right wing got lifted enough to point the nose almost parallel to the ridge, and I hit sink and a gradient on the ridge. I pulled in more to gain more speed to roll the wing level and turn away from the ridge. It took a second or two to roll level, and before I could roll away from the ridge, I cleared (by an estimated 20') the canopy of a tree that rose above the rest of the canopy. Way too close! I rolled away from the ridge and hit good lift that got me up above the spine with a comfortable margin. Another light shower developed east of Malta, and dissipated quickly as it reached me on the ridge. And once again, a rainbow appeared literally right next to me, it's end just off my right wing.
I headed towards the river, gaining all the way, and weighed my options. The flight plan was to do something different, specifically jump the river over to Buffalo Mountain, and land at Charlie Allen's place. But the reality was that there was another shower upwind around Dalmatia heading my way, throwing my flight plan to the wind (pun intended
). I contemplated landing at the river, but decided to go OTB and land at the Lykens Valley Golf Club. As the shower approached, I climbed up to 2K'+ MSL, and dove OTB directly toward the golf course. The air was choppy, and I contemplated landing in the huge farm field bordering the golf course to the west. Decided to land on the course, on a fairway oriented to the NW. Did a button hook onto the fairway in front of two golfers, and purposely bellied in on the soft fairway grass. One of the golfers ran up to me, and yelled "SAFE!" Too funny!I was a LONG way from the clubhouse. And the wind was crankin'. It was a physical struggle at times carrying the glider up two fairways to the clubhouse. Along the way the shower that I outran appeared at the edge of the mountain, prompting me to shelter the glider from the expected gust front behind some tall evergreen bushes. A minor gust front blew thru after a brief light shower, and I made it to the clubhouse for some much needed rest and wind shadow. A bunch of golfers on the putting green paid me no mind as I broke the glider down next to the green against the clubhouse. Romano graciously came and retrieved me. Thanks Romano!
Back at launch Allan Bawell and Romano were still set up. Allan got up on the bump, didn't like it, and backed off. Good that he did, as multiple shower cells appeared behind Line Mountain directly upwind. Doug Rogers showed up just before Allan went up on the bump. Romano bagged it, as did Allan. Doug never took his glider off of his car. Another SAC adventure, and reminder to try to keep your nose pointed more than 40 degrees off the spine centerline of a ridge when you are at ridge level and below. It's all about leaving yourself an out, and to maintain an adequate safety margin for the duration of the flight. Bacil
