Forecast for Sat PM: N NW winds down low, L&V as you go up. Sounds like good PGing at Box.

Who wants to carry my wing up for me?

I think Special Ed and I are going to hit swim practice at the UofA at 10AM, then head toward Box with mountain bikes and PGs in the PM.

Scott,

A couple of us are headed for Miller at 8 AM. ADDS says northeast at launch altitude. Why don't you skip the hike and do like us HG guys - drive to launch

If interested, give me a call. 520 444 8105.

John.

Thanks John. I do want to fly the HG with you guys in the next few weeks.

I just checked winds aloft and it looks perfect for Box this PM. Ed and I will depart Tucson early afternoon. Anybody who wants a ride is welcome to join us.

We'll park in the LZ and hike up.

Box was beautiful beyond comparison with any previous visit. The grass was nearly hip high and very dense, completely filling in all bare areas, including the steepest side slopes on the hills themselves. White ,purple, and red flowers grew in profusion, especially down in the small gullies we traverse on the hike up. Gourd vines are everywhere. The ground itself is still wet throughout. Needless to say, the entire trial is completely overgrown and impossible to find for the most part.

The hike was truly brutal on this aging body. We spent 3 full hours getting to the top. I'd like to blame it on the overgrowth, but that's a weak excuse.

All the way up, there was little to no wind, so I was thinking "can I get off in this? Walking down will be a nightmare." But the wind Gods were smiling on us. Just as we peaked out, the wind, seemingly out of nowhere, sprang up to a perfect 10-14 up the spine but biased to favor the north bowl launch. We set up quickly.

Launching conditions were a little tricky with the wind not coming straight up the bowl, but once our gliders were turned in it correctly, we got off cleanly. (I'll skip some details on rusty launch skills).

Flying conditions were ideal for me, smooth buoyant air with plenty of ridge lift and glass off conditions with the best lift well out in the bowl. We didn't get too high but it was easy to maintain. Flying my XRAY without the motor was such a pleasure! Quiet. I could lean back in my harness and see the vista of dark greens and blues of the Whetstones capped off by evening sunlit cumulus above them. Boboquivari and the Catalinas seemed close enough to touch thanks to the clear air we've been enjoying lately. And the glider handling was so much nicer without the weight of the motor which tends to mask the feel of the wing. It was pure pleasure to carve turns over the summit and rock pile.

All to soon the sun was setting and the lift dwindling. As we headed out for the LZ, I watched the occasional white flash of Wrangle and Jammer running deep under the thick grass. They must be operating strictly on smell because there is no way they could see where they were going.

There was the typical turbulence low down from the shear layer we usually see in the evening, but it was very mild. Both landings were good and fairly accurate. Just as we finished packing up, as darkness was spreading, the dogs arrived, grinning from ear to ear, as were we. If there is only one thought I take to my deathbed, it'll be remembered visions of evening glass off flights at Box.

My thanks go to Dr Fred and all who fought an uphill battle to keep us legal at Box.

After swim practice, Special Ed and I (and Wrangler and Jammer) headed south to Box. The desert is velvety green from the great monsoon season and the clear air made for crisp, sharp horizons. We started hiking through waist high grass in the LZ around 2:30 PM. The trail is mostly gone. Occasionally we would find a short strip of worn foot path, but most all of the hike was bushwhacking. The winds were very, very light, the temperature was warm, but it was the high humidity that made it uncomfortable. The humidity, trail breaking and having to high step through the acacia and grass reduced our pace to a crawl. Ed and I have both summited Box in 1 hour. It tooks us almost 3 hours yesterday.

The big surprise on launch was the smooth 6-8 knot breeze right up the spine. Perfect conditions for beginners or two old men who haven't flown in a year. I stepped off and immediately floated up 200'. Ed floated up right behind me. We floated around for an hour in perfectly smooth lift. A big raptor, maybe a golden eagle, flew around with us, but his min sink was better than ours so he topped out and headed toward the HG launch.

Before sunset, we headed for the LZ, calling the dogs to follow us down the spine. I left first and as I flew away, I looked back to locate Ed. I looked over my left shoulder, right shoulder, and then leaned back in my harness and rolled my head straight back. Imagine: upside down view of the rocky peaks, the full moon rising over the cumulus clouds on the horizon to the east, the silhouette of Ed's glider about the same angular size as the moon and just to the side of the moon, all in the radiant light of sunset.

We both did very conservative, text book aircraft approaches and had soft landings right next to Arjan's memorial. The dogs arrived in the LZ just as we finished packing up our gliders. Oh! BTW. Grasshoppers everywhere. The William Burrows Naked Lunch giant LSD colored grasshoppers. The west horizon was burning orange, Baboquivari a sharp silhouette, the full moon rising from behind the Santa Ritas.

A brutal hike, a beautiful flight. Life is very, very good.

Congratulations to both of you! It's good to see you back in the air. Hopefully this will be the beginning of some great fall and winter glassoffs for the bag wings.

As with all brutal hikes, subsequent airtime lessens their severity.

Thank you for posting your tales.

rained here all weekend.

Congradulation`s!

Now how about coming to the Miller Fly`n, on the 20th?
Be nice to fly with you!

I promise smooth clean lift to cloudbase, virgins in the LZ and pot`s of gold and lepprauhons, ok maybe just good flying!!!

Eric

im holding you to that eric!