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can see Rawe Peak, and just beyond, my turnpoint, Dayton Valley Airport. My radio has been busy with pilot position reports, but I have ignored them as they are not near me. Now, I hear someone at Rawe Peak climbing at 15,500'. I head in that direction, keep going to my turnpoint, and click off several frames of the Dayton Valley airport.
I glance at my watch. It is 2:50 pm and I am halfway. Heading back south, I pick up a little cloudstreet on the north end of Minden Valley. I work it to the south end of the valley, where I am down to 10,100'. I then wander into a 4 knotter that gets me to 14,400', and headed back to Patterson.
The downpour that had been on Patterson has moved to Potato Peak. The lift in this area isn't as strong as on the way north, so I decide to conserve my altitude in case I have to land out. The Sierras are still in sunshine, but the clouds there are not in the right position. Worse, south of Bridgeport there is a huge wall of rain blocking Mono Lake. However, there is a gap between the rain on Potato and the rain blocking Mono. I turn left and head through.
Luck is with me! On the other side waiting for me is a little cloudstreet that arcs its way east from Bodie towards Mina and bends back around to Boundary Peak. Taking it all the way around, I get back to Boundary at 10,500'. Working my way south, I find a 6 knot thermal and get back to 14,000'.
A good friend, Doug Levy (Hangman), an accomplished 1-26 pilot, radios me that the Whites are overdeveloped with rain showers. I have no choice but to fly down the middle of the valley. But even there, I am still under the clouds, and near Bishop I start getting sucked up into the clouds. My airspeed goes to 100mph and my left hand tightly grips the spoiler handle. This gets the pucker factor up, but after a few bumps and shakes, I am near the edge of the clouds at Black Mountain.
Arriving at Black Mountain at 12,500', I pull up into the most wondrous lift of the day -- 10 knots and smooth as glass. I look at my watch for only the third time that day. It is 6:00 pm, and I have been in my glider almost 7 hours! This is when it hits me -- I might actually pull this off! I have a little anxiety attack, telling myself out loud to "stop it and finish the flight!"
My finish leg on the Inyos is a carbon copy of my start, heading south at 85 mph in 2-4 knots of lift. I arrive at my start and finish point, the Dolomite Mine, with extra altitude. I use it to maneuver and position myself for my last photos. At 7,700', I snap off 2 photos and head for the airport.
I take a few minutes to relax and get the landing program set in my head. The new AWOS at Lone Pine tells me it is basically calm. I pump a large dose of O2 to freshen up a bit, and enter the pattern. As I roll to a stop, my watch is just changing over from 6:59 to 7:00 pm. I think to myself "I just flew for 7 hours and 50 minutes!".
The icing is having a small group of my fellow pilots and friends there to greet me and share with my accomplishment. Heinz hands me an ice-cold beer, Larry Forqueran gives me a hearty handshake, and Cindy Brickner gives me one of her big hugs.
A few acknowledgements are in order. Thanks to Danny Gonzales (1MO) and Larry Forqueran (A6) for relaying my position. A huge thank you to Heinz Buyer (HB) for offering to retrieve me if I landed out - this allowed me to focus on the task and not worry about falling down. Thanks to John Heater, who is the consummate tow pilot and a heck of a lot of fun. Most important, thanks to my loving wife Debbie for the support she has given me -- I owe much of my cross-country success to her words of encouragement.
Paul flew an O & R distance of 410 miles. Not bad for a 35 year old glider flown dry. Due to a height penalty, he missed the California Sports Class O & R record by 1 1/2 miles.
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