Andy and John were the first there and got up for a half-hour before they had to land because of an incoming squall. That squall dumped rain, hail, and real gusty winds on everyone. After it passed, everyone got up for a fantastic hour of clear weather, getting up to 3000 ft. and going all the way up to Fort Ross, before turning back. Another incoming squall forced everyone back down, but it petered out before getting to them. By that time everyone had broken down their gliders, expecting a repeat of the earlier hailstorm, so they missed out on the last couple hours of perfect conditions. Andy said this was the best conditions he'd ever found here. That makes it even more painful for those of us who missed it.

The next day we flew Horse Mountain. It faces SW, and was smaller than I had imagined - 4,500ft MSL, maybe 1,300ft or so top to bottom. I was a bit nervous, not having flown for 4 months. The wind was only about 10 mph, easy to self launch in, but it was working quite well and I got to 6,600ft. Only a comparatively small part of the face seemed to work however - I wasn't very adventurous - but Ralph and Julie explored north and south to little avail. The terrain is very rugged around there and you would need a lot of height to go anywhere much. I wanted to fly back to the campsite but it was 6.5 miles, somewhat into wind, and Ralph wasn't optimistic about making it that far.

There are two LZs for Horse - the first consists of a small patch cut into the chapparal, less than 100 yards across and sloping downhill in the direction you want to land in. Julie landed there but I had pretty much decided I didn't want to try it, preferring the "big" LZ on the other side of the freeway. This was a green field, fairly long, but quite narrow - maybe 100 yards wide at most, and the wind was right across the field. There was a tree (of course!) right in the middle. I flew for an hour and three quarters, and managed to make a perfect landing, right where I needed to break down, tho' I thought I would take out the flagpole for a few seconds, as I used up most of the field!

The next day seemed more unstable, and was much more windy. We were joined by 6 Canadian pilots. The wind on launch was about 20mph and I was glad of some help. Julie took off first, and it seemed pretty bumpy, but Ralph took off and said that once you got up a bit it was nice and smooth. Well, I took off and it wasn't smooth at all, and it got trashier and trashier. I got to 6500ft in one thermal that was over 1500ft/min for several turns, but most of the thermals were small and broken, I got wire twanged several times, and my Fusion seemed hard work in such air with 9 other gliders, and I landed after 45 mins. Ralph landed soon after, and admitted it had gotten pretty rough!

That night it rained, and in the morning it was snowing! What happened to those 90 degree temps? I decided it was time to head home. It was fun to see Ralph and Julie again, and to get to fly after a such a long break.

According to what Scot posted to the BB:

"Permits can be had at the park headquarters on Bear Valley road south of Inverness. You must have a current USHGA card and 20 bucks. The word from Wally [Anderson] is paragliding is permitted also but use caution as it's a steep cliff launch with rotors. Hopefully the tide will be out and there will be a lot of beach. Justin and Peter sound like they will be there early so if anyone wants to go they'll be available for wire support crew.
hh"

Then after Saturday, Feb. 18, Kurt reported:

"It was great! The wind could not have been better. Scot and I got two hours. Wally and five other PG pilots helped us launch, too windy for them. We could fly the entire length of cliff. Jumping all the gaps was easy. Don't forget to get your permit at the ranger station."