my random ramblingsan infrequent (and these days, mostly Mira related…) blog

Michelle came out to visit for a few days and we made our way to Teton NP for some kayak camping. dealt with some rain going from String Lake to Leigh Lake, and eventually found our spot at the base of Mt. Moran. all the surrounding creeks were pounding like never before due to the snow melt and the nonstop rain we’ve had. set up camp as the sun finally broke through, then went for a quick paddle exploration – came back to find the marmots’ destruction. ate my hemp Adidas gazelles and peed on my tent. i wasn’t too pleased.

stopped by the ‘Coach yesterday and got Mike’s memory card from his GoPro. trimmed these 3 from this past weekend and put up my first YouTube videos. can’t wait to get my own camera now…

made the short drive to the DZ and got on the first load of the morning. did a 2-way with Mike, then 2 4-ways and finally a 3-way to end the day. was cool working with John and Hyrum, getting lots of helpful tips on my freefall flying. seeing it was Memorial Day, there was a bar-b-que and overall it was a fun day to hang-out with a lot of good people. brought my camera with me up in the plane and got some good pictures from altitude. pulled it out for a self photo under canopy on one of my flights in. Scott walked me through the oral exam, and i got my A license card signed off by the end of the day. once i get my official card back from the USPA, i will be allowed to jump anywhere i please. 7 jumps over the 2 days, and up to 32 total. was cool having company during the drive home and replaying the crazy weekend.

held off leaving on Saturday morning and instead drove down with Mike on Sunday morning. nice to finally not have to drive myself. did 3 2-ways with Mike during the day and had a blast. finally feel comfortable under canopy. worked on getting my A license card filled out during the long-awaited beautiful sunny day. grabbed some dinner out, then bunked up at the Motel 6.

3 more jumps today and i’m now up to 25 and ready for my test, perhaps next weekend. second and third jumps, tried a different canopy that i was eyeing to buy. turned out to be an expensive day, bought the Safire 2 199 main i was jumping, bought a new reserve online, and gave Brian a deposit for a custom Wings container. approximately a 10 week lead time on the container, so will be jumping demo gear for a little while longer, but am excited to start sporting my own rig in the near future.

left early for Ogden, and encountered snow on Teton Pass and Pine Creek Pass. 4 wheel drive all the way to Swan Valley at the end of May… then drove through a hail storm in southern Idaho. was cold, windy and cloudy at the DZ. manifested on an early afternoon load and attempted an unsuccessful 2-way with Miller. got another lesson on packing, and ended up packing my first canopy. then took the bold move of jumping it, and it opened without a hitch. 🙂 joined a few folks for dinner at a Greek restaurant that was also a bar, which it seems is highly unusual in Utah. ended up back at my seedy Motel 6 downtown for the night.

left Salt Lake early and got to the DZ by 10:00, but somehow managed to miss the first load. decided to try my first hop & pop, which meant i was exiting at 3,500′ and immediately pulling. had a great canopy flight in and a stand-up landing. tried another 2-way with Miller after that, but we never got together in the air. was flying a new canopy and had a pretty hard landing that i’m sure will leave me sore tomorrow. the long drive home was uneventful and relatively fast. 6 jumps in total over the weekend is my new record. 🙂

left Friday afternoon and got to Ogden in time for a little wind tunnel time, which proved very helpful. got a room at the Motel 6 downtown which was far worse than the last one. at the DZ, did a 2-way with Scott first thing which apart from my exit went flawlessly. on the next jump i hit my first barrel rolls and a couple of flips. third jump of the day was a comical aborted 4-way, but my landing was perfect. last jump of the day was a 2-way with John where i practiced adjusting my fall rate to stay level with another jumper. after the 4 jumps, drove to Salt Lake and hung out with Seth and Britt. had a nice Thai dinner, and enjoyed our night talking with a few bottles of wine.

back in Chicago again for a couple of days. and today i got a huge surprise from a huge heart – my sincerest thanks for your effort, friendship, and love. it’s nice to know there is some humanity left in the world. 🙂

went up on the first load of the morning, and was the first out of the plane. 2 more jumps in, and i feel a minimal level of competency creeping in. my logbook is up to 14, still need a hop & pop and a canopy packing before my A license, in addition to the jumps. left Ogden a little after 2, and did the Walmart tour of shame on the way home. Black Sheep is handling the 600 mile weekend commutes like a champ.