By the time I launched, a few gliders including Ramy had were already in the north, but a line of ODs formed between them and Parowan, and lots of radio calls were being exchanged about it. So, I decided to head south instead, into the 25 kts head wind. I got low near Cedar Breaks, and a forever time seemed to have passed before I reached Zion National Park. But then the head wind weakened to 13 kts, and a beautiful cloudstreet was extending to the south all the way to Grand Canyon. I wasn't expecting such a long flight, but of course I decided to go as far as I could following the cloudstreet. Without much trouble, I was above Grand Canyon National Park! I considered this as a bonus for staying extra day at Parowan.
I flew over Grand Canyon last year too, but as soon as I reached Grand Canyon's rim, my camera's battery died, so I couldn't take pictures of it. This year, I didn't make the same mistake. I took 178 photos and a few videos in this flight.
There were a few OD clouds near Zion National Park and between Grand Canyon and Zion National Park, but other than that, most of clouds were working honestly. I didn't have much trouble going back north especially with 13 kts tail wind.
The flight distance was about 600km, and the flight time was 8 hours and 54 minutes. This is the longest-duration flight I've had so far.
Click here to see more photos of this flight.
Grand Canyon National Park
Flew 600km
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