Like I had stated in a previous post, Chelan opened up a few doors for me with regard to flying XC. The experience of the XC Classic increased confidence, but did not make me over confident. I basically left the site wanting more and having learned a lot.
So, what did I learn?
Better able to find lift and read terrain. Granted, it helped to chase dusty's up on the flats, but even that is not always a guarantee that you'll reach cloud base and not end up on the ground. There were a few times where I had a couple dusty's right below me and still could not seem to find lift. I managed to find the lift each time, but some attempts took longer than expected. Sometimes it helps to align the dusty with a clould up above. Quite a few times I was able to judge the drift of the column of lift generated by a dusty, dump VG as I entered that lift and core up to cloudbase. It is extremely rewarding when conditions can be read to that degree and makes for some efficient flying over the flats. I guess I simply don't give up on finding lift until I am on the ground and cracked a beer.
Finding a place to land. This is becoming less worrisome the more I fly XC. The 3rd day of flying, I willingly flew into a canyon somewhat expecting to get up, but also expecting that I may sink out due to how broken the thermals had been on that particular windy day. It really helps to explore the XC country you're flying in a vehicle during a non-flying day to better acquaint yourself with various landing options along the way. This helped in my confidence to allow myself to fly into a canyon with known landing areas and resulted in my first crossing of the Columbia. So, familiarizing yourself with the flying area really helps. I seem to always have at least 3 landing options in front of me at all times.
Launching early. I've found, if the conditions are right, that launching early helps with my confidence. I feel as if I have more control over how the day is to progress in the air, or on the ground for that matter. A huge motivating factor in my launching early, granted only one day, was the dust devils that would wreak havoc through the launch area. I feel I'm much safer in the air flying off the lift of these dusty's rather than on the ground holding on desparately to my glider while hooked in on launch. I like taking charge of my flying in this respect rather than waiting for others to make the call. Granted, it helps to listen to more experienced pilots to get a read on the conditions, but there is only so much you can do with that before you need to start making those calls on your own.
Don't get down on yourself. Last year at Lakeview, even though I had a couple personal best flights, I really beat myself up. I vowed to back-off on that kind of negativity and concentrate more on the positive. Chelan was my first comp since Lakeview and I now have a better lid on my tendency to be my own worst critic. We're in this for fun anyway, right? Each flight is a learning experience in it's own right, so make the best of the best and the best of the worst, especially with the sport of hang-gliding. There should really be no flight where we don't learn something valuable and avoid living in comparison to others.
I've been home now for 3 days and will have this trip in my mind for quite some time it appears. I guess it is time to plan the next trip and see where that takes us.
Cheers!