Dan and Jason's trip to Lake Isabella

Dan sent me the following message Sunday night:

It all began with a phone call Saturday morning. Jason (Dan's cousin) called and wanted to take a road trip to a lake we used to go windsurfing years ago, Lake Isabella. ikitesurf said it was going to blow 20 mph there and not so much anywhere on the coast. I packed up the truck, dropped by Jason’s to pick him up and we headed out.

On the way Jason was checking the wind status on his I-phone. Isabella – 21. Belmont – 10. Every 10 to 20 minutes we’d check it again. Isabella – 21. Belmont – 9. At 2 o’clock my navigation system told me we had 2 hours left. We were a third of the way there. I hoped the wind would hold, Isabella – 21. Belmont – 8.

As we got closer to the lake we could see whitecaps and wind generators going berserk. I think there’s a windsurfer out on the lake somewhere.

The latest reading: Isabella – 22. Belmont – 7. It was getting better! We stopped for some essentials then got a move on.

As we searched for a place to camp the wind was blowing 22. Now we’re ready to enjoy it! The flags were whipping in the wind and we couldn’t rig fast enough.

After taking a few shots of Jason, I self launched and got out there. It was a blast skidding across flat lake water and trying out some flat water jumping techniques I had read about on line.

After about two hours we came in – it was time for beer break. Life is good. We got out, it was super windy and we’re good, right? Nope. It was still blowing 23 mph!

Here's a shot of the wind gauge and my award for "Sherpa of the Day" - Brice.

Brice, a nine year old who was camped near us, not only helped me land my kite in rather gusty conditions, but took a couple great shots too. Here’s my favorite. It’s about 8 o’clock and we’re still out. The sun is setting against the mountains and Jason’s cranking across the screen. Life doesn't get any better!!!!!

We wrapped up our gear and start talking about dinner. I went over to an adjacent camp to say "Hi" to Mike, a boater/camper we had chatted with earlier in the day. He was a really nice guy and had loaned me some tools to rig a nozzle to inflate my kite. There may have been a slender blond walking across the beach that made me want to go over as well, but that’s not important.

I got over there and found my self confronted by a very spunky cute blonde named Gina. “Who are and what are you doing here?”, She said. Oh man, I’m in trouble. “I just came by to say hi to Mike.” I quickly replied. “Oh. You know Mike? Well come on over and bring your friend, too. Hungry? We got BBQ Chicken, Potato salad. Thirsty? We got Margaritas and beer. Help yourselves!”

We didn’t know what to say, we were planning on eating at a local restaurant and checking into a motel. A big burly guy named Mark came by, introduced himself and told us if we didn’t eat the chicken and drink the beer, he’d have to for breakfast. I said, “Anything we can do to help, dude!” We then met the entire gang and hung out for a few hours by their camp fire. It was pretty cool. I wish I had a shot of it.

Towards the end of the night we were asked, "Where you going to spending the night." We mentioned the local motel. The crowd was outraged. “That place is a s#!t hole! Don’t stay there!” We were perplexed. At this point Gwynne chimed in, “Why don’t you just crash at my place? I live 5 minutes away.” After a couple more beers we decided that was our best bet.

So we headed to Gwynne’s with her husband’s cousin. I don’t remember his name. We played poker and took turns riding a little battery powered golf cart. Probably not the smartest thing to do, but what the heck? I think at one point Gwynne rolled it and knocked Jason to the street. Oops!

Don't worry Liz, there were only a couple minor scratches involved. We can still kite tomorrow!!

On Sunday morning I woke up on a small couch and Jason on an air mattress. We were…a little groggy. Then we took Gwynne and her husband Bud to breakfast at a local cafe. The food was great. We needed that! Now it was time to go to the Marina and launch Bud’s pontoon boat.

Here’s a shot of me with the Bud, Gwynne and their baby, lakeside. By now it was around noon and we had 3 hours to burn before the wind was supposed to come up. So I asked, “Hey Bud, think your boat can tow a wake boarder?” He said, “Don’t know, never tried it.”

We grabbed my 140 and decided to give it a go. We had an absolute blast!

When we got back to the beach we rigged up. It was lighter than yesterday, maybe only 15-18 mph, but we expected that. We both pumped up our 15s and hit the water. Jason first, then me. We were out for an hour or so when the wind suddenly died. Triple F-ing S#!t! I was a little up wind, so I went down first. I saw Jason Hindenburg about a minute later. Unfortunately, he was too far away to warn him ahead of time. After about 5 minutes hanging out in the water, the local officials came by on a powerboat to check on me. How cool is that? A couple minutes after that, Bud shows up on a borrowed Sea Do. I was in the middle of the lake and there was nothing either could do for me unless I brought in my lines and deflated the kite.

I decided to wait it out, “I’m fine. Just waiting for the wind. But don’t loose sight of me. I may need help if the wind doesn’t come back.” Bud went to check on Jason. How "neighborly" is that?

Finally, a strong gust came. I relaunched and headed for shore. By the time I landed and got myself back to camp, Jason had arrived on the back of Bud’s Sea Do. Jason had made it to shore. Bud helped land, wrap up his kite, and gave him a lift. Again, how F-ing cool is that?

We wrapped our gear and hung out with the gang for a couple minutes. Bud expressed interest in the sport. I told him next time we come up we'll bring a trainer kite. BTW…If anyone is interested in off loading a good condition used 12 with bar and lines, please let me know. Bud wants in!

It was now 6 o’clock and time to head for home. The wind was still strong, but a little gusty. The weather was warm and we met a lot of really great people! We had quite an adventure. I’m already looking forward to our next trip to Isabella.