In San Diego, the situation for impacted hospitals and service workers is just starting to ramp up and we can expect hospitals to be triaging similar to what was experienced in Colorado this past weekend.

There was an incident in Colorado this past weekend where a snowboarder ended up with a broken clavicle (collarbone) and at the ER, he was turned away from treatment at triage with the explanation that collarbone surgery is elective. They were an impacted hospital and not doing any elective procedures . . . that are not life-threatening. At Tiger (WA Site), there were also two separate incidents requiring ER and hospitalization in an impacted area this past week. 

Hoping we get through this and back in the air without complex social health concerns.

Regards and Safe Flights!

Steve Rohrbaugh  (SDHGPA President) and the SDHGPA Board

Horse Road Rain and Fire Closures:
The road up to the launch at Horse Canyon, Sheephead Mountain Road  (15S18), may closed before and after periods of heavy rain or severe fire danger. If that is the case, the gate just past the postage stamp lz will be locked.

The reason if and when the Gate is locked for rain, is that the road is wet and they don't want vehicles tearing up the road. The plan is typically that closures would be for just a few days until the dirt dries out a bit. With periods of heavy or extended rain this it will likely be a few more days. 

Border Patrol activity during an active pursuit might other reason that the Gate could be locked. In this case, closure would be for a very short term and not show up in the following tables.

The road to Horse is the Sheephead Mountain Road  (15S18).
When the road is open it will not appear on the table. I have been told that the table is updated right away whenever there is change to a road status. So you can check each morning to see if a road is closed or not.

Big Black Road Rain and Fire Closures:
Also on the table is the Black Mountain Road (11S04), the road we use to get to Big Black. Road closure due to wet ground is rare at Horse, and more common at Big Black. A few years ago when there was an unusually wet winter the road to Big Black was periodically closed throughout the rainy season. It was closed just after a rain when it was wet and the wind was West. Then it would be open for a few days when a Santa Ana wind dried things out. Such is life.

This past Sunday (January 12th, 2020) we got the year off to a fine start with another Holfuy weather station installation, this time at Little Black.  After about a year and half of working with the park rangers there (well done Jeff Brown!) we agreed on a spot, set up a date, and rallied the troops.

So you found the SDHGPA weather station on El Cajon mountain, eh?  Maybe you hiked out there and saw the QR code link on the mast*.  Maybe you heard about it from a fellow paraglider or hang glider pilot.  Perhaps you’re a supporter of the San Diego River Park Foundation, or a biologist over at the US Forest Service.  However you found it, there’s a pretty rad story behind how it got there, who the players were, and just how much collaborated effort and expense we went to in order to plant that mast and gather weather data.

Like any good story, this one starts in a few different places.

Palomar has been reopened for Weekday flying starting 7-16-19.

However, there are new Protocols worked out with the Pala Roberts Ranch for checking in and out with the Ranch office and Tribal Security along with a few other protocol updates. 

Make SURE all Pilots read the full updated Palomar site guide!
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Palomar has been reopened for Weekend flying starting 4-27-19.

However, there are new Protocols worked out with the Pala Roberts Ranch for checking in and out with Tribal Security and a few other protocol updates.  Make SURE you read this!