Yakima River Canyon paragliding gallery
September 28, 2010 by TJ Mullinax
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- Bob Bunger drives his pickup truck through the Yakima River Canyon’s shrub-steppe toward Baldy Butte to deliver the first group of paragliders on Sept. 25, 2010. Bunger requires “Baldy Fly-in” participant vehicles be 4-wheel drive and carry a fire extinguisher before heading out over the mountain road.
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- Paragliding fans from around the Northwest converged on the Yakima River Canyon for an annual autumn “Baldy (Butte) Fly-in” on Sept. 25, 2010, about 15 miles north of Selah, Wash.
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- North of Selah Wash., Mitch Bogden gathers his paraglider at the landing zone after taking off from the 3,200 Baldy Butte peak seen in background.
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- Seemingly stepping out across a small stream, Mitch Bogden actually flies several hundred feet above the Yakima River and and Highway 821 during the “Baldy (Butte) Fly-in” on Sept. 25, 2010. Flying down from Baldy Butte in a paraglider provides a unique opportunity to experience the Yakima River Canyon in a rare and wonderful way.
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- Mitch Bogden and a passenger launches off Baldy Bute, flying west down into the Yakima River Canyon on Sept. 25, 2010. This particular 3,200 foot vantage point shows a horseshoe bend in the Yakima River, the grass covered “Baldy Fly-in” landing zone to the north west and Mount Rainier to the south west.
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- Paragliders watch how the wind reacts to a fellow flyer’s sail along Baldy Butte ridge at the beginning of the “Baldy Fly-in” on Sept. 25, 2010, north of Selah, Wash. Monitoring wind pressure and speed are instrumental in having a successful paragliding experience, let alone a safe one.
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- Paragliding fans from around the Northwest converged on the Yakima River Canyon for an annual autumn “Baldy (Bute) Fly-in” on Sept. 25, 2010, about 15 miles north of Selah, Wash.
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- Paragliding fans from around the Northwest converged on the Yakima River Canyon for an annual autumn “Baldy (Butte) Fly-in” on Sept. 25, 2010, about 15 miles north of Selah, Wash.
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- Paragliding fans from around the Northwest converged on the Yakima River Canyon for an annual autumn “Baldy (Butte) Fly-in” on Sept. 25, 2010, about 15 miles north of Selah, Wash. The group, led by a couple Yakima area flyers, rent out the top of the 3,200 high Baldy Bute to stage and take off and a field at the base of the canyon to land. Most flyers are from the West Coast and several others travel down from British Columbia for the weekend.
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- Paragliding fans from around the Northwest converged at “The Rock” at Lmuma Creek recreation site on the Yakima River Canyon for the annual autumn “Baldy (Butte) Fly-in” on Sept. 25, 2010, about 15 miles north of Selah, Wash. Paragliders launch off Baldy Butte, which is seen off in the distance topping 3,200 feet in altitude.
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- “Baldy (Butte) Fly-in” organizers, Bob Bunger, left, and David Norwood, pointing beside pickup, talk to fellow paragliders about an alternate landing zone along a private runway north of Selah, Wash. in the Yakima River Canyon on Sept. 25, 2010.
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- The morning before pilots can take off from Baldy Butte, organizers of the “Baldy Fly-in” require paragliders to sign liability waivers at the primary landing site along the Yakima River north of Selah Wash., on Sept. 25, 2010.
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- Andrei Kravchenko from Abbotsford, British Columbia carries his paraglider from the landing zone at the base of the Yakima River Canyon on Sept. 25, 2010, after flying down from Baldy Butte about 15 miles north of Selah, Wash. Kravchenko and his wife have made the trip down from Canada a couple of times to participate in the annual “Baldy Fly-in” that is put on by a couple of Yakima residents.
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- Andrei Kravchenko from Abbotsford, British Columbia lands his paraglider in the Yakima River Canyon as part of the “Baldy (Butte) Fly-in” about 15 miles north of Selah, Wash. on Sept. 25, 2010.
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- Paragliding fans from around the Northwest converged on the Yakima River Canyon for an annual autumn “Baldy (Butte) Fly-in” on Sept. 25, 2010, about 15 miles north of Selah, Wash.
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- Paragliding fans from around the Northwest converged on the Yakima River Canyon for an annual autumn “Baldy (Butte) Fly-in” on Sept. 25, 2010, about 15 miles north of Selah, Wash.
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- A solo paraglider sails south along the Yakima River Canyon as part of the annual autumn “Baldy (Butte) Fly-in” on Sept. 25, 2010, about 15 miles north of Selah, Wash. The fly-in draws up to hundred paragliders from around the Northwest to enjoy exceptional flying conditions within the national scenic byway.
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- Paragliding fans from around the Northwest converged on the Yakima River Canyon for an annual autumn “Baldy (Butte) Fly-in” on Sept. 25, 2010, about 15 miles north of Selah, Wash.
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- Paragliders hike along the Baldy Butte ridge toward the takeoff site through the native shrub-steppe landscape north of Selah, Wash., on Sept. 25, 2010. The hills of the Yakima River Canyon are covered in sagebrush, grass and lupine plant life, making the national byway a unique paragliding site. Information courtesy from the Washington Native Plant Society.
Filed under Galleries, Outdoors, Special Features
