Into the Wind

I was out of string. Four 250-foot rolls tied to each other and that was it.

My kite had reached far beyond the eastern edge of Barn Bluff and was hovering near the backwaters of Colvill Park. Its fierce tug was encouraging me ever closer to the edge and the string was starting to cut into my hand. There were no trees or strong brush nearby to tie it to so I started to back up to where I could anchor it to something and sit down to enjoy the flight. 

And then the string broke. I was devastated. All that work and no chance to just watch it fly. I couldn’t bear to watch it float down into the far distant trees. There was nothing to do but go home. The wind was just too strong that day.

Two days later some of my friends and I were playing near the eastern base of the bluff when something in the sky caught my eye. It was my kite, still flying! The string had somehow caught a treetop in the backwaters where eagles perch. That kite flew for three days before disappearing forever.

Kites have long been a fascination for me for a variety of reasons. Flying them does not have to be an expensive hobby. You can do it solo, although it is nice to have someone help launch them. And best of all, everyone notices and watches. Both Barn and Sorin’s bluffs are excellent for kite flying. You can always get wind on Barn Bluff but the central meadow on Sorin’s Bluff is safer. You just have to account for the trees.

I started with the $.29 diamond-shaped paper kites at Paton’s Grocery. I destroyed many of them just putting them together. I cried a lot. The backbone seemed designed to break just as you tried to get the perimeter string at the top into the little slot on the end of it. They were not impressive kites but they were all I could afford and over time they taught me patience.

Kite flying improved a lot when plastic kites became available. These kites cost more but were much sturdier and more easily accepted Scotch tape repairs. It was with plastic kites that I learned how to make a proper tail, usually from old torn up sheets tied together. A tail provides stability.

Trees were not my friend. They seemed to think my kites contained an essential vitamin. Often, just when I’d get one flying nicely, the wind would drop and the kite would float into the open jaws of the top-most branches. Running and pulling the kite away from the tree before it hit was usually futile. Once stuck in a tree, it was time to wind up what string you can salvage, cut it and go home. Lesson to remember – kites may go up easily but as you let out more line, they may now be hovering over trees.

Also, ask yourself just how much line you want to reel back in. It’s easy to let the kite take all your line, but do you want to spend 20 minutes winding in string connected to a stubborn kite that still wants to fly?

As a young adult, I got hooked on modern delta kites made out of ripstop nylon. They are practically indestructible, fly straight up, require almost no wind, and do not need a tail. They also can pull you so hard you can lose fingers. Gloves are a must. And strong line. A dog tie that you screw into the ground allows you to anchor it and lie down to watch it. Such glory.

I have since bought box kites, dragon kites, and line climbers. They are all fun in their own ways. Box kites are best with a gentle breeze. Dragon kites seem to need more wind since they are often long. But they are impressive in the sky.

Line climbers are the icing on the cake. I had one from Germany that looked like a large red bug. You fitted it onto the string of a flying kite then locked its wings open. You pushed it up the line until the wind took over and sent it all the way up to the kite. At the kite it hit a plunger that released the wings, folding them back and the climber would slide back down to you. I always got an audience for that one. I also had a climber that dropped a little teddy bear on a parachute once it reached the kite. That was heavier so required more wind.

With spring just around the corner I’m anxious to get my kites in the air again. I’ve given some of my kites away but I still have a few favorites. I just need one or two reliable ones to keep me happy.

The year after my broken string adventure on Barn Bluff I again was at the same location with a kite out as far as I had string. You’d think I would have learned. But the string was holding and I even had an audience – a man and his young son who had hiked to the bluff’s edge.

As we talked I remembered that I would have to reel in all that string. In the blink of an eye, the man’s son was the proud owner of a kite already at its apex. And I was on my way home with enough money in my pocket to buy a better kite and start a new adventure.