Flying across the Mojave desert on my way to explore the wilderness of Kelso Mountain and the Devils Playground I was faced with foreboding atmospheric conditions that were directly in my path.
The Devils Playground is a stretch of sandy dunes and scrub brush that runs nonstop for 40 miles across the remote sand-basted expanse of the Mojave Desert wilderness along the California / Nevada Border.
Assessing my flight path and staying low to the ground meant dodging mountains, it was safe to travel underneath the storm as it was mostly darkening clouds and no snow falling along my route. The winds were howling through the mountain passes so I carefully flew through the passes high enough to avoid getting caught in one of the many deadly "rollers" that occur along these mountain tops.
Rollers are basically horizontal tornadoes that run along the leeward side of a mountain, the wind the comes up over the front of the mountain pushes over as it crests the mountain and depending on the angle and speed of the wind coming over the top, it can create a very powerful horizontal rolling effect on the other side that is usually invisible and deadly if you get sucked into it and risk being pushed down into the side of the mountain.
As I flew deeper into the desert mountain range the clouds closed in above me darkening the surrounding skies and making the desert floor look rather unfriendly were I forced to make an emergency landing. Thankfully the wind was a quartering tailwind and actually helped push me along so much I could pull back a bit on the power to save fuel. It was pretty neat being in the midst of this beautiful weather!
End of Part 1
This multi-part picture story is from my ongoing project, "Where Eagles Fly";
About The Project
Where Eagles Fly - The American Wilderness Expedition is my personal mission to introduce people to these amazing locations that surround us. I am piloting a bush plane while exploring and filming throughout the remote back-country areas of North America to raise awareness of the 47% of the USA and 90% of Canada that remain unpopulated wilderness.
About The Author
My name is Zedekiah Morse and I'm a Bush Pilot, Photographer, Explorer and Filmmaker. I live in the Rocky Mountains and devote my time and resources to exploring as much of the world as I can by air. If you wish to watch a short film detailing how I do my work and this project, go here.
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