Flying at the Other End of Lake Chelan

I'm standing knee-deep in a swamp at the north end of Lake Chelan about 200 feet from the Stehekin road. I'm dry (except for my feet), but the wing's a little damp. Two minutes ago I was flying 10 mph backwards with big-ears, knowing that if I went too far I'd be blown out over the lake, which is 1300 feet deep in places. I don't have a life jacket, and there aren't any boats in sight. My recent experiences with backwards flying came in really handy, but I still haven't learned to like it. Valley winds, however, are a fact of life in mountain flying.
Actually, backwards flying is pretty straightforward. You just use the ears to control your descent to arrive just above the last trees before your LZ. The stronger the wind, the less directional control you have. If the wind is, say 40 mph, you go in the direction of the wind--period. With weaker winds you can crab but not much. When your backward motion stops, you make a quick turn downwind, then you fly back upwind in the lee of the trees. If the tree line is broken, there probably won't be serious rotor--just turbulence. It's comforting having a swamp below because it can break your fall without drowning you.
The important thing in backwards flying is that you have an LZ behind you. You can help ensure this by flying as far upwind as you can before you hit the inevitable valley wind. In most valleys the wind picks up only in the bottom 1500 feet, but today in the Stehekin valley the wind layer is 3500 feet thick. When the lake level is high, there are no good LZ's in Stehekin. There's a big ranch and an airstrip up the valley, but you can't get to them if the wind is from the north, and the boat dock parking lot is too small if the wind is strong. There's a road along the lake shore, but there are wires between the road and the water. Today it's the swamp or worse.
Why am I here when I could be casually (and safely) soaring at Tiger mountain? Well, if you could have experienced the first part of the flight, you might understand. Imagine thermalling at 8800 feet completely surrounded by the North Cascades--Bonanza, Goode, Logan, the Sawtooths. The lake is 7700 feet below, and the Stehekin River meanders north into the distance. I'm in the first party to ever fly paragliders here. (More about my companions later.) Of course, the 5700 foot hike-down alternative had nothing to do with my decision to fly. Sure, I could see the white-caps from launch, but no guts no glory.