My Second Solo X-Country

"CareBear" wrote in
:

I mentioned that "there were clouds everywhere!" This was not one humongous
cloud but several scattered/broken. I could see land to my left and right
and also past the clouds.

My only concern is that distance ahead of you above a cloud deck is very deceiving. What looks like around the corner
can really be many, many miles past a point you may be trying to reach. Stratiform clouds are the worst in my opinion
due to the flatness of the clouds. I run it parallel to trying to gauge distance on a large body of water. Without any
reference to size, it's very difficult to gauge distance, and that would apply to flying above a cloud deck.

Also remember, since you did not expect the clouds, the clouds may be developing, which just may close up that escape route
down you thought you had enroute.

Flying VFR over the top, in my opinion, was
the best solution at the time as opposed to getting below 2200 feet
and crashing into something. I'm sure there will be some
disagreements to that statement.

Based on your subsequent post, yes, you made a very good decision. Altitude is your friend in avoiding things that poke
out of the ground.

As long as you kept up with AWOS and FSS, you used all available tools to you,
and that is a sign of a good pilot :-)

Just beware, those benign scattered strato cumulus clouds may multiply unexpectactly, so you don't want to find yourself
in a pickle, thus a good weather briefing is in order before the wheels go up.

Allen