Chris, I recommend you watch Aaron’s Cracka Sauce Tutorial titled Playing the Odds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3GOJeZax3k&list=PLnXxH2OpCRsLSlHM4PbSD6JN2z6s8sQ3t&index=2In reviewing your flight, I added a Ground Track to your Google Earth KMZ (to see your ground track). I presume the reason you flew out the canyon from EJ launch was not to avoid the lift and search for sink, but rather to avoid the rocks? I suspect you might have launched too high for the day? Pilots flew from SB to Bates on Sunday, so it was obviously soarable.
As per Crack’s video, I would recommend reaching for higher intercepts and getting on top of the triggers. I didn’t fly Sunday, but I suspect the clouds and sun line played into choices and options?
On low base days the sun is a huge factor. You might need to slow down and wait for it or try to race to catch up to it. Usually, reaching for the high ground is a good move, but if the high ground is in heavy shade, the you might want to fish out front instead. The problem with fishing out front is it often leaves you committed with nothing to cling to if you don’t get any bites.
You don’t want to be “out in the sun”. The better lift is usually on the shady side of the sun line. Advancing shade is often yields the best lift. New sun will only offer small broken thermal teasers until it has had time to heat for a while.
It is helpful to monitor the medium size picture and be aware of the OD/Clearing iteration timing. You also want to be aware of the time of day. Each iteration will be a little different than the one before. On spring day, the wind will often build from the west later in the day. This weekend we had west wind to the west but flow from the SE further east?
You could have reached for a higher intercept crossing from the Holy Hills toward the Round House.
You did a good job fishing out a thermal and then climbing out from the Rock, but you left the thermal going up, gaining 200 feet on glide. Was cloudbase your decision to move on? Dave Bader’s photo (posted above your photo from EJ launch) shows cloudbase above the Round House. Likely higher in the back and lower out front? I suspect you were at fuzzy cloudbase in front of Parkers?
Sometimes you need to be patient and slow down, then make good time when it heats up. Low cloudbase days often iterate from OD to clearing, lifting and then OD again. As a general rule, if I flush early on a low base day, I try to get back to launch and try again. It is often good to be driving to launch when it is dark and ODed. If it looks good driving up, you are probably too late and will need to wait for the next iteration.
On my first flight Saturday, I launched too high (from the Skyport). Cloudbase was higher in the back but much lower out front so I was forced way out front and out of position. Landed by Sheffield Drive after an extended sleder, packed up quick and took an Uber back to Parma and then got a ride back to launch for another try, which worked better. I was a tad late on the iteration so I was racing low trying to catch up to the sun/shade line that was moving west to east (never did catch up, just got further behind). Got low but was able to hang on and eventually capitalize on the weak lift late in the day along a front route (Polo Ridge and Snowball).