Glad you enjoyed the atmosphere!
Launching off slopes is the way to go, before unlocking the jump. I wonder how we can make that clearer? 「( • ヘ •)
(Spoiler!) The Jump upgrade's in a tricky to reach spot a little after the 8th island. It has a big beam into the the sky coming off it.
Around where was the dead end? I hope it wasn't a softlock I missed. (。ŏ﹏ŏ)
Thanks for playing!