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Ideas/meet-ups for trip out west?

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  • Ideas/meet-ups for trip out west?

    I live in the northeast where we have lots of things on a small scale. We have little public lands and most of it is not land-able. Ever since buying my Bearhawk 7 years ago, I've wanted to do a trip out west with it. Well, the time has finally come. The calendar says that the family and I depart NH16 on June 8th and return on June 23rd.

    Now we need places to go and people to meet! We had planned to cross paths with Bob on his trip to Idaho that coincided with our trip. I have to guess that his trip is now in doubt. ...I hope he is feeling better soon! So, the question of UT or ID (or MT? other suggestions?) is back on the table.

    Emilie and I are both reasonably skilled pilots that frequently fly with the local Super Cub crowd. ...they are starting to get used to Emilie showing up at their little Super Cub landings spots with her RV-4. We fly a 260hp 4 place Bearhawk that is now on 31" Bushwheels. We both have limited experience with high density altitudes, mountains and canyons (we just don't have much of that out here), but have reasonable heads on our shoulders.

    We'd be looking to:
    * mostly avoid large crowds, though a day or two at a gathering could be good (I know about the SC.org Johnson Creek event)
    * opportunites to camp next to the airplane and do some day hiking or overnight backpacking
    * The more remote and backcountry the better. Primitive LNT backpacking is something we enjoy. Honeymoon was a UT backpacking trip.
    * Meet others to go fly with and get an intro to the local strips
    * find stops to break up the trip out and back from the home

    Any advice, suggestions, invitations?

    Thanks!
    Tyson

  • #2
    Originally posted by kestrel View Post
    they are starting to get used to Emilie showing up at their little Super Cub landings spots with her RV-4
    Hahahaha! I love this.

    Comment


    • #3
      Anything on Prince William Sound and north of there:

      Cordova
      Valdez
      Various beaches
      Wrangells

      Limited people, amazing backcountry .

      Comment


      • svyolo
        svyolo commented
        Editing a comment
        And Yakutat, and at a minimum a flyby of Lituya Bay.

    • #4
      Originally posted by schu View Post
      Anything on Prince William Sound and north of there:

      Cordova
      Valdez
      Various beaches
      Wrangells

      Limited people, amazing backcountry .
      Alaska is also on our wish list, but we're not going that far this time.

      Comment


      • #5
        I'm trying to experience everything out here I can and still finish my Bearhawk. I'll throw out some ideas for you to consider. I probably don't need to say this but will just in case. You mentioned Density Altitude. I moved here from Louisiana. My grass strip there was at 38 feet MSL. Density Altitude is a sneeky @#$#@#$ and it will hurt you. Once you get past Texas, everything is pretty much above 5000 feet and throw in June afternoon temps and things get up there fast. So please plan your day first with DA calcs. It is one thing to be aware of it. It is white knuckle, seat sucking, cold sweat time when you experience it. Enough said.

        Your timing is just nipping on fire/smoke season. Given that this year was the wettest in a long time, you will probably be fine. Just in case I would make plans for two routes a Northern or Southern route depending on smoke and prevailing winds moving it east. New Mexico has some nice isolated strips and camping. Utah and Idaho are backcountry mecca though.

        In southern Utah: Wee Hope, Fry Canyon, Simplot, Dirty Devil, Mexican Mountain.

        You can get a room at Goulding Trading Post to bring the body back to civilization (shower). Happens to have a motel and a campground. Campground is a bit of a hike. Monument Valley is just across the highway. From there, head to Bryce Canyon. Get a shuttle to National Park campground or hotels. You can hike Bryce Canyon for a week.

        Heading NE, there is a small dry lakebed (dry in June) called Ibex. You can't beat the stargazing there.

        The middle of Utah is pretty much Restricted Airspace. So you can head around the west side. From there, north to Johnson Creek and the airports in the area. There are some nice strips that have some good fairly isolated camping spots and hiking trails everywhere. Some even have hot springs that flow into the Big and Little Salmon Rivers. Again, a month here won't be long enough. Check dates for Super Cub flyin, will get crowded.

        More to the west is Oregon, Alvord Dry Lake Bed is a blast. Mickey Basin to the north is a little more secluded and private. This at the foot of the Steens. Then head west again, do the Oregon Pacific Coast and turn for home.

        I live about 20 miles south of Albuquerque at Mid Valley Airpark (E98). Welcome to stop by. Hope this helps. Just a few ideas.
        Thanks too much,
        John Bickham

        Los Lunas, NM Mid Valley Airpark E98
        BH Plans #1117
        Avipro wings/Scratch
        http://www.mykitlog.com/users/index....er&project=882

        Comment


        • #6
          Idaho in June can be beautiful or it can be wet; it is not usually smokey till July. The wilderness airspace gets really busy around the time of the SC fly-in so if solitude is your thing then avoid the area at that time. There isn't a strip in the Idaho wilderness that requires bush wheels, 8.50s are completely adequate. Moose Creek, Indian Creek, Thomas Creek, and Chamberlain Basin are some of my favorites for camping but it really depends on what your looking for.

          Utah is getting hot by June but is doable if you don't mind the heat. I'm not very familiar with the strips down there but Mexican Mountain is a cool place, Hidden Splendor is cool and Mineral Bottom is pretty good too. When I camp I want some body of water near by and these three strips have that. Many of the Utah strips don't.

          I've never flown MT but there is some cool strips up there.

          If it were me I'd have several places picked out and head west with the plan of spending the early part of the trip in UT and the latter part in ID/MT. As you head west go where the weather is good.

          My BH should be ready to head for the backcountry by mid June so maybe we can plan to meet up.
          Scratch Built 4-place Bearhawk. Continental IO-360, 88" C203 McCauley prop.

          Comment


          • #7
            Weather and temperatures are definitely a concern. I don't expect that we'll do a full tour of SW and NW? Camping/backpacking and hiking are priorities. We're not planning to spend all day, every day flying. ID is probably better with respect to temperatures. However, the SC fly-in is right smack in the center of our schedule. ...haven't decided yet.

            If it were a cool and dry enough season for UT, that would push it up the list, but we seem to have missed cool and I don't know what types of weather to expect in mid-June. If we head that way, the Lyc 540 should help, along with weight/fuel management and doing our flying/relocating in the AM. We did our honeymoon as a backpacking trip in Capitol Reef, UT in Sept. We learned to get up early and plan our route to include cooler, sheltered locations for the afternoon.

            Esp. if we go to UT, securing the airplane in case of storms will be a concern. We have a set of Claw tie downs. I don' t know how well they will work there?

            Whee, if we head north I'll definitely be in touch. Do you have the option of heading south if we head that way?

            Either way, we'll be looking for longer strips to start with.


            Comment


            • #8
              Plenty of fun to be had if you can limit flying when the SC crowed to bombing around central ID. I wouldn't let them significantly influence your trip other than staying away from Johnson Creek.

              I doubt the Claw will hold very well in the dirt of S. Utah unless you can find a place to park where there is a good amount of grass.

              I'm unsure what my schedule will allow, I have a 6 day raft trip that overlaps with your trip so additional vacation time may be difficult. Also, I try to avoid Utah after May and before October. Still, I'd love to meet up if I can make it happen.
              Scratch Built 4-place Bearhawk. Continental IO-360, 88" C203 McCauley prop.

              Comment

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