I've been asking myself the above question often lately, and ultimately the culprit is me
A couple of days became partially available on the calendar, so my Dad, my son, and I decide to move some things around, and make a quick run to Idaho.The plan of course, was to leave early. But that rarely happens, especially when my wife isn't going along to help pack. No worries, as I have really started to take the approach that once I get to the hangar, everything thereafter is vacation. The coastal fog was to the ground anyway, so I took a little extra time packing and prepping the Maule for departure. My dad was leaving out of Bandon, 20 miles to the south and it was clear there, so he launched and we planned to meet up in the air as he is a little slower in his Kitfox than we are.
I've been planning to get the Maule IFR certified, as it doesn't need much to be a fairly capable coastal marine layer buster.........but as luck would have it, just as I finished fueling the airplane, the clouds parted and the sun came out. We were wheels up at 8am. I had hoped to make it into Vines, a short strip on Big Creek in the Frank Church to camp for the two nights we were planning to be in the backcountry. I knew that a reasonable arrival time into the backcountry was going to be challenging. A morning departure from the Oregon coast and 420nm to cover in big tyre'd bush planes takes time, and since Lori MacNichol might might be watching as we fueled in McCall before we truly headed for the wilderness, I figured I better have a contingency plan, just incase there wasn't a 50kt tail wind to help us make up time across Oregon and Idaho
We landed in McCall at 1:30pm (losing an hour flying east always catches me off guard), fueled, and even though I didn't see Lori on the ramp we decided that the DA was to high to safely go into Vines. The wind was calm on the ground and so we decided to launch and see what the wind felt like in the mountains before we committed to landing at Johnson Creek. If it got uncomfortable, we would turn around and land back in McCall and walk to the lake.
The flight was smooth over the mountains and into JC. The dry grass caught me off guard, but the place was pleasant as always with great people to meet and old friends to catch up with. I'll let a few pictures tell the rest of the story.
Popcorn from McCall Aviation....always a hit!
It was HOT......but not a problem when you have a fishing rod
This Kid caught some really nice Trout!
JC's got it all, even the playground equipment is top notch
The next morning we headed into Lower Loon for Breakfast. The food was great and they were very happy to see us
Beckett and my Dad having breakfast at Lower Loon
After breakfast, we headed down the Middle Fork and turned hard left up Big Creek. We landed Soldier Bar and Cabin Creek on our way up Big Creek to Vines
Settling in at Vines for the Day
Beautiful camouflage fish
Passing the time until it cools off enough to safely depart Vines
The Big Creek drainage faces west, so the sun doesn't go behind the mountains like it does at JC......It didn't really cool down until just before sundown.
X-ray pondering the looming departure in the heat.....
Back at JC remembering the good times of the last two days in the backcountry before bed
Another great trip to the mountains. It was nice to catch up with old friends and make a few new ones, as well as spend time enjoying the great outdoors with my dad and son. We took our time the next morning getting packed up and headed back to McCall for fuel and good food at the Pancake House.
In a way, this trip was healing for me. Several of the people I last flew Idaho with are in my phone under "gone west, see you in heaven". This has weighed heavily on me, and I don't think I will ever fly those mountains, or ride a borrowed airport bike, or eat at the Pancake House without feeling a hollow spot in my heart. But slowly I can feel the burden lifting. They will always be remembered..........
