I had moved from Alaska to Utah in early December of 2013 and had left my plane behind. The plan was for my best friend and me to fly the ol’ girl down to Utah the first week in May of 2014. What follows is my version of the trip, how I remember it. Keep in mind that it may not be a 100% accurate description of events, but merely my perception of the events.

On the day we left it was raining and over cast in the Valley, weather was good enough to get through Tahneta Pass and then improved dramatically. Our first stop was in Tok. We topped off with fuel, and of course, Randy ran into a guy he knew so it took us a while to get back on the move. You have to know Randy, we can be 200 miles away from the nearest town flying over a camp on a gravel bar and he will say “Hey, I know that guy”!

We were scheduled to be in Beaver Creek, YT to clear Customs at 1330 +/- 30 minutes. We got there about 1400 by my watch. We waited for 15 minutes then decided that nobody was going to come over from the Customs station so we got out of the plane and went over to the building at the airport where there was a sign with small print saying “Call CANPASS Immediately Upon Arrival”. When I called and gave them my info they informed me that I was nearly 2 hrs. late from my scheduled 1330 time. Apparently there is a time change and my 30 minute buffer was tentative at best. They griped at me a little and I apologized, I was told not to let it happen again and then we left.

Half way between Beaver Creek and Burwash the wind began to blow pretty good, ground speed down to 50 mph we decided to stop in Burwash, put in extra fuel (10 gal.) from fuel bags, check the weather, and decide how far we could make it if conditions didn’t change. The FSS told us that conditions were unlikely to change before night fall; however, the winds were 10 mph less at 8000'. We determined that it would a be VERY close call getting to Whitehorse at 60 mph ground speed but felt confident that we could make Haines Junction at 50 mph no problem and then hitch hike into town with fuel bags for mo-gas. We climb up to 8000' and our ground speed fluctuated between 60-65 mph. Just as we approached Haines Junction the wind shifted and our ground speed went to 108 mph. Needless to say, we made Whitehorse with plenty of fuel.

Next day our goal was to make Ft St John. We moseyed on over to the control tower where there was everything you need to file a flight plan, we filed ours for Whitehorse to Ft St John and off we went. Everything went well other than a tail wheel shimmy we picked up at Watson Lake and my uncanny ability to irritate every Canadian in Ft St John. Seems all the grease was getting blown out of the tail wheel, what a mess. So when we stopped for fuel we would borrow the FBO's grease gun and fill 'er up!

As for Ft St John, 10 miles out I made my initial call to the controller there and he cleared me for a "report 2 mile final to rwy 02". I reported my 2 mile final for 02 which was responded to by "do you want 02 or 20?" to which I responded "02 would be fine", the controller then says "well you'll have to go around and come in the other way then". After getting that all sorted out we landed and taxied over to the FBO to fuel up, we had been making good time and decided that there was enough daylight left to make it to Grand Prairie. So, we needed to file another flight plan. Not realizing that everything I needed to file was located right inside the FBO (yes I'm a rookie), as I had done that morning I moseyed on over to the control tower which, it turns out, is on the other side of a "Restricted Zone". Needless to say Security was waiting for me. The guard asked me "why did you so blatantly ignored the signs" to which I responded "oops, sorry I didn’t see them". I had indeed walked within two feet of them, not to mention walking over the red line on the ground. All was good though, it seems as long as you apologize profusely to the Canadians they are quick to forgive. Security was not the last Canadian I would irritate during my 30 minute stay in Ft St John. While trying to file from my cell phone I was unable to hear the FSS Briefer clearly and had to ask him to repeat himself multiple times, he did not seem to care much for me or my apologies!

We finally made it to Grand Prairie about 2045 and taxied to the FBO to top off and tie down. We could not find anyone around and the doors were locked but the sign said "Open 0500 to 2100". You guessed it, it was not 2045 it was 2145! We crossed another time zone! Grand Prairie is a very crowded and busy city that is in the midst of an oil boom. Nearly every hotel room in town is occupied by oil field workers and every parking lot is full of brand new pick-up trucks. Those hotels that have rooms available are not cheap, a very expensive night in Grand Prairie.

Next day found us wanting to make it at least to Lethbridge; we were scheduled to make our border crossing at Whetstone Int'l (H28) the next day. Flying weather had been awesome for most of the trip thus far and today would be no exception. I thought I would avoid the whole flight plan filing at the airport fiasco and filed this day’s flight plan online. Within 2 minutes of filing, I got a call from FSS asking me if I was really going to fly direct to Nova Scotia (2166 nm away), apparently I had entered an airport code incorrectly.

We arrived early at the FBO in Grand Prairie, got fuel and flew direct to Rocky Mountain House (CYRM). For the rest of the day we would see literally hundreds and hundreds of oil/gas drilling rigs and pumps. When we landed CYRM, we taxied over to the fuel pump to discover that there was no pay at the pump and the airport was void of human life. We saw a pilots lounge and decided to see if anyone was there. As we entered the building there was a large sign reading "DON’T FORGET YOUR CREDIT CARD" which seemed a little strange. Upon further investigation we discovered posted on the wall explicit instructions on where the keys to the pump were and how to operate the pump as well as use their old fashioned credit card swiper, you know the kind from your youth that requires your card be laid face up, carbon copy slip be inserted over it and then you push the slide over it! How strange, you are to pay on your honor. They also had a courtesy car there you could sign out. Very cool place.

On our way from CYRM to Lethbridge (CYQL) we decide to stay to the West of Calgary which got pretty windy and bumpy but we survived it. If I were to do it again I would seriously consider staying to the East of Calgary. Anyway, we arrived into CYQL about 1400 local time. We decide to push on across the border if we could get clearance. I called U.S. Customs at H28 and got no answer so I decided to call Cut Bank (KCTB) and see if we could cross there. I called them and explained we were supposed to cross the next day at H28 but were ahead of schedule and could not get ahold of anyone at H28. They were very nice and agreed to meet us at KCTB at 1600, KCTB is about an hour away. We were given explicit instructions to taxi into the painted square marked "CUSTOMS" and to NOT get out of the aircraft until instructed to by a Customs Official.

I called the Canadian FSS to file a flight plan and they were outstanding in their instructions on how to cross the border, i.e. who to call, when to call them, what frequencies to use and to be sure to tell them I had a "No Transponder Waiver", etc. As a side note, when you cross U.S. to Canada or vice versa a flight plan is a MUST, the cool thing is that they share/transfer your flight plan for you to the other side which is who you close your flight plan with.

We arrived in KCTB about 10 minutes early and waited nearly 30 minutes for the Customs guy to show up. Before he let us get out of the airplane, he walked around it with a Geiger Counter, you never know when a Super Cub might be carrying a nuclear warhead. Customs was very friendly but their process is much more cumbersome than the Canadians. The FBO there is a very cool place, its partly hotel and partly museum. Lots of old aviation history in Cut Bank. They also had two sleeping rooms with beds and bedding, a bathroom and a separate shower room, and a flight planning room as well as two courtesy cars. There were no fees for any of it only a request for donations. Way cool place. We decide to head into town and get fed and stay the night.

Next morning we were going to try and make it to Brigham City (KBMC), weather briefing indicated that we were going to have ceilings of 8000' - 10000' with light rain and winds 5-10 kts until going through Monida Pass just South of Dillon, MT where the winds were expected to be 220@35 kts gusting to 45 kts. We decided to press on to Dillon (KDLN) and then check the weather again. Flew to KDLN via, Helena, Three Forks, and Twin Bridges, The route from Three Forks to Twin Bridges is through a gorge which the Jefferson River flows, that was a very cool section.

We arrived at KDLN before lunch time and checked the weather again, and it was indeed blowing as forecasted. We decided to stay the night because the forecast for the next day looked real good until the late afternoon, no problem since we are only 2 1/2 - 3 hrs. away from KBMC. The next morning we were at the airport before daylight getting ready as it slowly became light and you could see to the West that some showers were moving in. All of the sudden it began to snow and visibility went down to less than a mile and the ceiling came almost to the ground, it stayed that way ALL day long. Needless to say we stayed the night again. The FBO at KDLN is run by some very nice folks who gave us a courtesy car and friendly company for the two days that we were there, the even let me move the plane into the hangar overnight before we left, all at no charge.

After 2 days at KDLN we left and had about a 10 mph tailwind resulting in a 90-95 mph ground speed, once we got to Monida Pass the wind picked up and our ground speed increased to 125-135 mph all the way through Idaho. Once into Utah the winds died down and our ground speed dropped to 105 mph. We made it from KDLN to KBMC in 2 hrs flat.

So, all in all a very good trip. Nothing got broke and nobody got hurt. We met some really nice people along the way and made some new friends. I'm sure the folks in Grand Prairie won't miss us much though, oh well.

Hey! This is the inverse of my CubCrafters trip from late April. It is an epic flight for sure, and yours was somewhat longer and more aggressive legs than mine. Did you take any pics?

Great trip report. Too bad I didn't know you were coming. I have a private strip just north east of Grande Prairie. Would have loved to put you guys up for the night. (Offer goes for anyone coming through the area) I know expensive stuff is in GP.
David

Great write up! Sounded like fun!

Post some pics if you have them!

Here is just a few pics.

Great trip report!

I dream to do this route someday.

I don't know what it is with ft St. John I've never gone in there without getting shit for something, and in about six months you will probably get a bill in the mail fore the privelage of landing there. We quit going there altogether and fuel up in fairview now, they have a credit card pump.

But...if you go to FSJ you might get to meet Dieter and Karen...well worth it.

One of the best surprises of my flying life.