Backcountry Pilot

[lowflyinG3 offline]

Gents,
We are going to take advantage of the beautiful weather today and go around the Owyhee's and down the Owyhee river. Got a few strips to land. We'll be on 123.45 after 11a.m. Boise area guys out there?

[lowflyinG3 offline]

Sorry no one joined us but here's how it went. Left Gooding @ 11:15 headed to a strip called "Triangle" near the Triangle reservoir in the Owyhee's. Found a new gravel bar on the Snake and a sandy area near the Bruneau dunes to check out later. Have since checked out the bar, sweet to say the least. @ 325-400' long. Started picking up turbulence just short of the Owyhee's. Arrived over Triangle to check it out but decided not land due to the wind and the fact that most of it was flooded (like over Bushwheel capacity!). Then proceeded to the SW to check out a strip called Cliff's found it to have a horse arena on the east end of it, same deal with the wind. Then proceeded over the Owyhee river canyon and landed in the desert to dump two fives of juice in (no fuel over that way). Really isolated flat about 30 E,SE of Rome we landed and the BW's handled the sparse rock there was just fine. Then we headed towards the Alvord desert. I proceeded to need "skill at the stop" in some funky rotor making an approach to a ridge top in the gusts. Decided to leave that place for another day as well! We made it about abeam Coyote lake (didn't want to go through the fuel and find something to shred later) and turned back NE toward Rome state. Flew over it but didn't land, it was too big and scary! Then north up the highway, scouted the strip in between Rome and Burns junction (fence across the south one third, water logged and house close by), then up to the fire strip(s) at Burns Junction. These cross runways must have been the finest manicured gravel I have ever been on, looooooong and smoooooth. Took off to the SE and went east to the Rome Svc. strip which was absolutely a lake at the time. At Rome Svc. we picked up the Owyhee river and headed north up to the reservoir. Scouted four or five places on the river/reservoir to land but again real turbulent below the rim and not much fun that day. Went up as far as the Reservoir strip (water on it too) and then east to Homedale. Landed in the corner of a hay pivot at a dairy then went to Caldwell for fuel. After Caldwell we landed at a nice little strip in Kuna south of BOI to check on the progress of an S-Cub that's being worked on. From there towards mountain home we landed in the desert near some MXer's for effect. Funny reactions (that's funny-ha,ha not funny-peculiar) from them. Then a few miles NW of Mountain Home we spotted a new dually water logged in a river bottom so I landed near it and we walked to it calling the Sheriff to see if it was stolen or not. Turns out they had just found out about it but hadn't drug it out yet. From then on it was pretty slow with a h/w. To my dismay all of the rain and melt has been reclaiming some of my reservoir beach strips between Mtn. Home and GNG.
Overall super fun despite the headwind and turb., found some new places to land on a better day wind wise and saw some nice country. It was the first time in about seven years I had flown on Jan.1, sweet! Hope someone can come check it out with us some time. Happy flying!

[Zzz]

Man, what a choice day! You should hook up with Matt 7GCBC, I think he is a Boise guy and might want to run some sorties with you.

Zane