So, last Friday morning, after watching the weather all morning and wondering if the forecast was going to hold, we decided to give it a try knowing that we might have to just come back and do it another weekend, which we were ok with. The morning low ceilings and fog gave way to blue skies to the west. Unfortunately, it didn't last long. A weak low was making its way from the Elko area towards the Southeast and, when we got to ENV, it was dark and mountains to the west were socked in. So, decision time: go northwest around the back side or go south towards the break between lows that we had seen, and were seeing on radar. We chose south and, with Clover control's blessing, we wandered down through the restricted airspace south of the Wendover area. Kind of cool since that was some new country that I'd not seen before. The bases were holding but the mountain tops were obscured. Making sure we always had an out, we picked our way over several mountain ranges and valleys working our way to the southwest. We saw some really pretty country! About an hour east of Tonopah the weather opened up and we had mostly clear skies.
At Tonopah, we found winds 31 gusting to 36 out of the northwest...mostly down the runway...and it was cold! After a quick fuel and pit stop, we were on our way for the last 45 minutes to Chicken Strip. Surprisingly, it was a pretty smooth ride all the way in and we had a beautiful approach from the valley to the northeast of the strip. With a little bit of a crosswind from the west, we soon were on the ground. Man, the strip is in great shape! The swells are a lot less prominent than they were 2 years ago when I was there for my first time. As was mentioned on another thread, someone has taken in a really nice fire pan. So thank you whoever you are!
We set up camp, had dinner, and wandered over to the hot springs in the dark to use the restrooms and to chat with a group of motorcycle riders around the fire pit. On our way back to the strip, the wind had really picked up and soon it began to rain! Intermittent big drops at first, but by the time we were back in our tents, it was coming down in sporadic lashes of big drops. The wind blew like crazy all night long and the rain lasted until late in the night.
When we woke up the next morning, it was still blowing and was cold. The fire felt good and the extra wood left there the week before by Osco Loco was appreciated. Thanks Cal! Since only Dee was ready for the marathon, we had already decided not to do that, but we had planned on running/hiking to Golden Canyon from Furnace Creek. But since the wind was strong out of the north, we spent the first half of the morning around the campfire staying warm. We decided to go for a hike and soak, got ready, and about the time we were walking away from the campsite, the wind stopped, just like someone turned off a switch! We all just looked at each other and said if we were going to try to get to Furnace Creek for lunch, we had better go. So, we piled into the plane and took off. With our gear out of the plane, I was wondering how it would do with four adults on board. I was happy to see it use only half of the runway. It was actually ready to fly well before then but I wasn't aggressive on the rotation.
At Furnace Creek, we helped a Mooney from Elko check that his gear was indeed down and locked before landing and walking in to have lunch at the 49er's Café. The Las Vegas Astronomy Club was there with telescopes at the general store as well as the airport. They let us look at the sun to see sun spots and solar flares. It was pretty cool and nice of them to share what they are passionate about. Since it was late in the day, we had decided to forget the run and just do a hike back at Chicken Strip. The folks from the resort were nice enough to give us and our bag of wood a ride back to the strip and soon we were on our way. We flew over Golden and Mosaic Canyons on the way back as well as the Racetrack and the tram on the west side of Saline Valley. By the way, Nellis was very helpful in letting us know if there was any activity in the area.
Back at Chicken Strip, we spent the rest of the afternoon hiking to the peace sign on the mountain and soaking with the nudists. On our way on the hike, we stopped by to see Lee and drop off some chocolate chip cookies and tomatoes, as well as some toilet paper to the bathrooms. It was a nice hour or so hike up to the peace sign. If you go to the top, it is steep on loose volcanic rock, so wear some good shoes! From there we bee lined it too the Palm Hot Springs and had a nice soak. We had warned our spouses of the potential of being joined by some people in the buff and it wasn't long we had a couple of guys and a lady join us. So they got the full experience!
Soon it was time to check out the rock art and get back to camp for dinner. The wind had stayed away all day and it was just as we had hoped it would be. The rest of the night we enjoyed good company around the campfire before retiring to watch some stuff on our iPad in the tent. I had planned on needing to ferry out people and gear the next morning, but after crunching the numbers and seeing that the difference between our added gear and the fuel we had burned off the day before was only an additional 50 pounds, I knew we would be ok. So, we broke camp after breakfast and loaded the plane. While taking down our tent, Dee found a little friend under our tent, a little scorpion. First one I had ever seen, though I'm sure they are all over the place! It wasn't long and we were on our way. At 90% of max gross weight (4 adults, gear, and 27 gallons of fuel) and this time being more aggressive on the rotation, we were airborne and climbing away at 500+ fpm in less than half the 1,300 feet of available runway. Granted it is down sloping and at roughly 1,200 feet MSL, but I've been really happy with how this plane performs!
After a quick fuel/pit stop/and weather upload in Bishop, we were on our way home with a 10 knot tailwind. Back at Ogden, we quickly offloaded our friends and gear, put Adam's seat in and took off for Preston, Idaho to pick the kids up from Grandma's house. Thanks to the use of the plane, even with the trip to pick up the kids, we were back home in Utah in time for the kickoff of the Super Bowl. Got to love it!
It was a great weekend to a really cool place. Thanks to those locals and the RAF that have worked so hard to get and keep this place and to keep it in great condition. There are now three nice tie downs with chains and ropes. All in all, 11.4 hours of flying for the weekend (10.2 for the round trip to Chicken Strip with a 10 gph average fuel burn) and an awesome trip with some great friends. Also it was our first camping trip alone since we have had kids, so it was a nice change of pace.
On our way
Picking our way through the weather.
Happy passengers with lots of room.
Entering Saline Valley from the northeast.
Securing the plane. Good thing because it rained and blew hard that night!
Our camp at Chicken Strip.
Sunrise over camp.
Warming up around a nice fire.
Dee and I at Chicken Strip
Dee checking out solar flares at Furnace Creek.
Hiking up to the peace sign at Chicken Strip.
At the top with the hot springs in the background.
A soak after the hike felt great!
Dee and some of the rock art.
Sunrise over the oasis.
Chicken Strip before sunrise.
A little surprise under our tent.
