Just want to say thanks to all the fine folks we met at Johnson Creek! This was our fist time out there and we had a wonderful time. We are hooked. Here is our report:
Kitty and I left Bismarck ND on Thursday the 26th of June early in the morning.



We hopped over to Mandan to buy the cheaper self-service gas. After spending two hours fixing a flat tail wheel, we were on our way. Dodged some thunderstorms and noon brought Fuel and burger king in Billings.


We then camped overnight at the Livingston Airport.


It was at the Livingston airport where we met Don from Ohio.



Friday morning we headed to Johnson Creek together.





Flying in the mountains was much more intense than I had anticipated! We were quite content to just stay on the ground for a few days!
What a beautiful place! It was so great to meet new people with similar interests.


Dale and Denise took us "under their wing" literally. We followed them and their Stanley Screamer to other airports. They were such a blessing to us.


our first stop was Big Creek. We did the 13 mile hike to Logan Lake. Wow Spectacular! Great fishing too.



To make a long story short, we did several back country strips. Loved the Camping. Are totally hooked. Will be back next year. Will schedule some mountain flying instruction. For me it was the trip of a life-time.

skymaul....nice pictures. How was the fish? I am not a fisherman, but I like the way you are cooking them. John

Mark,
Looks as if you and Kitty had a great time. It certainly gives me the motivation to continue training for next year. Who knows I maybe able to talk Georgine (better half) to come along. I'll convince her to do the photo story.
Thanks for Sharing your experience.
Fly Safe
Bill

Mark and Kitty, Glad you made it home safe. It was great meeting you both. Hope to see you again next year up there. THere are a whole lot of strips you have yet to visit...... Fly safe till then. .. Butch,,,"Iceman" PS. Next year if you haven't by then We'll do those fly casting lessons.....

Nice pics, Mark. It was nice to meet you and your wife.

I love that last pic of the trout roasting over the fire.

Thanks for the Kind remarks in your replys. John, I have to admit I learned this cooking tecnique from Dale the Stanley Screamer driver.

Bill, we look forward to seeing you next year out there.


Butch, I will definitely take you up on the fly fishing lessons. Possibly even a day of fishing? No more sitting around yellow pine! BTW, I didn't see the donkey. Did you?

Zane, all I can say is you are a very entertaining writer. Zany is a good word for your work. Very good. Glad to have met you.

Mark

Good to meet both of you, Kitty & Mark, and thanks for the ride into Yellow Pine.
HC

hicountry wrote:Good to meet both of you, Kitty & Mark, and thanks for the ride into Yellow Pine.
HC

Great to meet you too, Ernie!

Mark and Kitty, it was great to meet you both, see you next year and thanks again for your invite for breakfast.
Bruce

Great pictures skymaule! I really like that way you pack your Maule. I couldn't help but notice you and I have the same Coleman cooler. Mine gets so heavy that I have to push it up against the seats so it doesn't upset my CG!

I am sorry I didn't get to meet you two, but I was only there for a few hours. I had a couple of riders that I had to get back and I didn't bring any camping gear. I hope to make it longer next year and meet more folks. I liked your pictures and story. And, yes the Idaho back country can humble a person with it's enormity. But, It is a beautiful part of the world. Bob

Mark,

It was good to meet you guys. How was the hike to Logan Lake? Dee, Adam and I have been wanting to do it. I have just been wondering how badly carrying him on my back is going to kill me. Glad you made it home safely and we look forward to seeing you next year.

Cory, Dee, and Adam

Skystrider wrote:Great pictures skymaule! I really like that way you pack your Maule. I couldn't help but notice you and I have the same Coleman cooler. Mine gets so heavy that I have to push it up against the seats so it doesn't upset my CG!

They sure do hold a lot! We had 230 pounds of stuff. Next year our goal is to cut it in half!

bmuggoch wrote:Mark and Kitty, it was great to meet you both, see you next year and thanks again for your invite for breakfast.
Bruce

Bruce,
We look forward to getting to know you better. The invitation is still open.

Mark

skybobb wrote:I am sorry I didn't get to meet you two, but I was only there for a few hours. I had a couple of riders that I had to get back and I didn't bring any camping gear. I hope to make it longer next year and meet more folks. I liked your pictures and story. And, yes the Idaho back country can humble a person with it's enormity. But, It is a beautiful part of the world. Bob

Bob, perhaps we can get aquainted next year. I do remember seeing a shiny 182 there. I like your pics.

Mark

Grassstrippilot wrote:Mark,

It was good to meet you guys. How was the hike to Logan Lake? Dee, Adam and I have been wanting to do it. I have just been wondering how badly carrying him on my back is going to kill me. Glad you made it home safely and we look forward to seeing you next year.

Cory, Dee, and Adam

Cory,
Kitty and I are casual runners and relatively new to hiking, mountaineering or backpacking. It was a bit of a stretch for us. Nothing was too steep. It was just a very long hike. Beautiful though. We really enjoyed it. The creek we had to cross was the biggest challenge. On the return trip it had risen about six inches and was too swift for the ladies to cross. We had to go upstream and find a log for them to cross.
See you next year friend.

Mark

haven't tried this yet so here goes. This is a clip of going into Thomas Creek. We had a great day there. We hiked up to Sunflower hot springs. Caught and released some fish.

<object width="400" height="300"> <param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /> <param name="movie" value="http://www.vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1319470&server=www.vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" /> <embed src="http://www.vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1319470&server=www.vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="300"></embed></object><br /><a href="http://www.vimeo.com/1319470?pg=embed&sec=1319470">Thomas Creek Landing</a> from <a href="http://www.vimeo.com/user596677?pg=embed&sec=1319470">Mark and Kitty Burke</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com?pg=embed&sec=1319470">Vimeo</a>.

Mark,
Most excellent! You motivate me to achieve!
ERIN GO BRAGH!
Bill

Nice video, Mark! Glad to see you using Vimeo.

I just copied what you did Zane. Thanks.

Mark & Kitty

I enjoyed our to short of visit, next time I go to Wisconsin I will have to stop in and say hi.

Dont plan on us doing a bunch of that walking stuff though I wouldn't want mess up my weight and balance.

Take Care

Floyd

We will look forward to that visit Floyd!

Great pictures and video skymaule! Thanks for sharing them