Video
When you're at work and daydreaming about the things you'd be doing if you won the lottery-- flying a bush plane around the remote backcountry with nary a care to be had-- you're probably imagining white snow-capped peaks shrouded by an apron of hills covered in dark green timber, a wisp of waning fog giving way to the low angle sun of the great northern lattitudes of Alaska or Canada. You're probably not enjoying a vision of sagebrush, sand, gravel, and the fine windblown dust of a dry lakebed in northern Nevada. I didn't...until last October.
But the semi-arid high desert in the lee of the great Sierra Nevada range, just southeast of the Reno/Lake Tahoe area is a figurative and literal gold mine of play spots for the recreational backcountry pilot. There really is an abandoned gold mine, positioned on a high plateau, littered with the concrete ruins of some forgotten facility, and it makes for an interesting spot to explore if you like a little history with your airstrips. The entire area is a playground of BLM-managed land, with several smaller ranges providing landing zones from the 4,000' MSL level all the way up to 12,000' MSL. Roads, bald spots, sagebrush, scrub, sand, and dry lakebeds call to the bush pilot, begging to sample a taste of Bushwheel rubber.
The Man
Long time BackcountryPilot.org member Kevin Quinn splits his year between his home in Truckee, CA and his lodge in Cordova, AK, where he owns and operates a heli-skiing business. His profession is guiding skiers via helicopter into some of the most serious snowpack in the world, the Chugach mountains; a responsibility requiring calculated risk that few accept and one he doesn't take lightly. The rest of the year is spent closer to home near the paradise of Lake Tahoe where he keeps his 1953 Cessna Skywagon. What does a pilot with a bush plane generally spend his time doing? Aside from working on the plane, he goes looking for places to land, off the beaten path, away from any trace of civilization. And to that end, the sparsely populated high desert to the east is rich with opportunity.
So let's say you've spent a few years exploring and have racked up a good playlist of landing zones. It's too good to not share, so you start with a small informal gathering of some of your like-minded friends. The years pass, it grows. The word spreads (with a little help from the Internet.) Before you know it, there are 60-70 airplanes parked on a dry lakebed one weekend in mid-October, each of those pilots looking for a taste of the last legally landable untamed frontier in the lower 48 states. Alright, maybe that's a bit dramatic. It's fun to say.
On a beach, somewhere near a lake.
Now officially dubbed the "High Sierra" fly-in, it can only be described by reference to the other well-known party in the dust: Burning Man, which takes place late in the summer about 130 miles north on the Black Rock Desert playa. Some could say there's a major cultural contrast though-- While Burning Man disallows firearms, they're encouraged at the High Sierra, and a special shooting range area of the lakebed is designated where you can target shoot or detonate tannerite if fire danger conditions allow. As far as I know, campfires aren't allowed at Burning Man; they're huge and hot at High Sierra. And in these early days, we're lucky to enjoy something that is a rare treat: Kevin provides a catered dinner and breakfast, a keg of good beer, and a t-shirt if you've flown in. Donations are accepted of course, but I assure you he's not breaking even on this. He's just a guy who's cultivated a very special community of like-minded aviators, and has a big heart.
No one told these guys the lakes were dry.Photo: 140flyer
The Flying
Thinking about attending, but not sure what to expect for a flying experience? There's something for everyone. While a guy could certainly have a great time on 35" Bushwheels, the fun to be had on 8.50's abounds in the form of perfectly smooth dry lakebeds, meadows, and packed sand. It definitely requires some knowledge, experience, and skill on the part of the pilot but it can also be a great intro to off-airport operations. As an informal guide to the area, Kevin gives a morning briefing to the pilots who choose to participate in fly-outs, and generally small gaggles will head out to the areas that interest them or are appropriate to their equipment. Knowledge of the effects of high density altitude and high/hot/heavy performance is absolutely mandatory.
It's not without hazard though, like any unmaintained off-airport environment. And just because it's semi-guided doesn't mean it's a sure thing. Some of the lakebeds are only landable in certain spots-- the dry or "light" ones. Get into the dark colored areas and you could be digging your aircraft out of the mud over the course of a week. Roads, meadows, ridges-- everything that's been penciled onto the map is still a wild, ever-changing dynamic environment. Bring your serious face, or else just relax in camp and watch arrivals and departures, breath some dust, and visit with other pilots.
Parked at "Tailwheel Ridge"Photo: Mike Creek
The Film
When I attended last year, I was blown away. I rode down from Portland with my friend Rob in his Maule M7, and we had an amazing time. I made many new friends, some of whom I had known for years on the Internet but finally got to meet in person. I was so in awe of the concept that I filled 3 or 4 32GB SD cards with video, but it's only a narrow glimpse of the event. I rode along with Highroad in his Maule, Blackrock in his Bearhawk, and of course Rob, who has become famous for his graceful landing atop High Boy (watch the video.)
In talking with 2 other guys there, Grant Kaye and Tom Waclo, we made some lofty plans to put together a long-form documentary about the event, and in a grander context, the area. The High Sierra is such a rich and diverse setting for backcountry flying that it becomes a main character itself, one which I unfortunately was unable to develop over the course of the last year due to my own time constraints and personal life, despite a pretty hyped teaser video. Grant is Grant Kaye Photography, and one of his specialties is night time and astral time-lapse photography. You have him to thank for the amazing scenes of the desert night sky in the video. Together with fellow professional photographer Court Leve, they shot literally hundred of photos. Tom Waclo is a ski guide and paraglider pilot, and captured some amazing footage with his custom multirotor camera platform. Without these guys and their impressive footage, this little 10 minute film would be pretty mediocre.
So, apologies to all who anticipated a longer film. The footage just wasn't abundant enough to develop much more than this short edit, but it's a fun watch nevertheless. Enjoy, and consider making the High Sierra your fall fly-in adventure for 2014. At the time of this writing, it's less than 2 weeks away!
Watch this still photo come to life in the video.Photo: Zane Jacobson
Even a Mooney can do it.
