Anyone been out to the Alvord lately? I've got a friend that wants to do some photography out there and is asking for a ride. Never been there myself, so any advice would be greatly appreciated. Did a search and read some of the other posts, but most are pretty old. Is now a good time to go?

I flew around up there a few months ago. I bet it's a lot nicer now than it was then! Look into stopping at fields station or denio. Both have food

Can you land near the hot springs? Where would it be best to camp?

A bit of high desert paranoia...

I am very (very) careful of wind and convection (any time of year). Leave early in the morning and have plenty of plan "B"s. I have been diverted in the Eastern Desert almost every flight due to mostly wind 35+ kts, TS, and turbulence.

I call the area the "Steen Mountain Triangle". Beautiful, but very unique weather.

Carry on Sir...

You can land near the hot spring, conditions permitting. Most pilots and planes will land about 1/4 ~1/2 mile away where the playa is flatter.

What you really want to be careful of is water on the playa. Not standing water, but soft soil/mud. It can be dusty on top and gooey mud an inch down.

This is a good time of year generally, but I don't know how much moisture they've gotten so it's impossible to tell. Aside from watching a vehicle drive across your landing area there is no way from the air to accurately appraise the conditions.

Other hazards include rebar stakes people put in for tie downs and didn't remove, random pieces of barbed wire, and gullies or hummocks you can't see from the air unless it's sunrise or sunset.

You'll only really know if it's OK to land after you do it.

I'm not trying to make it sound more difficult than it is, but it would be pretty irresponsible for anyone to say "It's great...no problem." And apparently nobody's been there really recently, or if they have they're not piping up with a pirep.

Not sure when you're planning on going, Scott, but they're forecasting around 1/2 inch of rain on Saturday in that area. It's a super cool place to go when it's nice and dry though.

Dudestickle, where is Denio? I love Fields and is the food as good at Denio?

Oregon180 wrote:Not sure when you're planning on going, Scott, but they're forecasting around 1/2 inch of rain on Saturday in that area. It's a super cool place to go when it's nice and dry though.

That would keep me out of the area. Lots of terrain draining into the playa...

As 8gcbc said, the weather out there is its own animal. Bring stout tie downs and PLEASE take them with you when you leave. The rebar people leave sticking out of the ground with maybe a beer can stuck on it for visibility might as well be a land mine for aircraft. You just can't see them.

Not enough emphasis can be placed on making certain that it is dry. If the playa is saturated and you land, you will have big problems. Call in to Fields station and/or the BLM office (Steens Mountain Cooperative) for info. When inbound, look for vehicles on the playa. Like others have said, it usually is dry this time of year, but I've seen it wet when I thought it's be dry and the other way around.

Fields Station is a nice stop for lunch, and there is a little strip really close by.

I think this would be a great time if you can get in before the rain comes later on saturday. not much precipitation lately and the fall is generally a good time to go. you will likely see a few rvs, campers, cars, ATVs, etc. that help give you an idea of how firm the surface is but if you pay attention to the color and do a low fly-by you should be fine. last year we were able to taxi nearly all the way up by the hot springs.

Not headed out there until next Tuesday or Wednesday at the earliest, probably more likely a week from tomorrow. hopefully the weather will be good I'll give the Fields station a call before I leave. Thanks for the information gentleman.

Hi scottnt,
Did you make the trip to Alvord? If so, how were the conditions?
JK

Stolhunter wrote:Dudestickle, where is Denio? I love Fields and is the food as good at Denio?

Denio is a little further south just on the Nevada side. Airstrip right next to the Gas station/bar/store.
IF they have gas, you can taxi over to the pumps and it's my understanding that it's ethanol free. They did not have gas at the pumps when I was there a couple years back.

I love the Alvord area. Willow hot springs to the southeast, Bog hot springs over the ridge and almost to the border (or go around from the south tip of the hills). Those require road landings.

Hammer wrote:You can land near the hot spring, conditions permitting. Most pilots and planes will land about 1/4 ~1/2 mile away where the playa is flatter.

What you really want to be careful of is water on the playa. Not standing water, but soft soil/mud. It can be dusty on top and gooey mud an inch down.

This is a good time of year generally, but I don't know how much moisture they've gotten so it's impossible to tell. Aside from watching a vehicle drive across your landing area there is no way from the air to accurately appraise the conditions.

Other hazards include rebar stakes people put in for tie downs and didn't remove, random pieces of barbed wire, and gullies or hummocks you can't see from the air unless it's sunrise or sunset.

You'll only really know if it's OK to land after you do it.

I'm not trying to make it sound more difficult than it is, but it would be pretty irresponsible for anyone to say "It's great...no problem." And apparently nobody's been there really recently, or if they have they're not piping up with a pirep.

Agreed! I recovered an Cessna 150 out of the Alvord a few years ago. Tailwheel conversion. He landed too close to the spring where it was wet and went down on its nose. Crunched it up.

Stolhunter wrote:Dudestickle, where is Denio? I love Fields and is the food as good at Denio?

Sorry for the late reply. I have been working a lot. Everything ground looper said is pretty accurate. Not sure about fuel yet. I talked to the new owner a few days before she opened the restaurant. I told her ethonal free fuel would really attract the pilots. She loves seeing people fly in.......as well as spend money I'm sure, but was unsure about getting the fuel up and running before now. I encourage anyone flying by to stop in and ask about ethonal free fuel. Maybe we can help get the ball rolling

geopilot wrote:Hi scottnt,
Did you make the trip to Alvord? If so, how were the conditions?
JK

Not yet. Planning on heading there on Tuesday the 3rd. Probably land on the East side somewhere to get pictures of the Steens in the background. Looks like they might get some rain there this weekend. Any PIREPs would be greatly appreciated.

Made it out to the Alvord Desert this morning. Left Hood River at sun up. Landed at Burns for fuel and a quick bite, then off to the Alvord. Surveyed the area from the air. It was fairly easy to tell where it was wet and where it was dry.





Found an area that looked pretty good, so we dragged the landing zone to make sure it was as dry as it looked. Turned out it was!


Here's where we ended up landing:




Did our photo shoot, and back home. All in all 6.2 hours of flying, and a beautiful day for it. Thanks everyone for your advice and suggestions, it was very helpful.

Nice, Scott!

Ah! Looking Northwest from the desert at the Steen Mountains! Beautiful photography.

8GCBC wrote:Ah! Looking Northwest from the desert at the Steen Mountains! Beautiful photography.

Thanks! I had help from a true professional

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Zzz wrote:Nice, Scott!

You'll have to come along next time Z.

Here's a couple more shots:





It's hot out here even in November! Can't imagine what it's like in July