Atlin Lake

I am always fascinated by stories of what people do with their airplanes and where they go. Totally mundane or completely exotic makes little difference.

One of my favorite trips thus far has been a year–end bonus for my crew. We had been working hard all summer and were in need of some R&R.

My wife Janis called over and booked a forty foot houseboat for the last weekend of the season on Atlin Lake in British Columbia, Canada.

To get our group of seven people to Atlin we used my dusty, trusty winged steed, a 1947 Stinson Voyager, and my friend’s quick-as-a-snake Commanche 260.

We live and work in one of the most breathtakingly beautiful areas in the world, Haines Alaska. We are on the “inside passage” just about 90 air miles from Juneau. As fine as our area is it is good to see new country.

We fueled up the planes, then stuffed in groceries, bedding, clothes and fishing gear for the trip. Not heavy, but bulky, you know what I mean? I launched first, ‘cause I am slow, then Dave took off. We needed to only fly sixty miles or so but as everything here is standing on edge we needed to climb about eight thousand feet in ten miles to clear the ridge.

Loaded to gross we didn’t exactly climb like a rocket. I flew in climbing circles, then flew down the channel a ways to climb. The engine was getting hot and I kept trying to figure out what was going on. Dave was up higher and looking for me to join up. I was looking out the side window for Dave’s Commanche when I noticed the trailing edge of my wing didn’t line up straight. Ah ha! Flaps left with one notch applied. Ok for take off with a load, but not so good for cooling in a prolonged climb. I reached down past the fishing poles and released the flap handle.

Hey! That’s better, Dave was asking where I was and I hurried to catch up. The clouds over the glaciers had started to climb and I had to go to 9500 feet to clear them. After struggling over the hill it was about three minutes in level flight and down we went.

The valley ahead of us was glorious. The sun shining on the lake, hundreds of islands below, adventure awaits. We joined up on the decent into Atlin and looked for the airport. You’d think an airport would be easy to see but there was an awful lot of country out there. Dave’s GPS gave us a direction and the chart started to line up with the land below. Oh, there it is. Hmmm, swing out over the water and come in low, the threshold is nearly on the shore. We landed on the gravel runway and taxied over to the only building on the place. We had been told to check in with customs on arrival but there was no one there. We found a phone by the fuel dock and called in, hey that new CAN-PASS program is neat. They said OK you’re checked in, have a good time!

Three days of cruising the twisting channels, fishing, cooking on the beach, and spotting game left us rested and refreshed. What a great destination and a great way to use our planes.

On our return we flew around the lake spotting other places to explore on a future trip and then under cloudless skies scooted through the pass into Lynn Canal and Skagway.
U.S. customs was not as painless but still, a $25.00 decal and a twenty minute wait and we were off for home.

As “43 Charlie” and “94 Papa” swooped in to land in Haines we were sunburned, tired, happy and refreshed.

What’s one of your favorite trips?

SHANE HORTON

That is a beautiful part of the world. I drove from Whitehorse to Skagway and then ferry to Haines last summer and all the way all I could think of was how nice it would be from the air.... of course until the hieght of land where the clouds were down to the highway. Ate halibut 3 nights in a row. Great part of the world and a pile of helicopters.

You were in my hometown and didn't stop in and say HI, shame on you.

Glad you like the area and had a good time. It is a gorgous place to fly but gets sort of scary sometimes.

Shane