Hey folks, been awhile since I have posted a trip report on BCP. My wife, son, the dogs and I are planning to leave this coming weekend with a plan to do some exploring in the beaver on wheels. I'm targeting good camping/hiking/kayaking spots that we have not visited before and thought I'd post a pre trip thread to see if anyone has suggestions for us. I'll start out with a couple photos and a rough route/stops I put in foreflight. The goal is the Montana backcountry as I haven't done much flying/camping out there and we have roughly a week to explore.

A couple of notes:
It looks like there is a fire and TFR just south of Stehekin so we will keep an eye on that.
Ryan Field requires a digital briefing/permission through the RAF website https://theraf.org/ryan-field/ I need to look at this further
I think we want to spend some time at Schafer....I have not figured out what the river access is like there, but hoping we can explore this.
Has anyone camped at West Yellowstone airport lately? I camped there in our Pacer back in 2009ish I think?
Would be great to meet up with people if you are in the area.

Brent

nice!

Dude…you got a Beaver???? That’s insane. So cool.

I’m in GP right now. Come say hi

Nice Beaver, who doesn't like to look at the occasional bit of airplane porn.

Schafer Meadows has easy walking access to the river. Camping is generally near the east end of the strip, the Forest Service Cabins are about the middle, and there's a gate and trail there that leads to the river....maybe a couple hundred yards, easy trail.

I would skip Spotted Bear and visit Meadow Creek instead, unless that's already on your plan.....identifiers got piled up in that 'hood.

Polson for gas/food. Say hi to Willie Stene.

West Yellowstone camping should be fine. The terminal has been rebuilt, and I haven't been in the terminal since, so don't know what the cafe is like there. The medevac folks immediately adjacent to the campground can and will give you lots of good intel there. The campground probably hasn't changed much since you were there.

Driggs: If you're planning to go to Jackson or Grand Teton from there, be advised that the highway over Teton Pass had a MAJOR slide event, and that road is closed, and likely will be for the foreseeable future....a really big bad slide, fortunately nobody hurt.

Let me know if I can help with anything, I'm in Bozeman KBZN.

MTV

MTV,
Great information, thank you!

The weather is looking a bit interesting with unpleasant winds on the east side of the cascades and some possible snow in Montana the beginning of the week.

I got a few nights in a cabin at Ryan, to keep our options open if the snow really does happen out there Monday/Tuesday.

Most likely going to stay south tomorrow, skip Stehekin (40kt's and thunderstorms possible) and see how the weather really shakes out. Sunday's forecast looks like it might be decent to get into Montana, so we will see how it plays out?

If you need anything in the Kalispell area, I'm just west of there. OMT6 "Hanson". Doesn't look like the prettiest week to be here, but they've been wrong before!!
Enjoy!!!
John

Sounds like a great trip! Your a week early or you could have gone to the “Round Engine Roundup” here in Idaho Falls.

I’ve never camped at West Yellowstone but a friend used to camp there every year at this time. It was a breakfast stop for the Roundup so a crew would fly up, camp out and make breakfast for all the round engine guys. Sounds like the facilities are pretty nice.

Idk anything about what’s at Driggs. The diner on the airport closed but it recently opened with new owners, I think. There was a RAF guy that lived in Driggs who was pushing for camping and bikes and he made those things happen but idk what they are like.

If you feel like it, let me know when you’re around. Maybe I can skip out other stuff and see if my plane still flies…

We’ve been having a great trip. Weather has been cold and there was a bit of wind to deal with Saturday, so we spent Saturday night at Big Bar in Hells Canyon. Was a pleasant 60* in the bottom of the canyon. Looks like it snowed in Joseph Sunday night?!?
We are at Ryan Field camping in the cabins. Nice not to have wet tents with the rain and shelter to cook under. We’ve been having fun perfecting our bbq recipes with the weather delay! Beautiful spot the RAF has put together!
Hopefully headed to Schafer tomorrow if the rain shuts off early enough, we will see.

If you depart Saturday from Southern Oregon, please stop in for coffee on the way to 6S9!
We're right under your flight path at 1WA2 for the coffee fly-in from 8am to 11am (or so). The only catch is that my longest runway is 2200'

Cheers!

Which 1/3 of that 2200 would you like him to use?

TR

Jealous of your "backcountry" strips that look like putting greens. Who maintains them? Have access to a Beaver on wheels that I'm kind of reluctant taking into the backcountry because our strips are overgrown - and the Beaver has a 50' span instead of the more normal 30' that volunteers clear for.

Sweet Beav... I was just in West Yellow this past sunday, just a lil morning trip. Choice aviation has free bikes to town. The smoke jumper cafe has moved into town as I've heard. I think it's a food truck? I've never camped there before but my friend did last month with only great things to say. I'll be up at Henrys Lake strip tomorrow maybe I'll see you fly over. After the frosty night last night were due for a lovely week all around the area, hope your trip is going well and you missed the snow/cold last night.

mathiasrust wrote:The smoke jumper cafe has moved into town as I've heard. I think it's a food truck?

What a shame! I ate there just a few years ago but some fast research online this morning suggests that yes, they moved into town. Must be a lot easier for them to make money from the tourists driving through rather than those that are flying in and out.

Made it home today after a week of adventuring, what a great trip! The freedom that we have to fly around this country is astounding, and we should never take that for granted. The highlights for us had to be the people we met along the way. Some had seen this thread on BCP and made sure to come over and say hi and offer up anything we might need, others were interested in the flying machine we were traveling in, or the dogs we had with us. A standout memory for us was kayaking down the middle fork of the flat head river near Shafer, when my wife and I came across a bachelor party on the bank of the river.......they insisted we pull over and have a few drinks with them. We were already running a bit late and our son was waiting for us back at camp, but our curiosity got the better of us and we beached our kayaks. The laughs and stories that followed, even though we never got out of our boats, will be told around many camp fires to come! Here are some photos that show a small part of our week long adventure. The goal was to visit places we hadn't been before, and we succeeded. We also wanted some familiarity so we spent our last night at Reds on the Minam river and had food and drinks at Minam lodge, a great way to ease us back into the comforts of home after a week of "roughing it".

17hrs of flying, 425 gallons of fuel and about 1000 sticks chased by the dogs

Brent







Are we there yet?


Will this stick fit in the beaver?


Is the rain ever going to stop?




These mules walked into our camp at Shafer and took over our fire!


Headed for breakfast at Minam Lodge


The final route


Back in the barn, time to dry out all the gear

So awesome Brent! You guys are the best.
Sounds like the perfect trip! And to top it off, in a beaver! Does it get any sweeter?

Thanks for sharing!

Thanks Kristian,
Pretty special getting to fly this piece of aviation history around. There was a nice Pacer at the John Day airport when we stopped for fuel on the way home yesterday. This trip brought back a lot of good memories for the family.

Great stuff Brent!

Wish that we could have joined you guys for all or part of it.

Would love to plan some adventures later this summer or during the fall.