Zzz wrote:Great TR! Good job keeping a positive outlook. First time flying in Canada can be a little weird. I was chewed out by ATC landing at Kamloops because I treated it like an untowered field by overflying and entering on a 45 to the downwind. Well, it's not untowered. The tower is just a few provinces away. In my defense they never gave me instructions on pattern entry.

Thanks for the updates. We'd better see that bass soon.

The Canadian pilots and ATC folks have been nothing but great. Kamloops FIC (Flight information center) has been super helpful. They’ve even walked me through step by step who to call and when…. Just had that hiccup with customs…
The bass may make an appearance at some point…. He is shy…

tedwaltman wrote:Thank you for the great updates and pictures!

I’d be thankful (please post, PM, call or email me) what the issues were with Canadian customs. I try to keep the info/procedures updated on the “Customs” page of http://fly2ak.com. Perhaps there are some steps and reminders I could add?

I’ve cleared Canadian customs twice in last 30 days by private aircraft. 5 min first time and maybe 10 minutes three days ago. No issues whatsoever. Totally pleasant experience.

Stuck in Mackenzie today waiting on weather in the Trench to clear.

Ted [email protected] or 303-378-4987

I’m gonna make a post at the end of my trip with a focus on “What I learned”. The customs stuff will be part of that. I’ll also be glad to update you for your site. I’ve done a bit of research and I’m pretty sure that Officer May was a bit out of line…. Of course, he had a bigger stick, so I just said “Thank you sir, may I have another?”

daedaluscan wrote:I have waited 25 mins and 35 mins recently to speak with a Canada Customs officer. So factor in a little time for your two hour arrival notice.

Good thought. I got right through on my notice; but I was actually quite surprised.

kg wrote:You might want to make a stop in Kenai.

Kenai has the absolute best airport cafe. Not kidding. It's waaaay above average. On wheels you can park at transient parking and be just steps away from the best breakfast or lunch you've ever had at an airport. Brother's Cafe, in the terminal.

From the airport it's a short walk to grocery stores, hotels, restaurants, and Home Depot. If I'm not tied up I can give you a ride if needed.

Camping is allowed on the airport but... the camping area is over at the float pond. No easy way to get there with an airplane on wheels.

Lots of fishing here but not by me so I can't help you much there.

I'm nearby. Look me up if you decide to stop in Kenai. I'll pm you my contact info.

Happy Flying,
Keith

Kenai is on my definite list. As soon as I’m done with my float refresher in Moose Pass…. I’ll reach out when I have a more definitive timeframe.

The Northern BC Flight Club’s trailer. Great place to stop.

I got up at 6:00 am. Immediately called Kamloops FIC (great, helpful, people!!! Can’t say enough how good they are at analyzing the weather data. They know their stuff. They aren’t like me and say, “Well, I see a lot of green, yellow and red with lightning bolts. That’s bad…”. They actually understand the fronts and the underlying issues causing the weather. They also know things about the particular route you are on. For instance between Prince George and Smithers, the briefer told me where the clouds bunch up and cause problems, to watch out for that spot and how to get around it. Really great.


On the way to Smithers. I just can’t get enough of the Canada scenery…

My plan was to fly to Mackenzie early this morning and then try the trench. The briefer told me what he thought would happen to me, which was that I’d make it fine to Mackenzie, then I’d sit there all day. When the weather cleared on Thursday (later in the day), I’d probably be able to make it up the trench. However, if I wanted to clear the weather earlier, since it was moving East, then I should take the Kassair route to Dease Lake, Teslin, Whitehorse…. So, he felt my best bet was to head to Smithers and wait out the weather there. I called Smithers, first of all asked if they had 100LL, which they did. Then I asked the (apparently non fisherman) person if there was any good fishing in the area. He assured me that the Burkley river is an AWESOME fishing spot that I could get to on my bike. I added 2 and 2 together carried 3 and added 4, decided that I’d head to Smithers and rest, recreate and fish.

Smithers; Nice place to stop and camp. They have a campfire ring and a porta-john and a picnic table.

I loitered a little bit, availed myself of the amenities at the BC flying club trailer, then flew a quick hour and a half flight over to Smithers along a beautiful river and over some of the most gorgeous lakes… etc. I tied down the plane, set up camp and called the local guide to see if he’d take me steelhead fishing. He informed me that that steelhead fishing at Burkley river IS awesome, however, we are about 2-3 weeks too early. He recommended I head to Oscar’s Fly shop in town and they could hook me up. (Puns are always intended, even if they aren’t.). I wandered around and looked at all the cool planes and helicopters at Tsayta Air and coming and going. Smithers is a pretty busy place. Lot’s of mining going on, apparently.

I relaxed for awhile and unwound a little. Meditated a bit to refill the chakras that Officer May depleted. Then I jumped on my bike and headed into town. Oscar told me that I ‘might’ be able to catch a bull trout where chicken creek empties into the Burkley. Turns out I couldn’t. Sorry, should have took some pics. It was beautiful. I fished for about an hour and decided that there ain’t no bull trout there.

Got back to camp and called US Customs and had the customs officer walk me through the procedures, so I didn’t get in trouble with Officer May’s counterpart in Northway. He tried very hard to sell me on doing the ‘bypass’ procedure so they didn’t have to send anyone to Northway. He basically told me that if I did it that way, then I could fuel up in Tok (and grab some amazing chow across the street) then show up more or less at anytime in Anchorage or Fairbanks, so I wasn’t under a time crunch. I think he may have sold me on it; even though I think he was selling so hard because he didn’t want to make the drive to Northway.

Tomorrow’s Agenda: get up as early as I can (but not too early)…. Follow the Cassair (yeah, I know I spelled it differently this time; cain’t amember the proper spelling) highway to Dease Lake, Teslin, Whitehorse, Beaver Creek and ultimately end up fueling in Tok, then on to Fairbanks… We’ll see how that goes…

cwoolley wrote:.... show up more or less at anytime in Anchorage or Fairbanks, so I wasn’t under a time crunch. I think he may have sold me on it; even though I think he was selling so hard because he didn’t want to make the drive to Northway.

I'm sure he doesn't want to drive to Northway. I drove it last spring and that is the worst stretch of road I've ever been on. That road is in horrible shape.

If you are going to clear US Customs in Fairbanks anyway another option is to go from Whitehorse to Dawson City, which is worth a stop in itself, get some fuel, and go non-stop to Fairbanks from there. When I did this a couple of years ago the Fairbanks Customs guy kept telling me to clear in Northway and the Northway guy kept telling me to clear in Fairbanks. The Fairbanks guy finally called Northway and they agreed I could go to Fairbanks. It took multiple phone calls but it worked out ok in the end.

On the border thing: driving back into the US with a brand new Rotax in the back of my car, and all the correct paperwork, I waited 2.5 hrs for the US customs to clear me. Either it was an extremely unorganized station, or it was some sophisticated kind of security program, to see if I would crack and run. People came and went, I sat, finally an agent came out, glanced at my paperwork and the engine, and said "welcome to the US."

kg wrote:I'm sure he doesn't want to drive to Northway. I drove it last spring and that is the worst stretch of road I've ever been on. That road is in horrible shape.

If you are going to clear US Customs in Fairbanks anyway another option is to go from Whitehorse to Dawson City, which is worth a stop in itself, get some fuel, and go non-stop to Fairbanks from there. When I did this a couple of years ago the Fairbanks Customs guy kept telling me to clear in Northway and the Northway guy kept telling me to clear in Fairbanks. The Fairbanks guy finally called Northway and they agreed I could go to Fairbanks. It took multiple phone calls but it worked out ok in the end.

Yeah, I'm sure they don't like that drive...
The back and forth between the Fairbanks guys and the Northway guys is kind of hilarious, if it wasn't so frustrating.

courierguy wrote:On the border thing: driving back into the US with a brand new Rotax in the back of my car, and all the correct paperwork, I waited 2.5 hrs for the US customs to clear me. Either it was an extremely unorganized station, or it was some sophisticated kind of security program, to see if I would crack and run. People came and went, I sat, finally an agent came out, glanced at my paperwork and the engine, and said "welcome to the US."

I don't recommend the 'crack and run' maneuver. lol. I'm starting to figure out that one of the best indicators (on either side of the border) of how well/easy/smooth you clear customs is the customs agent him or herself. The experiences are so varied, and it doesn't seem to appear to matter how well-prepared a person is. Although, being unprepared does cause problems (mainly because it pisses off the agents)...

Day 3

I am having such a freaking awesome time!!! And, I haven't even caught a fish... Imagine how much more fun it will be when I've actually got into the fish... Oh what a wonderful life! As my best friend (besides my wife, of course) and business partner says, "Isn't it cool being us?"



Slept under the wing at Smithers. Famous last words, "I don't need to get out my tent, it won't rain." 4:30 am it decided to come down pretty dang hard. Luckily, I was under the wing, and it wasn't windy, so the rain was falling straight down. I just tucked my head deeper into the sleeping bag and went back to sleep. Woke up at 6am, talked to Kamloops FIC guys. They said the plan was still good and just needed to wait out the low lying mist in a few areas. Again, I can't say how great it is to run your plan past these guys. They sure seem to know their stuff. The guy basically told me that I'd be good to go as soon as Dease Lake was showing 3000' agl clouds. As soon as the Dease Lake metar got there, I was on my way.

I filed my flight plan, announced I was ready to the tower and he had me hold short for runway 33 to wait for the C-130 Hercules on approach. Couldn't figure out why I couldn't see the plane; I know they are big. Turns out I wasn't blind, he was above (or in) the clouds. He announced a missed approach just before I saw him bust out of the clouds 200 or so feet up, right over the top of me. It was quite foggy to the south, but to the north where I was heading, it was good to go. I followed behind the Herc. Had to dodge some clouds for the first hour and switched from one canyon to another to get around some low lying clouds. But never felt stressed.








Beautiful country!

That is looking toward Teslin/Whitehorse, I believe about 100 nm out. The clouds were being reported as 5000 broken, but they were actually closer to 7000.


Landed in Whitehorse just under 4 hours after taking off according to my flight timer.

Day 3 - Second Half. Had to break this up into 2 posts…. The data security police thought I was trying some sort of SQL Injection attack…. I wonder if Officer May has been talking to them…?

Fueled up and then started calling the Fairbanks Customs office to check in, as I was instructed. Officer Lopez was super nice this morning and said he'd be the one to greet me in Fairbanks at 18:00. He requested that I call when I was leaving Whitehorse to confirm when I'd be in Fairbanks. I called at 3:19 pm local time, which is 2:19 pm Fairbanks time. Their answering machine informed me that in order to give advance notice of an arrival I needed to call between 8am and 4pm, and since their office is closed now, I'd have to leave a message for a customs officer. Well, Officer Lopez told me he'd be the one to greet me at 6pm and he's the one that gave me the number to call him at.... and I WAS calling between 8am and 4pm... I left a message. No call back. Wow! I called 5 times over the next hour (never mind that I was starving to death and needed nourishment). You don't get this big and beautiful by skipping many meals and I had been stuck in a small plane with a can of Pringles, a Dr. Pepper and 2 bags of Smokey BBQ Spits. (Yeah, didn't plan that very well, did I?)

There's 52T sitting amongst the big boy jets at Whitehorse...

Anyhoo, I checked in with the Kamloops FIC to see how the weather was looking, he was very helpful said there was a bit of convective activity on my route to Fairbanks, particularly around Beaver Creek and Northway. When I asked, he said that the same flight in the morning would be stellar. Since I couldn't get Officer Lopez on the line, I called the Northway customs guys and told them I couldn't get a hold of Lopez, so I was switching plans and I would meet them tomorrow morning IN Northway at 9am. Didn't ask. Just told them. Seemed to work; he said to call before 7am to confirm (Oh no, what happens if they don't answer!!! Deja vu!!!). Officer Crumly assured me that they are there 24/7 and they will answer.... uh huh. I'm not gonna hold my breath.


Ate dinner at the joint across the street from the airport. They had these contraptions in the doorway going in. I'm not sure what they are, but I'm guessing one of you old geezers can tell me.

I am now in the Quality Inn & Suites in downtown Whitehorse. Rode my bike in. Took the shortcut that two young women suggested to me. Last time I listen to a punk rocker chick on a bike with a nose ring.

"Yeah, this trail just leads down to the stairs and you can go right into town." How many stairs???

Well, there's a few more. I'm not sure if I'll be going back UP that way.

Alaska tomorrow!!! So excited. Maybe I'll find a place to fish....

Great pictures. So nice to have a bike with you, they take up a lot of room but worth it for me.

daedaluscan wrote:Great pictures. So nice to have a bike with you, they take up a lot of room but worth it for me.

The bike is definitely a must have…

Day 4, Friday



Between Whitehorse and Northway

Flew to Northway, cleared customs. Thankfully, this time customs was a non-event. Talked to Cassidy at the FSS. It was awesome being able to talk through the different options and passes that are weather problems, etc. It was also very interesting and worth the time to just sit and watch him use all of the different weather devices, websites, etc. that are available. Some official, some not.



More Whitehorse to Northway Scenery

Another plane flew in and landed right behind me in Northway. They were from Wisconsin, I think. They were headed to Anchorage and after a long discussion with Cassidy, they decided to fly through Mentasta pass to Gulkana and wait for Tehneta (sp?) pass to clear up. I elected to fly over to Tok and eat at Fast Eddy’s, then figure out what to do. On the way to Tok, I did a low pass over the Tetlin airstrip. It looked like a great spot to go fishing and the runway was within my comfort zone. My plan was to camp there, if the weather to Fairbanks didn’t look good. Ultimately stayed over in Tok. Travelled around town, ate at Fast Eddy’s TWICE, bought some grub and supplies. Eddy makes some great food. Stayed in a very comfortable little cabin right there at Eddy’s place. Eddy’s place has free wi-fi, although it is pretty slow; the cabins also had wi-fi.


Moose in a glass house!

Day 5, Saturday

Slept in. Really needed a good rest. Felt great. Talked to the weather dudes in Fairbanks. They thought there was a pretty good window for me to get through, so I took it. Flew to Fairbanks. It was so incredible. All of the flights I have made have been almost surreal. I have to pinch myself every flight.




On the way to Fairbanks

Fairbanks International is one of the coolest places I have ever been! It’s like a carnival for planes and pilots. I seriously cannot believe all the planes. There are hundreds and they are coming and going all day. Float planes and tail draggers and jets…. So freaking cool! The airport has a pilot lounge with a shower and free Wi-Fi (and a place to charge all your electronics). The coolest thing ever is the “Air Campground”. Never seen anything like it.


52T in the Air Campground, or “Roughing it in Fairbanks”

They even have wood chopped and stacked up. Also, there is a pavilion for me and a couple dozen of my favorite people to have a BBQ. There are showers there, as well and a couple of electrical outlets at the shower/restroom. I had a ball just wandering around watching the float planes land and just looking at the variety of planes and people coming and going.

Day 6, Sunday

Went fishing for Grayling on the Chena river. Caught a bunch. Weather toward the South is sketchy, so I will likely be ‘stuck’ in Fairbanks again tomorrow. I guess I’ll have to go fish some more…. {sigh}



Chena River Graylings

You’re doing a great job with the trip report, and making good decisions.

If you want a GREAT dinner in FAI, get on your bike and head to the Thai House downtown. Bit of a ride, but worth it, and you’ll see some of “historic downtown”. Visit the Chena River in downtown, and try to image the old timers with Wien operating out of the river there in Cessna Airmasters on floats…..significantly underpowered….

You’re right, though: Fairbanks International is an amazing place. And there’s still a Flight Service Station, right across the street from the tower. And, you can walk in and brief!

Keep the trip reports coming.

MTV

Great trip reporting!

Yes, you want to wait a day or two before coming south. The gusty winds in Kenai are well above fly-line casting level .....

And very soon the silver salmon will start their annual run……by far my favorite salmon species.

MTV

Thai House in Fairbanks is very good. Another good one is Lemongrass. Very good thai food. If you are at the campground and want to walk, head to the tower and eat at East Ramp Pizza just behind the public fuel station.

Very nice read, looks like the trip of a lifetime!

mtv wrote:You’re doing a great job with the trip report, and making good decisions.

If you want a GREAT dinner in FAI, get on your bike and head to the Thai House downtown. Bit of a ride, but worth it, and you’ll see some of “historic downtown”. Visit the Chena River in downtown, and try to image the old timers with Wien operating out of the river there in Cessna Airmasters on floats…..significantly underpowered….

You’re right, though: Fairbanks International is an amazing place. And there’s still a Flight Service Station, right across the street from the tower. And, you can walk in and brief!

Keep the trip reports coming.

MTV

Thanks MTV. Trying to keep a level head… Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your perspective), I have been fishing from early in the morning until after the Thai House is closed. Lol. I did ride my bike through town and checked out the river at a few spots. I do need to get into the FSS and chat with the briefer(s).

kg wrote:Great trip reporting!

Yes, you want to wait a day or two before coming south. The gusty winds in Kenai are well above fly-line casting level .....

Thanks kg. Looks like I won’t have much choice…. But I don’t like to fly in gusty winds and I don’t like to fish in them, either…

mtv wrote:And very soon the silver salmon will start their annual run……by far my favorite salmon species.

MTV

I love silver salmon, too…

Squash wrote:Thai House in Fairbanks is very good. Another good one is Lemongrass. Very good thai food. If you are at the campground and want to walk, head to the tower and eat at East Ramp Pizza just behind the public fuel station.

I saw the pizza joint, there, but didn’t stop. Maybe tomorrow…

CompSciAndFly wrote:Very nice read, looks like the trip of a lifetime!

Thanks. I am having a ball. For sure…

Day 7 - Monday

Wow, a whole week already. Time is zipping past quickly.

No flying today, just more fishing. Caught about a zillion grayling on the Chena, mostly with dry flies today. They were all over the dries. I even got one to go after a little skated mouse…. But he missed. Lol


The colors on these grayling are amazing, especially when they are under water. Check out the pink stripes on the ventral fins…

Stopped in at Chena Hot Springs to take a couple of pics and check out the landing strip. Do they let you land there, or is it just for their use? Maybe they would let you, if you stayed at their motel?



Chena Hot Springs

BTW. Anyone have any thoughts on what this might be? Looked like a dog house, but it was out in the middle of the woods. Nothing around, except an old burned down cabin a couple hundred yards down the trail. I didn’t want to stick my head in there to see what might be in there…. I wasn’t curious enough for that.

What’s this?

Hoping that I can get to Talkeetna tomorrow. It looks possible around noon…

Wow... 8 days since my last post. I've been fishing, flying and having fun. My posts have suffered. Something's gotta give...

Day 8 - Tuesday

Woke up early did some flight planning and called Flight Services. They said that I should be able to leave around noon or so, I wasn't convinced, but hopeful.

Cooked some grub, wandered around and checked out the float plane lake and just enjoyed all the planes around. Went to visit FSS physically, because I could, and they convinced me I could make it to past Denali and through Windy Pass to Talkeetna about 2pm. I had a couple of hours, so I went to the East Ramp Pizza joint and had some great food. Very good service. Some cool old photos and memorabilia on the walls to read about while you wait for food. They also have some binoculars to check out the planes...

Left Fairbanks about 2pm...













On the way to Talkeetna... Sorry if there are too many pics. I just can't get enough of the scenery!

52T on the Tarmac at Talkeetna

The Susitna River is busting at the seems. All the weather forecasts call for flooding in the Susitna valley. Bad news for fishing. All the guides cancelled trips on Tues and Wed.

Went for a ride up the Chase Trail (follows the Alaskan Railroad north out of Talkeetna) and did some exploring. If the water wasn't so high, I'm sure I could have found some good fishing spots.

Going to camp under the wing tonight: Plans to visit Skwentna tomorrow and do some Float Training with Alaska Floats and Skis.

We were thinking about you, wondering…..

Questions from previous post: Yes, you can land a Chena HS.

And the little wood hooch is a sled dog house. Think about wintering in FAI chained to that.

MTV

mtv wrote:We were thinking about you, wondering…..

Questions from previous post: Yes, you can land a Chena HS.

And the little wood hooch is a sled dog house. Think about wintering in FAI chained to that.

MTV

Thanks for the info... Yeah, I'm alive... just couldn't fit it all in. I'll get things up to date!