This summer I want to take the SQ2 and explore from Kenai to Cold Bay. I've been as far as the Kvichak River. For those that have flown to Cold Bay I'd appreciate any tips or suggestions on what to see on the trip.
Thanks.

Walrus, 10000 smokes, glass balls, Aniakchak. Not a whole lot to stop for the farther u go but worth flying it once. North River would have better ideas I bet. PM him if he don't chime in. Its his homeland.
Then there are the people infested areas- Hallo, Brooks, moraine. I'd skip those...,but people go there cause they're cool I guess.

Fly down the west side of the inlet to McNeil and follow the river up to the lake the next lake is Battle lake, it is the most beautiful color of blue I have ever seen, down to Kukaklek lake hang a left til you get to the NakNek river and follow it down to King Salmon, get lunch and fuel (have to ask around for the fuel and it is expensive). then follow the coast down to Cold Bay. Cold bay is huge and last time I was there they still had 100LL.

On the way back get fuel in King Salmon, and then follow the river up and over fly valley of 10000 smokes, you can cross the mountains into Hallo Bay and then fly down the coast you will want to check out Kaguyak crater on the way, start climbing and circle the crater lake at the top of Douglas and then cross the inlet via the Barrren Islands and come to Homer for some Flynn's Pizza and gasoline.

Fuel at Ugashik last time I was down that way. Nice folks at Painter Creek Lodge. Aniakchak crater is a must do if you are in the area lots of places to land in the crater.
DENNY

Take lots of ropes and tie down stuff. There is a reason the cabins are cabled down. Keep close eye on WX

Thanks everyone, this is the exact information I was looking for.

You can easily get stuck in Cold Bay for days on end, lots of fog and wind at times. Look for very light colored bears around False Pass, Some real nice reindeer too.

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Naknek has fuel cheaper than King Salmon by a few cents. So if you have no need to be in King Salmon per se, Naknek might be better. Rumor is there will be fuel available in Port Heiden, but that rumor crops up every winter lately, and has not happened so far. Igiugig does have fuel, and cheaper than both King Salmon and Naknek.

Phil,

I seriously doubt that you'll find a more amazing place than the Alaska Peninsula. Great advice on this thread so far. The north side of the Peninsula Bering Sea side, has massive beaches. The volcanoes are amazing.

If you see walrus, which you probably will out near Port Heiden area, be VERY conservative about flying or landing near them. If they stampede, which they do readily from disturbance, those big bulls will run over others in there way, and the Fish and Wildlife Service often keeps observers near the haul outs. Just give the haul outs a berth and a little altitude.

If you get to CDB, don't stop there.....consider going on further west, and circle Unimak Island, the easternmost island in the Aleutian Chain. I used to say that island is its own Never Never Land, a truly amazing place, and about as wild as any place on earth.

The three big volcanoes, Shishaldin (rising 9000 feet from sea level and the most perfect natural cone and very active), Isanotski Peak,and Round Top, as well as Westdahl volcano on the west end create an almost unreal landscape. False Pass on the east is the only human habitation, on the northwest end is Cape Sarichef, an abandoned Coast Guard station, and on the southwest corner you'll find Scotch Cap, which was a Coast Guard light house that was wiped off the cliff by a tsunami, along with the crew. You can still see the huge bolts that secured the light to the rock, peered over by the wave.

There is lodging in CDB, and gas. As Don noted, take good tie downs, and be prepared to wait for weather. Very low ceilings are common out there, but with decent visibility you can still get around down the beach. Windy, though. If wind is from the north, fly the Bering Sea beach. If it's from the south, fly the Pacific side....a lot more rocky, but still lots of places to land.

And there are bears. Lots of bears.

Enjoy,

MTV

mtv wrote:Phil,


If you see walrus, which you probably will out near Port Heiden area, be VERY conservative about flying or landing near them. If they stampede, which they do readily from disturbance, those big bulls will run over others in there way, and the Fish and Wildlife Service often keeps observers near the haul outs. Just give the haul outs a berth and a little altitude.

A note on the walrus...

They are usually associated with Cape Seniavin, south of Port Heiden. But this past summer a thousand or more of them moved up to Cape Greig, which is just north of Pilot Point on the beach. They are well-monitored, and they show up fine from up high. If you want to land up or down the beach from them and walk up on the bluff to get a closer look, just be sure not to disturb them.

I can hardly sleep nights thinking about this trip!

Tried that trip once from Pumice creek south of King Salmon. Didn't take long with 50 knt head wind to figure out I wasn't going to get there with fuel on board, had to turnaround and go back to where I started.

Just be prepared to wait.

Orin Seibert and I were drinking a beer at the Weathered Inn in Cold Bay once and he mentioned being stuck in Cold Bay.....again. I asked him "How come people seem always to be stuck in Cold Bay". His response was essentially that only well qualified persons are dumb enough to live here.

I never asked Orin questions like that after.

MTV

Barnstormer wrote:I can hardly sleep nights thinking about this trip!

When you planning on going?

AK_Logan wrote:

Barnstormer wrote:I can hardly sleep nights thinking about this trip!

When you planning on going?

When the wind is blowing less then 50!

But seriously, you know me I fortunate to be able to go anytime. Currently my thoughts are to combine it with my fishing trip to Chip's Alaska Rainbow Lodge which I have scheduled for Sep 1-8, maybe the Cold Bay trip first stopping at Chip's on the way back. But I'm flexible and looking for a great Wx window so I'm not in a rush.

Think about rounding up a flying partner or two for the trip. Doing it solo the first time could be, you know, like your first time

Dig into the weather underground to get some historical data on the weather. Thinking it will be ugly when you mentioned but things have been screwy the last couple of years, screwy bad!

light weight electric fence to wrap around your plane and tent and never never never put fish in your bird least the bears become interested.

Some really big moose down around ugashik inland if that is on the checklist.


Rocket

check pm for contact info...

Great info. I dream of making an Alaska trip. But always need more info before I go. Thanks for the thread for motivation and info.

Thanks for the info rocket. There are a number of folks that want in on the trip so I imagine I'll have at least one or two that will join me, which I always prefer on adventures like this. And I do have a bear fence. Now I just need summer and a Wx window.

Phil,

I would do just that for this trip: Wait for a weather window, as opposed to trying to tie the trip into another scheduled trip. The odds of getting doable weather on a given day out on the end of the Peninsula are really low.

One good thing about that part of the world, though: you can fly out there in quite a bit of wind.....if the winds from the north stay on the Bering Sea side of the mountains, if it's from the south stay on the Pacific side. I've worked cubs out there in some significant wind doing that.

MTV