Squash wrote:Oh, if the weather is good, consider a flight through Lake Clark pass. Land at Port Alsworth. Consider a trip up to Dick Proenneke's historic cabin. Lots of stuff to do out of Port Alsworth, weather permitting.

A really good suggestion here! The fishing out west is the bomb!

and... since you're from OR I expect you are a clammer... It looks like the second week of July will have good tides if you are in to that kind of thing... I brought that up here because the best clamming for you will be at Polly creek, which is just a bit out of the way if you head out west.

Being from OR, I would suggest skipping clams at Clam Gulch, or the Ninilchick areas... they won't be any better than you have at home, plus you'll deal with crowds, clam limits, and a hoof to the beach. At Polly creek you'll land on the beach, have mostly 'winged' competitors and no limits


My wonderfully nerdy wife preparing to slay clams ... word to the wise... since you will be new to this beach I would recommend that you get in the plane and fire up as soon as you see the first plane leave... The tides here can move amazingly fast

But to reiterate what others have already said.... Alaska is huge... you'll get the most bang for your buck (time wise) if you just pick a quadrant (the one with the most conducive WX) and stick around the area...

BTW.... I depart in the am... so if it's all good I will prime you with one more round of photo's and then I'm off for now!

Take care, Rob

One more suggestion with this volley of photos...

You didn't mention Anchortown... but... If you do the deed, you oughta consider overnighting at the Millennium. That way you can wake up in the am and eat a salmon mousse and fruit right on Lake Hood while you watch the morning float activity Then have a morning at the Airmans Museum for the whole family to enjoy

So back to the interior suggestions...

These are the Lakes Tebay.... this is looking back towards the Copper;



Out of many years of dropping in here this was the only time I have been there at this time of the year and found the strip unusable... If in doubt you could call Kelly Bay of Wrangell Mountain air or anyone of his pilots and ask, they are all super friendly, and all frequent the area.. (also, remember this is only a few minutes from Chitna, so unusable doesn't mean you wasted a whole bunch of time...) anyways.. it was a late melt and still to soggy. On bushwheels the simple answer is land the Tundra, but I do not recomend this approach if you are unfamiliar... Tussocks can swallow 35" bushwheels with ease... The strip is off the right wing;



Following the river out west;



Less than 20 minutes in the air you get to Childs Glacier;



And not 10 minutes later you are at the slough;



A bit farther down the road you get to Cordova, Fuel, and food . EAT AT THE RELUCTANT FISHERMAN ;



A quick jump over water gets you beachcombing for Tsunami drift on Hinchenbrook or Hawkins;



Turning north towards Valdez, you pass cool villages like Papua Tatitlick;



and then Valdez, where you CAN'T get fuel, but can get good food and rest ;



I'll shoot you a PM with my contact info.
Would be cool to cross paths!


Take care, Rob

Oh man, I'm scheduled to be out at Polly Creek on Sat July 12 for a great clamming tide. I'm on a chartered boat with several friends or we would have flown in. The Razors are great on the west side for sure!

Squash wrote:Oh man, I'm scheduled to be out at Polly Creek on Sat July 12 for a great clamming tide. I'm on a chartered boat with several friends or we would have flown in. The Razors are great on the west side for sure!

Apologies for the thread drift, but what did you guys make of that recent story in the ADN about a case of paralytic shellfish poisoning from Cook Inlet?

denalipilot wrote:

Squash wrote:Oh man, I'm scheduled to be out at Polly Creek on Sat July 12 for a great clamming tide. I'm on a chartered boat with several friends or we would have flown in. The Razors are great on the west side for sure!

Apologies for the thread drift, but what did you guys make of that recent story in the ADN about a case of paralytic shellfish poisoning from Cook Inlet?

I don't know how it works in CI but in SE there is significant PSP danger in the summer. The old timers here say that unless there is an "R" in the month, leave them alone.

As others have noted, the state is waaaaay too big to see all in one trip, or twenty. I lived and worked up there for thirty years, and flew all over the state, with the exception of Southeast, and there are thousands of places I haven't seen.

Go where the weather is good. Talk to the local pilots in the area you are at the moment.....most are friendly, and will provide you with invaluable tips on weather/landing sites, etc.

If you're going to play on beaches, talk to the locals about how solid the beaches are, particularly if you're on small tires. Some beaches work for a DC 6, others are Cub country, but only if you have big tires. AND, if you're going to play on beaches, get a tide book. They're available in every store/convenience store/gas station, etc around the coastal areas. Down around Homer/Kodiak, you've got Seldovia tides, which are the second biggest in the world (max 26 foot tidal variation over the year)....that big beach can go away REALLY fast, especially if it's not very steep.

Coming from the Northway area over towards the Wrangells, or exiting back the other way, Chitistone Pass over the Wrangells is as spectacular a route as you'll find. Takes clear skies and it's high, but great scenery.

The Air Camper Park in FAI is great. Bicycles provided by the 99s, free to use. The local pilot's group used to have local pilot volunteers visit every other evening to talk to visitors, and provide information on the interior.

Thousands of other places to go and see. Go where the weather's good, be flexible. If you get weathered in somewhere, explore that place till the weather's better.

Talk to the locals!

MTV

My wife and I are headed to Bettles from Anchorage over the 4th of July weekend, possibly with another plane in trail. This will be my first trip up there, so no local knowledge from me, but if the adventure turns you North we would be happy to keep you company. The following weekend I'm flying out to King Salmon and beyond to do some fishing. If you would like, you are welcome to tag along... You would have to fly circles around my Pacer though...

http://www.bettleslodge.com/new/bushbash2.html

I was at the first Bush Bash 2 years ago. It was a great time. If anyone is around the arctic that weekend, you should drop by.

Lots of great advice in this thread from very well traveled individuals. Wish we were joining you guys, Kristian!

I'll second the "remoteness" of the Dease lake route, at least the way that I flew it home. It made the Trench feel like flying the central valley of Ca.! But, the scenery was incredible.

Rob gave me a lot of advice via PM during our trip and it was spot on........thanks again Rob and hope you enjoy your AK trip this year.

Your plan to "not have any concrete plans" is spot on. I had made several reservations at lodges etc. before we left home, and we mostly regretted doing this as everywhere we went, local pilots offered us cabins, cars, local food, etc. that would have added a lot of flavor to the trip. Of course, the lodges that we stayed at were great to, guess you can't lose.

Oh, and if you want to meet Paul Claus, just get yourself to the Wrangells and hit the 911 button on your Spot/Delorme.........

Hey Brent! Sorry I missed your call. Hope you had a great time in Idaho!

Thanks again for all the great info, ideas and invites! Things are coming together for our departure on Thursday. The kids and I flew our puppy down to Grandma's in Kneeland, CA today since we're not bringing the dog on the trip.

I also spoke to Canadian customs today and checked in on Penticton customs. Apparently they need 2 hours notice before your ETA, so I'm glad I checked on that.

Now all we need is some good weather!

No worries, have a great trip!

As was mentioned, the time change in Northway cost us half a day because Customs didn't have time to get out there and back before quitting time. We camped at Beaver creek for the night which was no big deal, but we thought we were going to make it a ways into AK as there was still a lot of daylight left.

It is definitely wise to keep a flexible schedule Oregon180.

highroad wrote:As was mentioned, the time change in Northway cost us half a day because Customs didn't have time to get out there and back before quitting time. We camped at Beaver creek for the night which was no big deal, but we thought we were going to make it a ways into AK as there was still a lot of daylight left.

That sure was a fun trip up North Highroad! Eye opening in many ways...

We never put a trip report together. Is it bad form to put together a trip report two years after the trip?

Scolopax wrote:Is it bad form to put together a trip report two years after the trip?

Not at all! If you're serious, email me.

Zzz wrote:

Scolopax wrote:Is it bad form to put together a trip report two years after the trip?

Not at all! If you're serious, email me.

I'd like to see it!

O180,
Tried sending you an email, but I am pretty challenged at doing stuff like that on phones and even with an ipad

Highroad, I am always happy to share in the confusion of it all

denalipilot wrote:

Squash wrote:Oh man, I'm scheduled to be out at Polly Creek on Sat July 12 for a great clamming tide. I'm on a chartered boat with several friends or we would have flown in. The Razors are great on the west side for sure!

Apologies for the thread drift, but what did you guys make of that recent story in the ADN about a case of paralytic shellfish poisoning from Cook Inlet?

DP,
Another benefit to Polly creek as I understand it, is that PC is a 'growing area' for the commercial industry, this means it gets tested for red tide regularly. This is second hand information, so I wouldn't treat it as gospel, but I bet MTV knows better.

Take care, Rob

Oregon180 wrote:Z: I'll give you a call while trying not to get an imaginary visual of your newbie nuggets..

I admit it - I'm giggling uncontrollably right now... LMAO!!

Rob wrote:O180,
Tried sending you an email, but I am pretty challenged at doing stuff like that on phones and even with an ipad

Got it Rob! Thanks, man. That was some great info!

I shared a few of my noob nuggets but it's not nearly as valuable as everything in this thread. Proud!

Unfortunately, this is our cloud layer this morning at the north end of the valley.... Kristian has to fly through this crap to get out of here..... It's supposed to be better by tomorrow...

Brian

Brian-StevesAircraft wrote:Unfortunately, this is our cloud layer this morning at the north end of the valley.... Kristian has to fly through this crap to get out of here..... It's supposed to be better by tomorrow...

Brian

Yep, we got some very unseasonal and very needed rain here yesterday, and wx isn't looking that awesome along our route today. I just finished cramming the last stuff into the plane, so at least we're ready to go now when things look more inviting. We'll most likely relax here today and leave tomorrow.

If anyone lives near Penticton, BC, PM me if you want a free night in a Yurt on the shore of Skaha lake tonight.! Our only reservation of the whole trip was for that place and they won't refund us, so it's available to any local BCP:er, free of charge.