Hoping to head up to Ranger Creek Saturday morning with my bro, do a bit of hiking/snowshoeing then return Sunday morning. I think I'll go in via Packwood then fly down the valley from the east.

Anyone been out there recently? Info appreciated. There's video and a couple photo's on Shortfield but no Pireps.

The little I've heard is:

land/depart to west is best.
If flying a standard pattern, hug south hill on downwind.

Craig

I was in there the weekend before Memorial day and it was in great shape.

Taking off downstream is certainly a good idea, towards lowering elevations and some survivable landing areas. Upstream is not as inviting.

The strip was in excellent condition.

TD

The only problem with ranger creek is that cars can drive right up to and around your plane while parked. I camped there for one night and there were several "non-aviation" types camping and having mass amounts of adult beverages with drag racing down the runway. Now I am not against this sort of thing however I would think twice about leaving my plane un-escorted while I went several hours hiking.

Guy

Regarding auto access to the runway at Ranger Creek... it is a thing of the past. Washington State Aeronautics Department is very proactive, and has built a highway style vehicle barrier around the runway. Idiots can still use the campground by car, but your plane will be safe from cars!

You will really like Ranger Creek, but if it is windy on landing, make sure that everything is fastened down because it will feel like you are inside a washing machine.

Great weather in spite of sitting on the ground for 3 hours waiting for the fog and low marine layer to clear. The rest of the state was cloud free except my little corner. Except for the 3 hour delay, flying was much much faster than driving. Only about an hour and a half from Vancouver to the far side of Rainier.



once on my way I flew up along Swift Reservoir, out the Lewis river towards Adams before heading to Packwood and Cayuse Pass.

Adams



Goat Rocks and Packwood Lake


NE Rainier


My Brother Dave, Dan, and Me on small peak a few miles from the strip. Several more trails options means I'll be coming back. Oh, the trail to Suntop is marked by a stake at the end of the runway. Don't go farther or you'll end up with a lot of bushwhacking following what looks like a very unmaintained trail.


Looking to the north from Ranger Creek. What a nice looking 172


South view. Man I like my new airplane! The tiedown area, 1. has no tiedowns. Bring your own. I have some of the twist in kinds, which wasn't very good in the river gravel deposits. Maybe pound in kind would work better. I was glad there were no strong winds that night. The ground is a little rough. Caution for us nose draggers. The three of us risked damaging the airplane trying to push it back further. I didn't like the nose being quite that close to the runway.


NW view of Rainier


St. Helens and the Toutle River.


Return trip had me a bit worried. I was originally going to head to Chehalis to refuel but that darned marine layer was at 900 feet. A quick call to Flight Watch let me know that Pearson and Scappoose were still clear.

Hey, that is a nice looking new bird Craig. I'd like to explore that area up there one of these days.

Nice plane!

I have never flown into Ranger Creek, but always wanted to.
A few years back, I was one of 'those" guys tying up the strip with a fire camp for a fire in one of the side canyone. Awesome locale, love to make it up there for a plane camping trip.
Sorry to hijack the thread with some non-flying pics, but just showing the views that make flying up there worth it. Glad to hear the strip is fenced better, when we were camped there the area was really torn up by ORV's.

Almost as good as flying is getting paid to blow things up! Getting ready to disturb the peace


Mt. Rainier from the top, smoke in the inversion below


Bucket ship at work. Goal by the end of the day is to stretch all the "white sausages" in the first pic to the river.

fern_hopper wrote:Nice plane!

I have never flown into Ranger Creek, but always wanted to.
A few years back, I was one of 'those" guys tying up the strip with a fire camp for a fire in one of the side canyone. Awesome locale, love to make it up there for a plane camping trip.
Sorry to hijack the thread with some non-flying pics, but just showing the views that make flying up there worth it. Glad to hear the strip is fenced better, when we were camped there the area was really torn up by ORV's.

Goal by the end of the day is to stretch all the "white sausages" in the first pic to the river.

Hijack away.

So, what are all those "white sausages" for? Some sort of boom to contain really small fires?

Nice grass in that little wheel Zane, and you got it honestly this time! It's not a good thing for me to get grass like that in my little wheel.

[quote="GroundLooper]
Hijack away.

So, what are all those "white sausages" for? Some sort of boom to contain really small fires?
[quote]

The sausages are detonation cord. In areas that are difficult or slow to dig fireline due to rough and steep terrain you can pack the cord in by foot and then string the det cord along the ground.

Hours of misery followed by one glorious explosion. Instant fire line usually cheaper and faster in rough country then a hand crew. Also a really cool way to fall snags.

Thread hijack complete......