Does anyone have an update on the current status of Sluice Creek ? Shortfield still has it listed as "Emerg Only" but I recall an article somewhere that there was a work party by the Idaho group to remove the large rocks and repaint the markers. Anyone been there recently ?

Good Morning Idahomauledriver,

The Wallowa County Pilots Association which is a Chapter of IAA has been working with the USFS for the better part of a year now concerning all the strips in Wallowa Co. located here in NE Oregon. Sluice Cr. is one of them and yes, it is an emergency strip only, but they allowed us to go in there and bring it up to "emergency standards" as best as we could. But, again, it is for emergency use only and as pilots, we want to ensure that if anyone who needs to use it in case of emergency can safely land there. To better put it into perspective, it is a low priority when it comes time to put our efforts into compared to Big Bar, Dug Bar, Lord Flat, Red's Horse Ranch, etc. I hope this helps explain the status of this strip.

Abe,

Thanks for your response and all the hard work by you and your chapter. I just returned from an overnight at Big Bar and enjoyed the benefits of your efforts. I believe we met briefly when Steve was servicing my Maule and we discussed your AK trip. Thanks for the info. See you in the backcountry.

Paul