Great pictures. Great country. Great airplane. My wife always said the Tri-Pacer had the best back seat heater. Good mountain airplane. She hated Cessnas. We were in mild temps compared to you, however.

contactflying wrote:Great pictures. Great country. Great airplane. My wife always said the Tri-Pacer had the best back seat heater. Good mountain airplane. She hated Cessnas. We were in mild temps compared to you, however.

!

I originally got a PA-22 because I couldn't afford much else. I've now come to the conclusion that it's the best thing going, a screaming deal in a world of unaffordableness. So we got another one. And I'm tickled pink to have it.

Been awful busy, I have a few photos I need to get developed so I can post...but yesterday I had a quick flightsee tour with some co-workers. I let them take the photos, so all I have are images from a quick landing at Levelock and another at Kulik. Had a great day, smooth air but with a bit of rain and some low clouds in places. Have to take the family to Kulik, you can walk right down to the lake from the end of the strip.

Levelock break.


Hiding from the rain at Kulik. We were parked in the middle of the strip because I hadn't walked the sides and a good friend found a really soft spot last year that sort of ruined his day...

That's not fair, my coworkers all have beards.

robertc wrote:That's not fair, my coworkers all have beards.

And then there's the guys....

mepps1 wrote:

robertc wrote:That's not fair, my coworkers all have beards.

And then there's the guys....

Great pics Troy!

I have coworkers with beards too. I wouldn't be taking three of them flying at once...

Took a friend for a flight a few weeks back to look at the volcanoes in the park. The weather was great on our side of the mountains, but clouds were hanging around right along the divide, so we didn't get to see some of what we went looking for...but we still had a great trip.

On the way, we got a look at Savonoski River, in all its braided, multi-channeled-ness.


Ash covered glacier near Katmai Volcano.


Mt Griggs standing tall.


The southwest corner of Katmai has some lovely country that is hardly noticed my most, as it isn't very accessible. But it is quite lovely.


The Kejuliks don't look like the rest of our mountains. Even though we have lots of active volcanoes, our mountains don't have particularly jagged tops...except for the little spine of the Kejuliks.

Flew to Anchorage and back a couple weeks ago also. The weather was lovely both directions, at least on the days I flew. On the way, Iliamna was steaming, but it was also holding a cloud bank that had pushed in from the other side...made it look like it was really puffing away.


The white mountains stood out against the dark waters of Cook Inlet, as did Chisik Island.


I crossed right next to the vent of Redoubt at 9,500 feet, and it was steaming away. This is the closest view I've had.




The Drift River Valley was snowed in all the way to the bottom, but a pretty good avalanche field was at the bottom of one of the ravines.


There was a layer of cloud over Cook Inlet, but the mountains to the west were in the bright sunlight.


Yes, that's right, the price of AvGas in Anchorage is less than the price of car gas in King Salmon. By more than a dollar. And nearly four dollars cheaper than AvGas in King Salmon. So I topped off. Too bad I don't have bigger tanks so I could top off higher...

The trip home was nice too. I really like the knife edge ridges.


Another look at Chisik Island.


Woody Island in Lake Iliamna was lovely in the sunlight.


Took a quick bladder break in Kokhanok.

Yesterday we had a rare convergence of good weather and a day off for me. We usually try to get out and take a boat ride, but this time we decided to have a picnic with air support, something we've never done before. With our friend that lives with us, we make a five person crew, so no way to do a single load. I dropped off my wife and son, then headed back for daughter + 1. On the ground to load them, I left the strobe on and the master on, and then couldn't get the plane started. Starter stuck engaged when I tried to turn it over...so no hand prop either. So we ran home for the generator and the charger and got it all back ready...then launched the second flight. Apparently son was just deciding they might have a problem. The weather was great, but bumpy. Best air was finally when I stuck near the ground for the final return flight. Apparently the day was a success, as wife is talking about making another visit to the same spot to camp...

Every place is a good place to knit.


Maybe it was also a good place to run...


Daughter the budding artist.


Our household photo.


Lichen.


Lichen, Labrador tea, dwarf birch, and crowberry.


Shallow bay on Nonvianuk Lake.


The east end of the strip is public, the west end is private. I landed and stopped in the first few hundred feet, then lifted off in the next 1000 so I didn't have to back-taxi but was not using the private end.


King Salmon Creek on the way home.

Troy,

Your single handedly building up the tripacer's rep as a back country performer. You'll have to update your avitar with 76D. Very good pics.

Dan

The funny thing is that Tri-Pacers were used extensively up here from the date they were born. An entire flight service in Naknek was based on using them, and there are a number still running around the state with big tires and fat nosewheels. As a result, those few folks still running them with the mods take them lots of places I can't/won't go. But cubs and 180's and beavers are the airplanes everybody wants to buy, so the impression you get is anything else doesn't cut it. In reality, lots of airplanes work great for bush work, but with their own limitations you have to work with. My stock PA-22 can get me a lot of places though, and I love getting out there.

I had the privilege of being the banquet speaker at the Shortwing Piper Club annual convention, which was held in Saratoga Springs. I got there by flying the Island Girl to Anchorage to catch the smoker...

The pass was socked in for parts of my window, so when it was supposed to be a bit better I was watching it like a hawk until it was obviously lifting enough to be good. Off I raced, past the Alagnak River.


Then, the northwest shore of Iliamna Lake.


Lake Clark was almost flat, the entire route was so calm it was amazing. Lake Clark Pass was clearly visible in the distance.


At the point where the lake meets with Little Lake Clark, the Tlikikila River fan divides them.


The heart of Lake Clark Pass.


The summit glacier at the top of the pass is impressive.


Exiting the pass at the east entrance.


The air was so smooth it seemed like flying a simulator. I took this as a practice run for low clouds, so I stuck pretty low to the earth the whole way through. Because if you don't know what it looks like from there during good weather, then you shouldn't be flying at that altitude during poorer weather. In my opinion...

Troy, thanks for posting. I've heard about Lake Clark area for years so nice to see what it looks like.

Great pics and report Troy! I grew up fishing on Chisik and its where I scattered Dads ashes. Something about that place keeps me going back year after year, and its been 20 years since we sold our fish sites there.

I wish you would photo shop your plane though... male it look like a maule or something LOL. I am in the market for another 22 or a 20 and your driving the price up by showing everyone our secrets about how UNDER RATED the pacer is. Put an 82X41 on it and she will really impress you in terms of getting in and out quick! Cruise suffers about 15 MPH though.

Keep the pics coming, I enjoy seeing the mountains while I am stuck at work.

Out here in southwest Alaska, we've been having a California summer. It has been crazy...clear, light winds, temperatures hitting near 80 repeatedly. We're confused. Our skin is tan, we have been digging through our clothes bins for that pair of shorts we were pretty sure we brought back from Hawaii last time we went, and we have been buying sunscreen, not just carrying around the 15-year-old bottle we have always had in our pack. We were carrying that at the beginning of the summer, but we used it up and had to buy more.

During this bout of tremendous weather, I hadn't flown since getting back from the Shortwing Piper Convention. Not because I didn't want to, but, well, I've been busy. And broke. But especially busy. Last week, as I saw the potential for a day off in my future, I started looking at the weather forecast, and it continued to look like good weather into the foreseeable future. A friend of ours has been wanting to see Aniakchak, so we started talking about making a visit...

Then a couple days before the possible day off, Cedric told me he really wanted to camp in Aniakchak sometime...

I told him that I really thought we should plan on a trip like that sometime...maybe next year...and then I thought a little more carefully. Here we were, in the middle of the best run of weather I've seen in my life, and it was forecast to continue...why not now?

Keep in mind, this is the same person that was out on a moose hunt, was packing it in, and saw a hare. A really big hare. I thought to myself, "I should come hunting for hare sometime, it would be great to have that beautiful white pelt." Then I stopped myself. I was hunting. Hares were open season. I had a gun. There was a hare. So I shot it. But the point is, sometimes I need a little push to get my mind off the prior plan...

So I asked our friend if she minded getting bumped...and she didn't. Or she said she didn't. So we started planning. For a one night stay, which of course might turn into a multi-night stay, depending on the weather.

We were going to have adequate food, adequate shelter, and blast out of there as soon as the weather allowed after spending a night. That was the plan.

Friday, the putative day off, was looming, but I still had work I hadn't finished. So I decided I'd go in and finish it up in the morning, then we'd have plenty of time to take the trip anyway. When I got up, my neck was a bit stiff, but after a cup of coffee I headed off to work to get my day underway. At work, I had to run off to the airport to pick up some folks, but then they didn't come in when expected, and I had a couple more surprises cross my desk. Pretty soon, it was 2 pm and I was in the middle of helping the arriving folks move their stuff. Every time I got in and out of the car, my neck was complaining, a little more loudly now. Finally, at 3:30 pm I headed home to round up the stuff, get the plane loaded, and head off for a little volcano camping.

But my neck was really bothering me. I asked my wife to massage my neck a bit, and she complied for a few seconds, until she hit something just perfectly...

I found myself on my knees, holding my neck, and Becky was exclaiming, "You should have warned me!"

The problem was, I don't know what I would have warned her of...but she really touched the heart of the matter. We tried again, and again I fell over when she touched the side of my neck in the wrong place.

"I don't know whether you really ought to be flying into that volcano when you can't even hold your head up straight and you totally fall over in pain if I touch it. "

Of course, being the fool, or perhaps just an optimist, I figured some ibuprofen would solve the problem. So I took some, and then prepared to lay down to wait for my neck to relax. After all, sundown isn't until almost 11, so it wasn't like I was really pressed for time.

But when I went to lay down, I couldn't. I couldn't get my neck to relax enough to keep it from spazzing out on me no matter which side I tried to lower myself down onto, or even straight back, and boy did it hurt. Now I was starting to get really concerned.

"Cedric, the weather looks really good, and I really appreciate you getting everything ready, but right now I am having a lot of trouble with my neck, so we really need to wait for it to get better before we leave. So we'll have to wait a little while to see if the painkillers I took will help."

"Okay, Dad."

He brought our computers down and we waged some mean battles on AQWorlds waiting for pharmacy to overcome biology. And it did, at least a little bit, but it became obvious that it wasn't really the best time to do this adventure, as I didn't want to be wondering. So we agreed to postpone for another day. But I had to work part of Sunday, so Saturday night wasn't really a good plan. We were going to have to hope the weather held out until at least Tuesday to have our volcano camping adventure. That seemed like a lot to ask, but then again, you just never know with the way this summer has gone.

I was still hopeful about being able to fly Saturday, but there was a lot of hot compresses, ibuprofen, and propping my neck with carefully arranged pillows to get me through the evening. Medical incapacitation. Bummer. Missed a great adventure. And my neck hurt.

Saturday dawned and I got up cautiously...but without undue issues. Well, if I had actually awakened at dawn that would have been an issue, but I didn't. I missed dawn by a number of hours, but I'm okay with that. I carried myself cautiously and continued with the pain pills, but the neck was a lot better. Since I was at home, there were a lot of things to do, so I focused on getting those done while I evaluated my options. Cedric said he'd rather wait for a chance to spend the night. So I checked with our friend Linda to see if she still wanted to go see Aniakchak...and she did. But Port Heiden was LIFR. As was Pilot Point. As was Egegik. Of course, King Salmon started like that as well, but it cleared up pretty quick, as it had for most of the previous couple weeks. The warm days were followed by cold nights, which generally result in fog when you are surrounded by water. But the afternoons are glorious.

As the day progressed, however, the peninsula remained IFR. The initial forecasts for clearing were still there, but it was not clear yet. And the other side, Chignik, was low and ominous. Hmmm.

The GFS model started to change its mind, and pretty soon the best forecast was for a ceiling of 3000 feet or less. Still enough to get in, but at that point it would be a little different as a sightseeing trip, as most of the caldera wall would be in cloud. I explained to Linda that we could likely go see it, but she wouldn't have the view she was hoping for.

"What about that other flight to see the lakes over by Dillingham?"

"We can do that, and the weather is pretty fantastic everywhere over there already."

So off we went.

The wind was 11 gusting 17 from 270, so tower sent us to runway 30 for departure. But as we were approaching taxiway Charlie, they asked us to hold short of Charlie and cancelled our taxi clearance, as they were waiting to see what the landing 737 did... He blew past taxiway Echo before getting stopped, so they changed our taxi clearance to send us down to Echo for departure, while the 737 got off on 18, then Charlie. But as we taxied down Charlie, a Saab 340 was calling in on a right base for 30, so ground asked us if we would be ready for departure when we got to the intersection. We had already done our runup before taxiing, so we were ready to launch. He told the Saab he was going to launch us before landing them, then came back to us.

"Tri-Pacer Seven Six Delta, switch to tower for clearance."

"Switching to tower, Seven Six Delta."

A few seconds later, "Tower, Seven Six Delta is ready to depart three zero at Echo."

"Seven Six Delta, cleared to depart three zero at Echo, right turnout approved."

"Cleared to depart three zero, Seven Six Delta."

We rolled out, poured on the coals, and lifted off. We got a little bit in the air, then I pushed forward to try to hold ground effect and build speed. I still haven't figured out what to think about flying when it is 80 degrees out, but I don't like being slow at those temperatures, so I've been emphasizing speed over climb. We got to 110 mph in short order, and made 1000 feet as we headed across the tundra to check out the other side of the bay. The first thing we saw was the fog rolling around the bay down by Naknek.


But the fog was low, and the tongue creeping up the Kvichak River was right next to our line of travel, so we flew along and enjoyed the view of it as it thinned and diminished.


After passing Diamond J, we aimed for New Stuyahok, where we were intending to intersect the Nushagak River. But we had a lot of tundra to cross before we got there. The tundra looked lush and green, despite the dry, hot weather we'd been having.


We spotted a moose when we were nearly to the Nushagak, then the river was in front of us, with New Stuyahok on the other bank.


The Nushagak is a pretty impressive river. And although I've landed at the airport a few times, I've actually never been to New Stu itself. This time, since we weren't landing, I got a great view of the village.


We flew on upriver, passing Koliganek, then headed up the Nuyakuk River toward the Tikchik Lakes. As we were coming into the upper Nuyakuk River, a DeHavilland Beaver called in from 5 miles north inbound for Royal Coachman. I didn't know where Royal Coachman was, but gave my position, and then we settled what his destination was in relation to my position. As it turned out, we had a great view of him flying the pattern, turning base and final beneath us, as he set up to land upriver right in front of the lodge. As we arrived at Tikchik Lake, we flew along the south shore, headed to Tikchik Narrows for a view of the lodge and spit before we headed south. But the south shore of Tikchik Lake is a stunning place. Huge monoliths tower over the shoreline. Very cool indeed...




The lodge is situated out in the middle of the lake, on the narrow isthmus of land we visited last fall. But now, in the middle of summer, I wouldn't land unless I had specific permission. My impression is the lodges like to manage the experience of their guests, and aren't looking for random drop-in visitors. I suspect if it was Harrison Ford they wouldn't mind, but I didn't want to make anybody mad, so we turned south from there and headed to the Wood River Lakes.

Flying down the Wood River Lakes is like homecoming. My introduction to Alaska was as a graduate student in these lakes north of Dillingham, where I spent the better part of five summers. After 20 summers, I've still barely covered 1/4 of the state from the air, and feel on familiar terms with about 1/8 of it. That leaves a lot of the state for me to explore when I can. But the Wood River system is a beauty. We started by flying down Grant River and looking at Grant Falls.


From there, we turned and headed down Kulik Lake toward Mount Waskey. Kulik Lake is one of two lakes in southwest Alaska with the same name. The other is northeast of King Salmon, and is a lovely place as well. But in the Wood River Lakes, Kulik appears, at least to the level of inspection I gave it Saturday, to be still completely undeveloped. I was amazed to see some small glacier hanging on up on Mt. Waskey, but with a summer like we are having this year it won't last too long. Near the west end of Kulik Lake, the Wind River drains the lake down through another glacial valley. In the middle of the valley is Lake Mikchalk, which drains into the Peace River, which in turn drains into Lake Beverly. Lake Mikchalk has a lodge on it, which was known as the Golden Horn Lodge back when I was familiar with it. I had heard that it passed into private ownership, but don't know more than that. There was an airplane parked there when we went by, so hopefully someone is enjoying it. It sits in a magnificent location...


Like many lodges, it is not named for its actual location. Down on Lake Beverly, there are two glacial horns at the upper end of the lake. One is the Golden Horn, but that's not where the lodge is. The other is the Silver Horn. We flew into the Silver Horn for a little look-see because I wanted to get a look at the rock wall at the upper end of the arm, as I remembered it being pretty impressive.


But there is another thing that sticks in my mind about the Silver Horn. Near the entrance, there is a large island. We called it Blueberry Island.


It is the place where I learned to love blueberries. I'm about to offend blueberry farmers everywhere, and probably a bunch of gardeners too...so be warned. I didn't like blueberries. They were lots of blue, bland, sweet, mushiness. When I got to Alaska and people talked about picking blueberries, I didn't know why everybody got so excited. But we ended up on this island during blueberry season.

Wow.

These were blueberries with some zip! And they were ridiculously abundant. Like walking in a sea of blue. At least, that's how I remember it. I became a wild Alaska blueberry lover then. And I still am.

We flew on around the mountains to get a look at Lake Nerka, the nomenclatural home of the sockeye salmon, and certainly the real home to many of them. We marveled at how it is carved around a couple mountain ranges. Glaciers are amazing things. It would have been interesting to see how these flowed when they were laid out. But some of them are pretty straightforward, such as the Amakuk Arm feeding down into the main body of the lake.


We flew on down Nerka, then Aleknagik, and set up for a quick touch and go on the Aleknagik runway. I like doing a landing at Aleknagik whenever I am flying over, as the strip is 2,000 feet long, and it helps to drop into a shorter strip occasionally to keep the sight picture. Especially since most of the strips in the state have been improved such that even the village strips are often near 4,000 feet or more. And of course at King Salmon we are dealing with a 4,000 foot strip and another that is 8,900 feet. Definitely a little different.

From Aleknagik, we headed home. Once again, we were crossing the tundra. Mountains have a lot of visual drama. But I've come to appreciate the fine beauty of the tundra lowlands as well...


As we approached Nakeen, I decided to set up for a good image. I have flown over Nakeen a bunch of times, but never got a photo I liked.


Many of the canneries up the rivers have been abandoned, and I'm not necessarily sure why. They were operational in the era when Bristol Bay salmon fishing was done from sailboats, and motorized vessels were not allowed. Whether the greater range of the motorized vessels is an issue, or whether the turbo pace of the fishing scene has resulted in boats not taking time to go upriver to places like this to offload their catch, I don't exactly know. But I do know that Nakeen has a special extra challenge...the channel has completely deserted it. If you wanted to get your fish to Nakeen now, you'd need something other than a boat to get them there...the photo above is at flood stage of high tide...and there is the meagerest little channel that goes by. The main channel is well away from the cannery. Not a good arrangement.

Going back into King Salmon, we were given a right downwind entry to 30, wind now was 9 kts at 240. When we announced on the right downwind, tower came back on...

"Troy-Pacer Seven Six Delta, clear to land three zero, base turn pilot's discretion."

"Clear to land three zero, Seven Six Delta."

Then, "Oh boy, Linda, this one will be fun. Buckle up, we are going to make this a turning descent to a spot landing just in time to get off on Echo."

Now we certainly didn't need to do that. We could have flown out the standard pattern, and I usually do. But the Troy-Pacer is a wonderfully responsive beast, and I enjoy flying it. So we were slowing up, reconfiguring, running the prelanding checklist, initiating our continuous base/final turn, setting power for descent and landing, getting in flaps when the speed bled down sufficiently, and then there was the runway in the windscreen. The windsock showed a fairly direct crosswind, but we touched down near Echo and taxied off to end our day. What a great flight. Now we're watching the weather forecasts for Aniakchak again...but it looks like the weather is turning on us...

Time will tell...