Who is this guy? I have been looking at his plane I think for 2 weeks maybe more.

A Yellow Pine resident.

Strip looks good. Might have to take a buzz up to JC this weekend.

I was in JC, along with a half dozen others, yesterday. Fog messed up plans for breakfast at Sulpher Creek, but what a perfect day to do some flying. JC was in great shape, as well as Cabin Creek, Chamberlain, Thomas Creek, Big Creek, Warm Springs, and Sulpher Creek. Cold Meadows, Soldier Bar, Bernard, Flying B, Mahoney, Indian Creek, Pistol Creek, , Bruce Meadows, Lower Loon, and Smiley Creek all looked good from the air. Sadly, that will be my last trip up for the year, but it was a great day of flying. Had a friend with a Husky that wanted to go see the area.

curiosity on that, when does the flying start back up again in the spring up that way?

Tadpole....When you can see green under the cones again..after the cones re-appear

hicountry wrote:Tadpole....When you can see green under the cones again..after the cones re-appear

Well yes, I kind of figured that, but wondered what time of year that typically tends to be.

Some of the lower elevation strips open fairly early. The IAA was into Thomas Creek in April doing some work last year or the year before. Others don't get snow off of them, and dry out, until later.

Grassstrippilot wrote:Some of the lower elevation strips open fairly early. The IAA was into Thomas Creek in April doing some work last year or the year before. Others don't get snow off of them, and dry out, until later.

So is mid-May pretty typical, or still too wet most of the time then?

Tadpole, you having a heck of a time trying to get a striaght answer. I'll ask some locals around Caldwell the next few days. I'm still kind of new to the backcountry and I'm usaully busy working on the road that time of year. So my knowledge about the time to start flying into some of the Idaho backcountry strips are very limited.

58Skylane wrote:Tadpole, you having a heck of a time trying to get a striaght answer. I'll ask some locals around Caldwell the next few days. I'm still kind of new to the backcountry and I'm usaully busy working on the road that time of year. So my knowledge about the time to start flying into some of the Idaho backcountry strips are very limited.

Haha, thanks. I'm used to answers like this, I am military after all I'm just trying to get an idea of when things typically start happening so I can see if I can plan my leave out way in advance since spring time / early summer are taken up pretty quick....and I'm talking for 2011 since I doubt I'll be able to buy a Pacer until later this coming summer.

Tadpole wrote:

58Skylane wrote:Tadpole, you having a heck of a time trying to get a striaght answer. I'll ask some locals around Caldwell the next few days. I'm still kind of new to the backcountry and I'm usaully busy working on the road that time of year. So my knowledge about the time to start flying into some of the Idaho backcountry strips are very limited.

Haha, thanks. I'm used to answers like this, I am military after all I'm just trying to get an idea of when things typically start happening so I can see if I can plan my leave out way in advance since spring time / early summer are taken up pretty quick....and I'm talking for 2011 since I doubt I'll be able to buy a Pacer until later this coming summer.

Too bad your not ready to buy a Pacer now. High Road has a nice one for sale.

But I would think you would be safe to plan for around April/May/June to come to Idaho. Should be plenty of great places to fly into.

58Skylane wrote:Too bad your not ready to buy a Pacer now. High Road has a nice one for sale.

But I would think you would be safe to plan for around April/May/June to come to Idaho. Should be plenty of great places to fly into.

Don't I know. I keep looking at the ad for it! I'm saving up cash, but I don't have enough to make an offer on anything yet, not even a Triper...I'll be sitting much better come spring time

Not trying to be vague. Just a lot of variables to account for: dry year vs wet year, high elevation vs low, dirt vs grass, etc. If you want to be safe, plan mid may or later and most should be good.

Grassstrippilot wrote:Not trying to be vague. Just a lot of variables to account for: dry year vs wet year, high elevation vs low, dirt vs grass, etc. If you want to be safe, plan mid may or later and most should be good.

I think your right, should be safe with mid-May and beyond. April does seem a little early. I keep hearing from people here and there that they believe it might be a long wet, snowy season here in Idaho. But you never know.

58Skylane wrote:

Grassstrippilot wrote:Not trying to be vague. Just a lot of variables to account for: dry year vs wet year, high elevation vs low, dirt vs grass, etc. If you want to be safe, plan mid may or later and most should be good.

I think your right, should be safe with mid-May and beyond. April does seem a little early. I keep hearing from people here and there that they believe it might be a long wet, snowy season here in Idaho. But you never know.

Long, wet, and snowy might sound not so good now, but it sure is nice to not be dodging firefighting TFRs all summer long...if you can even get into the backcountry. So let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! (Not to mention the moisture is needed.)

Grassstrippilot wrote:

58Skylane wrote:

Grassstrippilot wrote:Not trying to be vague. Just a lot of variables to account for: dry year vs wet year, high elevation vs low, dirt vs grass, etc. If you want to be safe, plan mid may or later and most should be good.

I think your right, should be safe with mid-May and beyond. April does seem a little early. I keep hearing from people here and there that they believe it might be a long wet, snowy season here in Idaho. But you never know.

Long, wet, and snowy might sound not so good now, but it sure is nice to not be dodging firefighting TFRs all summer long...if you can even get into the backcountry. So let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! (Not to mention the moisture is needed.)

Not much of a fire season this year. Everytime I went flying in the backcountry this summer/early fall, there wasn't but maybe one TFR to worry about.

I'd wait till about the second or third week of June, around the time of the fly-in. It usually keeps raining pretty good until well into June. Our springtimes can be pretty wet some years, it sure was this year.

Yup, we got lucky again. Sure makes for a better flying season.