Planning a trip to Utah end of May with a coworker. Our plan is to do some serious hiking/canyoneering around maybe the canyonlands area, maze district, horseshoe, etc. Still figuring out the exact destination. I would like to be able to fly in somewhere accessible and close to a trail, however I am very comfortable covering some mileage on foot. I have been studying here, shortfield, and utah backcountry pilots site. Also been practicing a lot of short field technique with my bird.

Questions...

1) What strip(s) is/are most accessible to the areas listed above?
2) What strips are most suitable for c172/taildragger 145hp if any? (i will be as light as possible and factoring density altitude etc.) Any 145hp 170 guys have experience there?
3) Is Fly Utah book worth it or just approach videos on youtube and guidance from forums?
4) What areas if any are safe to leave the plane for a few days and take off on foot? I would hate to be stranded when we return.
5) Anyone on here plan to be in the area over memorial weekend?

Goal: to be safe as possible, not be a statistic, well prepared, HAVE FUN, and come home to my family.
If flying into caveman or KCNY, and taking a ride over to wherever we are going is the best solution that is something I will also consider. Although it would be much nicer to land somewhere already in the bc. Thanks.

I think you would be really happy with Hanselman's book. The other resources you mentioned are good tools too, but I would recommend Galen's book.

As to which one, you say "serious hiking". It sounds like you are planning to be gone backpacking for a while, how many days and are you more interested in climbing or hiking or both? Are you looking for technical climbing opportunities??

It is a beautiful spot and I think your objective of flying in and hiking off is very achievable.

As to whether plane is safe for several days, maybe some of the UT guys can weigh in there? Would think so, but maybe others have had specific experiences.


Have fun, Larry

A cool trip report from Durango Skywagon. I've only been to SE Utah once and it is awesome. I plan to go back and do a bunch of hiking/canyoneering. I'll buy Fly Utah before I go.

http://www.backcountrypilot.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4444

I'm definately not an expert, but I do a fair amount of flying into some of the Utah backcountry strips. I would guess that your airplane, lightly loaded, would do okay at Mineral Canyon, as well as Caveman. I don't know if I'd want to leave my plane unattended at Mineral Canyon. Since you're planning your trip at the end of May, remember it's getting warm by then, and performance at these altitudes will really suffer. I'd plan to fly in/out as early in the morning as possible. When the sun is high the dry air in this area tends to get rough and gusty, and the canyons can be very turbulent. And if it's a windy day, I'd stay out of the canyons completely. I highly recommend the FLY UTAH books by Gailen Hanselman. I've found his evaluations of the airstrips accurate and invaluable. And I'd also get the map he prepared that shows where all the strips are. Good luck, and if you plan to stop by Mack Mesa, maybe I'll see you.

Caveman is a great place to stop and should present no problems, possible a good place to base at. I have flown a Cirrus in and out of it to give you an idea.
I would feel comfortable leaving my plane at almost any of the backcountry strips. There is really not many people and all the ones I have met where quality.
I would also recommend the book. It gives good info and once you land a couple of the easy ones you can use the RHI scale to better judge the other strips.
It's not in Utah but I would recommend the gateway strip ( about an hour from caveman) if you want a fun strip that you can take a short walk to a great breakfast and a cool car museum.
If you want a hike I think hiking up or down from hidden splendor would be great fun and is on my to do list. (not for sissies be pretty wet and cold in May)
If you are in the area on a Saturday Mack is a fun place to stop, usually some people flying/hanging out on nice days.
If you want someone to fly along to a couple strips for a day send me a message when u get close. I am usually up for a day out.

Hard to go wrong with Mineral Canyon. Not too tough. I used to go in with an O-300 powered 172 all the time. Keep it fairly light and plan on taking off when its cool. Good place to camp. Mineral is one of my favorite places around here. Hidden Splendor is also nice but Mineral is easier to get in and out.

If you don't mind a long walk, consider Angel Point, about 25 miles west of The Maze. It's in the middle of some very pretty and remote canyons, but it's not a difficult strip. You can hike down to the Dirty Devil and up into Robber's Roost Canyon in a few hours, then explore side canyons all you like (you can hike further along the Dirty Devil also, but it can be very muddy). There is reliable water once you get down to the bottom, and a fair number of trees for shade in Robber's Roost. There are a few canyoneering routes out of the RR area that would make a long loop back to the plane possible.

Angel Point has enough to keep me busy for a few more trips....it's more walking but there is a lot to see, and its an easy strip. Very windy at night at times for camping.

That time of year the no-seeums will drive you crazy at Mineral Canyon. Angel Point is one of the family favorites!

I was just out to the Utah backcountry for the Caveman fly-in with my 170. I have a C-145 but also a 80'' seaplane prop and a Sportsman STOL kit, so I have a little better performance than stock. I went into several strips while I was there. Most of them I had my 115lb wife and 80lb dog with me and I'm 210lbs. I flew early in the day and felt my performance was adequate at all the strips I visited. I went into Rustler Canyon, Simplot, Happy Canyon, Dirty Devil, Mineral Canyon, Horseshoe Canyon, Keg Knoll, Hidden Splendor, Dolores Point, Gateway, and Mexican Mountain. I even had the rest of my camping gear, probably about 80lbs, when we left Mexican Mountain and it was at least 70 degrees and I did fine. I think if you fly as light as you can and plan on taking off when the temps are cool you can get into a lot of places with your 172. I would suggest Angel Point for starters, as others already have, then Mineral Canyon. You will get a good idea how your plane is performing out of these two strips then decide if you want to try some of the others in the area. Just keep in mind some strips are rougher and softer than others and you may eat up more runway on takeoff.

thanks for the input of the caveman trip.

right now this trip is on the fence. I am spending all weekend on a 430w and gma 340 install. If the install takes too long, which installs tend to do that, then this trip will get cancelled. Hopefully it will be wrapped up by Tuesday.

If not, the plan is to fly into hanksville next thursday afternoon, stay the night there, and then friday morning i am going out with Lavar Wells to learn the area. Depending on how that goes, i will then venture out with my friend to whatever strips feel comfortable. If we get pushed back a couple of days due to installation of avionics, then we might just venture out to CO for the weekend, or the OK18 flyin over at Gastons.

well, i didn't finish the installation of my new avionics in time to fly to Utah. Guess i will have to replan.

I did however get a new garmin IFR stack in my plane this past week. Which makes me VERY happy. Flew it tonight, and it is AWESOME.