Getting unstuck

The mag arrived in Whitehorse yesterday and this afternoon a SuperCub was kind enough to ferry it on to Watson Lake. It should be arriving there about the time I'm boarding a plane to Vancouver. I'll be arriving in Seattle early tomorrow morning and the Flying Fish should be home in a few days.

Certainly never expected to finish out the trip with a sick plane and a ride on the Greyhound - but then again, it's an adventure!

;)

Stuck in the Yukon

Weren't planning to spend the weekend fishing at Watson Lake, but 322MX developed a cough. Turns out the left mag has failed and isn't getting power to the lower spark on the #1 cylinder. Spent most of yesterday tracking down a new mag and then trying to figure out how to get it here to us. Got one as far as Whitehorse today, but weather, intermittent bus schedules, and a national holiday here in Canada will make the last 350 miles the longest. May take another day or two for it to get here...

I've got to get back to Seattle by Monday, so I'll be taking an overnight bus to Whitehorse to catch a plane southbound in the morning - I hope.

Went as far north as we could...

From Igiugig we headed NW to the Ahklun Mountains. Overflew Tikchik, Upnuk and Nisblik Lakes to find the head of the Aniak River. Flew down the river to fuel at Aniak. Nome was socked in so we headed north to join the Yukon and flew it up as far as Ruby to camp.

From Ruby continued up the Yukon as far as Fairbanks, then turned south towards Denali and stopped at Kantishna. Got a good tip on some "airstrips" - really just tracks in the tundra - and camped out atop a mountain at the foot of Denali for a few days.

Back to Fairbanks for Solstice. Then up to the Brooks Range. Camped out at Lake Chandalar north of the Arctic Circle. Fueled at Bettles and headed north. Through the Brooks and past the treeline to Anuktuvik Pass. Then on across tundra and numerous small lakes in various states of thaw to the icepack of the Arctic Ocean. Found Barrow crushed up against the ice. Finally went so far north we ran out of earth. And by the way, it was perfectly clear and sunny and 55 degrees at the Arctic Ocean beach.

From Barrow to Deadhorse and finally a road. The first we'd seen since leaving Fairbanks. Followed the haul road south through the Brooks, back to the trees and camped at Wiseman.

Found and followed the Yukon east past Fort Nelson to Coal Creek, then stopped for the night at Eagle. Great town Eagle.

Followed the Yukon to Canada and Dawson city, then south to Carmacks where we picked up the Klondike Highway to Whitehorse, then the Al-Can to Watson Lake where the fish are still biting.

Hi from the Katmai Preserve

From Whitehorse through Haines Junction and on up to clear customs at Northway Alaska. Dodged a cell in Tok and hunkered down a little bit at Tanacross before heading through the pass to Gulkana. Got there on our reserve fuel and were happy to call it a day.

Next day we flew down the length of the Copper River - wow - to Cordova. Went back and spent the night at the foot of the Childs Glacier.

From Cordova to Valdez then out across the Prince William Sound. Detoured for an hour of mindblowing flightseeing over the vast Columbia Glacier, then on through Portage Pass and south along the Kenai Peninsula. Stopped for the night in Seldovia.

From Seldovia north to Homer, then on north past Anchorage and up to Talkeetna. Were happy to have someone else fly us up onto the Ruth Glacier and land within sight of the summit of Denali - in a 185 on skis!

Went to Anchorage to take care of a little business, and visited friends in Palmer.
Left Palmer to find more friends out on the tundra in the Katmai preserve - flew the north side of the Cook Inlet til we found the Lake Clark Pass, through the pass (hello bear!) and out the other side, down Lake Iliamna and across the tundra until we saw way out there past Igiugig - the Royal Wolf Lodge.

Well fed and well fished we're heading north again today. Maybe Nome is next...

Hi from the Yukon

Just a quick hello from Whitehorse in the Yukon. We've been flying since Friday as the weather allows, and hopefully the weather will allow us to get to Anchorage tomorrow. I can't begin to describe the awesome scale and remoteness of landscape we've travelled thus far. That'll have to wait to a later post - one with photos. :)

At the moment there's just time for the briefest of outlines, so here's where we've been so far...

Friday - left Paine Field in Everett, WA. Crossed the border at Boundary Bay, BC (south and east of Vancouver) from there we went east up the Fraser River valley (drop dead gorgeous!) and landed in Hope for the night.
Saturday - left Hope in low ceilings and ran north up the canyon past Cache Creek to Prince George. Camped for the night at Mackenzie.
Sunday - probably the most amazing day of flying ever - north up the Trench Route, past Fort Ware and on over 200 miles of uninhabited, undeveloped, untouched vast wilderness between the Canadian Rockies and the Cassiar Range. Landed at Watkins Lake where the fish are biting every 5 minutes and camped overnight.
Today - left Watkins lake and followed the Al-Can until we got socked in at Teslin. Weather cleared and we (along with another half dozen planes) ran the scud through the pass along the Al-Can to make Whitehorse.

Being proactive

Well, at least I got rid of the #@$#*!! $$@!# kidney stone before we took off.

Jeez.

322MX prep

Lots of final prep to do for 322MX so the Flying Fish has been spending a lot of time in the hangar checking things off the list.

Cargo nets, chart rack, quick-access life jacket storage camera holster, rod & reel rack, sound proofing (this was a Huge job, well done Luv!), fix the headset, update the GPS databanks, and so many more maintenance and tuning points too numerous to describe, oh, and of course, need to weigh the plane again to create a new weight & balance calc...

Five days to go.

Gearing up

Survival vests, backup camera, lights, guide books, charts, maps, GPS, bear can, bear spray, air horn, cyalume lights, solar panel, gaiters, hats, down jackets, shotgun, camera, tripod, tent, sleeping pads, sleeping bags, daypacks, mosquito deterrents, sting balm, med kit, light, clotting sponge, rehydration salts, supplementary meds, stove, water filter, cookware, water bags, and lots and lots of stuff sacks... 

Joining the Cast & Blast crowd

AKA Buildergrrl goes shopping, buys a shotgun and then the NRA shows her how to use it.

You're just going to have to ask me about this sometime. 

It was really something.

800 Calorie Survival vest

There's a saying when it comes to airplane crashes - what's on you is survival gear, what's in the plane is camping gear. So we each have a fly-fishing vest that we put on when flying over remote terrain. 

Since I know you're curious, here's my survival vest with all its contents splayed out. 

 

It all packs up like this...

 Back pocket:  folding cup, ziplock bags (2lg., 2sm.)

Inside left pocket:  PLB  (personal locator beacon)

Inside right pocket:  leatherman tool

Outside right top pockets: stormproof matches, firestarter (compressed trioxane fuel), bic lighter, sharpie pen, gel shot (Cliff, apple pie flavored, 100 calories)

Outside right bottom small pockets: cloth tape, duct tape, matches, gel shots (Power Bar vanilla, Cliff mango, 200 calories)

Outside right bottom large pocket: emergency bivvy sack, emergency bodywarmers (like handwarmers, only bigger), gel shot (Power Bar caramel, 100 calories)

Outside left top pockets: whistle, mini LED light, compass, mini deck of cards, gel shots (Power Bar caramel, Cliff mango, 200 calories)

Outside left bottom small pockets:  band-aids, neosporin, claritin, SPF 15 lip balm, string, gel shots (Power Bar caramel, Cliff apple pie, 200 calories)

Outside left bottom large pocket: burn gel, sting relief gel, antiseptic wipes, pocket survival pack (includes: magnifying lens, signal mirror, firestarter, fishing kit, needle & thread, scalpel blade, aluminum foil, wire, safety pins, and a tiny pencil and paper)

All together the vest and contents weigh four pounds.