180PZ

West Side of Cook Inlet

2011-10-30T19:34:00.000-07:00

Flying up Tuxedni Bay with Amanda, Brandon, and Pam.

Flying back home over Crescent Lake.

The Bench

2011-10-30T19:26:00.000-07:00

Parked on the west side of Cook Inlet with Pierre and Chris. The McArthur River below the bench is being hit by a rain shower.

Chakachatna River

2011-10-01T23:36:00.000-07:00

Chris Hodel on approach to landing along the Chakachatna River.

Granite Creek

2011-09-17T22:52:00.000-07:00

More flying through the Wrangells. Landed at Granite Creek along an elevated sand bar. Chris Hodel and Pierre Josefsohn were in their planes too for a beautiful flight through valleys painted in fall colors.

Long Glacier

2011-09-17T18:14:00.000-07:00

Landed on the plateau above the Long Glacier on the way back from Peavine. Elevation 4200 feet.

Wrangell St Elias National Park

2011-09-05T15:34:00.000-07:00

Upper Skolai Lake

Russell Glacier

Flying up the Chitistone River

Camping at Tebay Lakes

2011-09-05T12:34:00.001-07:00

Set up for the night on the tundra at Tebay Lakes.

Tebay Lakes

2011-09-05T12:26:00.000-07:00

Paul Claus taking off in his Garrett powered Turbine Otter on retractable wheels skis

Loni Habersetzer taking off in his Super Cub

Landed at Tebay Lakes and ran into Paul and Donna Claus and most of the Ultima Thule gang including Tal Erickson and Loni Habersetzer in their cubs.

Cabin at Peavine

2011-09-04T11:05:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo of one of the two cabins at Peavine. This cabin is the larger of the two and has bunks for 6 people. Isn't this beautiful?

Peavine

2011-08-31T23:10:00.000-07:00

Parked at Peavine Strip. This beautiful area sits along the Chitistone River. There are 2 public use cabins. Hans and I stayed in the larger cabin. Overnight, a bear ripped a hole in the side of Hans' airplane. I guess the bear doesn't like yellow airplanes as my plane was unharmed.

Mud Slide

2011-08-28T23:32:00.000-07:00

One of the largest slides in the Wrangells.

Philipp Sturm

2011-08-28T23:30:00.000-07:00

Visited Philipp and his daugher at their Yurt on the Eric Yould strip.

Chittitu Creek

2011-08-28T23:25:00.000-07:00

Walked to Chittitu Creek from the May Creek cabin. Here's a photo of some of the scenery that make the Wrangell St. Elias National Park such an amazing place.

May Creek

2011-08-28T23:22:00.000-07:00

Hans and I flew from Lake Hood in Anchorage to May Creek in the Wrangell St. Elias National Park. Flew through Gulkana where we refueled. Landed at May Creek at 8pm. The cabin is a short walk through this trail. Took this photo during one of the trips to the planes shuttling our gear to the cabin.

Glacier Creek

2011-08-20T22:37:00.001-07:00

Glacier Creek Strip in the Wrangell St. Elias National Park.

Husky VS Cub

2011-08-20T22:31:00.000-07:00

Here's a photo from the "Gregg and Hans Tour Alaska" trip year 3. This photo taken at Jake's Bar.
Cub vs. Husky: The debate rages on.

Sheefishing

2011-08-20T22:20:00.000-07:00

Flew to Bettles with George Mandes, Charlie Martin, Hans Hanson, Peter Grunwaldt, and Astro the dog. George set us up with a Sheefishing adventure that was outstanding. Photo is of Peter's 185 on Amphibs and my 185 on wheels. George and Charlie's blog of our experience is here.

747 on Final

2011-07-19T10:21:00.000-07:00

Stopped by the Anchorage airport last weekend to watch airplanes land.

70199

2011-07-10T23:05:00.001-07:00

Amanda and I took delivery of 70199 on June 13, 2011. 70199 is a 1972 Cessna 185E. Peter Grunwaldt flew me and my instructor, Dr. Alex Russell, to Willow for the flight home. Amanda and I have been to Talkeetna twice already (took about 1 hour from Soldotna), and we just spent the weekend in McCarthy. Here is a photo from the McCarthy Airport.

Seldovia

2011-04-26T13:04:00.000-07:00

Flew over to Pete Ross' new house. He lives on an airstrip. Taxied over to his driveway and parked the planes. PZ is on the right. 6AM (Hans' plane) is the blue one. Pete's is the red and white one in the back.

Flew over Halibut Cove.

On the way to Seldovia for lunch with Amanda. Hans flew over with Veronica.

Avionics Improvements

2011-04-26T12:51:00.000-07:00

Ben Stedman ripped apart the inards of the instrument panel. Added manifold pressure, CHT, and Spidertracks. It was all back together in about 2 hours with the new instruments.

Iditarod 2011

2011-04-26T12:46:00.000-07:00

Parked on Crystal Lake to watch the dog-sled teams go by. Thanks to Hans for hosting another great Iditarod party at his cabin.

Sourdough Bread

2011-01-02T21:07:00.001-08:00

Making two loaves of Sourdough Wheat bread using a natural levain that I started from scratch about two weeks ago. The first loaf came out of the oven and I juxtaposed the pre and post baking loaves.

Cook Inlet

2010-12-20T23:36:00.000-08:00

No photo editing. Seriously, it was this beautiful flying along the north shore of the Kenai Peninsula at 300 ft. Taken with i-phone.

Trapper Joe Lake

2010-12-20T23:34:00.001-08:00

Flew to Trapper Joe Lake. The snow was perfect on the lake and the cabin was in good shape. Taken with i-phone.

Ridge Camping

2010-09-04T15:35:00.001-07:00

Morning on the Ridge

Moon Rise

Chris Hodel getting ready to cook dinner.

Two cubs and a husky.

Hodel on approach.

Back to Bettles with Amanda

2010-09-04T15:23:00.000-07:00

Denali Park

Flying to Fairbanks

Bettles, AK

Gregg, Hans, Pete, and Chance Tour Alaska

2010-08-25T09:14:00.000-07:00

Manley Hot Springs

Just after flying to Manley from Bettles

Pete and Chance about to land on a gravel bar in the Brooks Range

Sunset in Bettles

Gregg, Hans, Pete, and Chance Tour Alaska

2010-08-24T22:47:00.001-07:00

The Yukon River with fires in the distance.

Near Eagle, Alaska

Eagle, Alaska

Sunset in Chicken, Alaska

Chicken, Alaska

Gregg, Hans, Pete, and Chance Tour Alaska

2010-08-24T22:37:00.000-07:00

Tok, Alaska with rainshowers in the background.

The famous Aliaka Caldera

Chance, Pete, Hans, and Me

The Long Glacier

Chance looking over the edge.

Gregg, Hans, Pete, and Chance Tour Alaska

2010-08-23T22:51:00.000-07:00

Parked on the plateau above the Long Glacier

Camping at the McCarthy Airstrip

McCarthy Alaska

Pete and Chance in 92H

All fueling up to start the AK Adventure

Chakachatna River

2010-07-16T05:45:00.001-07:00

Silver Salmon Creek

2010-07-16T05:24:00.000-07:00

Amanda's King Salmon

2010-06-30T00:32:00.000-07:00

Amanda caught her first fish tonight. It was a 31 pound king samon.

More Big River Lakes

2010-06-27T17:02:00.000-07:00

Big River Lakes

2010-06-27T16:44:00.001-07:00

Amanda and I went to a Hospice fundraiser last year. During the live auction, Amanda set her sights on a fly-in fishing and bear viewing trip with Talon Air, a local charter company. Talon flies large Turbine Otters and Cessna Caravans. During the bidding war for this auction item, the hospital CEO, Ryan Smith, leaned forward and asked Amanda if she realized that she had an airplane and a husband who knew how to fly it, and that we didn't need a charter service to do it for us. Ryan was not able to derail her quest to "win" this auction item. As you can see, she "won", and we recently flew with Talon Air to Big River Lakes and had a wonderful experience fishing for salmon and watching bears do the same.

Fly-in fishing

2010-06-24T23:46:00.000-07:00

McArthur King Salmon

2010-06-24T00:10:00.000-07:00

Caught this 30 pound king salmon tonight.

McArthur River

2010-06-09T15:50:00.001-07:00

Valdez Trip

2010-06-09T15:30:00.000-07:00

Razor Clamming

2010-06-04T23:03:00.000-07:00

Flew to Clam Cove in Chinitna Bay with Amanda

It was lonely out there

Digging for clams

Razor Clams

Flying over the Crescent Creek Tidal Flats

Tuxedni Bay

2010-06-02T17:28:00.000-07:00

Scouting out property in Tuxedni Bay

Fossil Point

2010-06-02T17:06:00.000-07:00

Flew to Fossil Point with Amanda, Django, and Guinness. Bob and Molly Bauder also flew in.

Amanda, Molly, and Django walking below the high-tide lines.

Rounding the point with Chisik Island in the background.

Guinness playing in the water.

Rick Ruess gets Married

2009-11-23T05:32:00.001-08:00

The pie was so good that it deserves another photo op. Here's the pie.

I learned to fly through Arctic Flyers, which is a family run operation out of Lake Hood. Through the years, I have flown with Heidi, Herman, and Rick. On this day, Rick was getting married and many of the wedding guests were aviation enthusiasts. We took Grandma to the wedding and sat with our friends Ben and Lynn. In an earlier post, I showed pictures of us eating a homemade blueberry pie. The pie was made by Ben and Lynn who gave it to us here at the wedding.

Cliff and Sara

2009-11-23T05:25:00.001-08:00

We took my Grandma to the Summit Lake Lodge for lunch and ran into our friends Cliff and Sara. Sara flies a Husky and Cliff flies a PA-12. They had flown their float planes from Anchorage to have lunch. My Grandma thought this was really neat, so we watched Cliff and Sara take off for home. In this photo, Sara has just lifted off (above the left wing of Cliff's plane) and Cliff is taxiing for take-off.

Grandma Visits Alaska

2009-11-23T05:17:00.000-08:00

We are on a short flightseeing trip to the Tustumena Glacier

Grandma Grace visited us from Bellevue, WA. She has flown in the plane multiple times before.

Knik Glacier

2009-11-12T20:52:00.000-08:00

Amanda, Django, and Guinness. We stayed for 3 days and 2 nights.

We found a picnic table nearby that someone left behind. It was a simple design that allowed it to be easily disassembled to fit in an airplane. We dragged it over to our camp.

Went hiking in search of water.

Landed on the north end of Lower Lake George. Set up camp. We brought Django and Guinness to enjoy the camping.

Gregg and Hans Tour Alaska

2009-11-11T14:03:00.000-08:00

This is the last photo from the trip on the way through Ptarmagin Pass. The weather was terrible the rest of the way home. Rainy Pass was basically IMC and we picked our way towards Skwentna. No chance for photos because I was busy flying the plane. Hans landed in Anchorage at Lake Hood strip, and I decided to continue on to Soldotna. Visibilities improved just outside of Anchorage, and I relaxed for a pleasant ride home. That was when I experienced the worst turbulence of the trip crossing Turnagain Arm. I was in continuous moderate with occasional severe turbulence. Again, no photos. I was happy to land safely in Soldotna. I put the 6-pack of Beer on my shelf in the hangar where it still sits. Someday I will drink it.

The flight through Farewell was marginal due to smoke from the fires around Fairbanks. Once past Farewell, the visibility improved, but the winds were brutal. We had to fly through Ptarmagin pass to get back to the Mat-Su valley. We were in continuous moderate turbulence the entire way.

We were planning on staying the night in Farewell for our last night on the trip. We found a store in McGrath and bought a 6-pack of Alaskan Amber for $15. This was clearly a good deal compared against the $11 glass of Alaskan White in Bettles. We dragged the newly acquired beer to the Flight Service Station to check the weather before heading to Farewell. The weather briefer told us that bad weather was moving in from the Bethel area and it might affect the passes to the Mat-Su valley for the next couple of days. Hans and I decided to cut the trip short and fly directly back to Anchorage. So I loaded the $15 6-pack into the plane and shipped the beer back to where it probably originated when it cost $7.

Old rusted barrels line the main street along the Kuskokwim River.

We landed in McGrath and walked around the town. The town was surprisingly friendly and relatively clean.

Gregg and Hans Tour Alaska

2009-11-11T12:54:00.000-08:00

Departed Ophir for McGrath the next morning. On the way, we flew over Takotna. The strip is chiseled into the top of the mountain that sits above the town. Winds were a bit squirrely up there. We landed and met a guy, Buck Turnbull, who was helping to relocate the airstrip to another location. He said there was nothing in Takotna, so we left.

Last night on the trail.

We found this cabin along the river. It was in good condition and someone was obviously using it regularly.

I'm not sure what Hans is looking at here.

More old deserted buildings from the old town site.

Gregg and Hans Tour Alaska

2009-11-11T12:46:00.000-08:00

You can get a sense of how strong the winds were blowing that day. We found some old buildings.

There was a town here at one time. We set out looking for the old townsite.

Landed in Ophir. Winds were strong and gusty.

Departed Galena and battled 20 kt headwinds to Ophir.

After the storm passed, the sun came out.

Gregg and Hans Tour Alaska

2009-10-17T19:43:00.000-07:00

Landed in Galena. After fueling, Hans thought he had fuel leaking from his cowling. He pulled the plane apart and looked around, but didn't find anything concerning. About the time he put the plane back together, a very impressive thunderstorm passed through and forced us to sit for a good 20 min while the rain passed through. Several inches of rain must have dumped on us.

Had to punch through a few holes.

We departed Nome in search of better weather. Our plan to head north to Kotzebue did not work out, so we headed back to Galena.

The rock wall overlooking the ocean.

House of Bargains. You got that right!

Gregg and Hans Tour Alaska

2009-10-17T19:22:00.001-07:00

Had to throw in the photo of the Hanson Trading Co. Hans must have roots here.

Here's the bus stop.

The best photo oportunity in Nome.

The innards of the Nugget Inn. The quaint lobby had us hoping for something better than the rumors. I couldn't take a picture of the room, it was that bad. I will say that it didn't leak during the storm that night.

We made it to the Nugget Inn. Looks interesting.

Gregg and Hans Tour Alaska

2009-10-02T20:23:00.001-07:00

This is us walking from the Aurora to the Nugget Inn. Looks nice down that way doesn't it?

Safely tied down in Nome. The airport is secured and there really was no way for us to camp with the planes, so we packed our gear and walked into the Flight Service Station for a weather update and info on local accommodations. The weather briefer was nice and told us that while there may be several hotels in town, the only place to stay that was decent was the Aurora Inn. He called a cab for us and we went outside to wait. When the cab arrived we got in and told the driver to take us to the Aurora Inn. He told us he had to make one more stop for more customers on the way in to town. We stopped by the commercial terminal and picked up about four more people; three pleasant Alaska-native women, and one drunken native man who was clearly in need of a shower and a nap. The three women wanted to go to the Aurora (good choice), and the man wanted to go to the Nugget Inn (had not heard of the Nugget Inn, but according to the weather briefer, "don't go anywhere but Aurora"). We pull up to the Aurora Inn (very nice) and stand at the counter. The nice man behind the counter listens to our request for a room without a reservation. He and the other guy behind the counter laugh to themselves as they tell us that they are filled to capacity and have no rooms to offer. The now not-so-nice man behind the counter says we might try ......the Nugget Inn............

White Mountain, Alaska

Just scenery

The Darby Mountains enroute to Nome had some strange rock formations. Golovin Bay in the background.

Gregg and Hans Tour Alaska

2009-09-07T22:38:00.000-07:00

Sun shining on the way to Nome

Kwik River and Kwiniuk Inlet

We reached Norton Sound and thought we might turn towards Unalakleet for gas, but the weather looked promising so we decided to proceed to Nome.

The Nulato Hills

Passing through the east side of the Kaiyuh Mountains

Gregg and Hans Tour Alaska

2009-08-29T21:17:00.001-07:00

On our way to Galena, we left the Koyukuk river and headed south towards Galena which is on the north side of the Yukon river. This is my approach into Galena from the west.

The town of Hughes. We didn't stop here.

A rare photo out the right side of the airplane. Usually I take pictures out the left side.

Cub versus Husky. The debate rages on.

On the Koyukuk river. The rock was embedded into the ground like stone tiles.

Fresh Blueberry Pie

2009-08-23T23:37:00.000-07:00

Here's Amanda enjoying her pie and having fun with Grandma.

I thought I would take a break from the airplane trips and post something really fun. Ben Stedman and Lynn Spencer made us this beautiful fresh blueberry pie made with hand-picked blueberries, a great crust and fresh whipped cream. Ben did the picking and Lynn did the putting together. It was an absolute treat with perfect flavors, sweetness, tartness, and lightness. Thanks Lynn and Ben!!! We loved it. That's my grandmother enjoying her pie in the background.

Gregg and Hans Tour Alaska

2009-08-20T16:30:00.000-07:00

Hans touching down safely.

We had to make a stop along the Koyukuk. Hans is on final approach to the gravel.

The Koyukuk River is a clear, beautiful, winding river.

About 40 min out of Bettles, the smoke began to clear. We are approaching the town of Allakaket.

We followed the Koyukuk River towards Galena.

Gregg and Hans Tour Alaska

2009-08-19T23:17:00.000-07:00

We are having dinner on the John River. It's about 9 pm and we have just flown about 9 hours between Bettles, Barrow, and back. We considered staying the night on the gravel bar, but since Bettles was only about 10 min away, we decided to go where there was a place to eat breakfast and use the facilities.

Hans after landing on the John River. He's taxiing back towards me.

I landed on the John River. The rock was medium sized but reasonably smooth. Hans is making his final approach into the gravel bar.

Beautiful mountains.

More smoke on the way back through Anaktuvuk Pass.

Gregg and Hans Tour Alaska

2009-08-17T23:03:00.000-07:00

The Brooks Range

Making our way back to Bettles.

I left these out there, but Amanda later told me that I should have brought them back.

Parked on the Tundra.

Gregg and Hans Tour Alaska

2009-08-13T20:51:00.000-07:00

Safely down.

On our way back towards Umiat, I really wanted to land on the tundra. I tried to land in several areas, but the terrain was rather bumpy. I spotted a small hill that gave us an uphill landing (shorter rollout). Hans and I made several passes to make sure it felt good. Husky drivers seem to let the Cub drivers land first. George Mandes says this is because the Husky drivers are smarter. At any rate, I landed first and got a photo of Hans making his approach into the tundra.

The route towards Kotzebue was bad, so we had not other option than to head back to Bettles. This is on our way back to Umiat for more fuel.

The Real Land o' Lakes.

Here's the photo of Barrow through the airport fence. We were too cold to look for a way through the fence.

Gregg and Hans Tour Alaska

2009-08-12T20:14:00.000-07:00

This is a photo of the plane in Barrow. The airport was working on the ramp area and there weren't any tiedown spaces for us. I couldn't exit the airplane without the airplane blowing backwards, so I engaged a makeshift parking brake. The wind was howling and the windchill must have been near zero degrees. Hans and I decided that we weren't going to stay in Barrow and that we didn't even need to go to Point Barrow (the most northerly point). In fact, we didn't even need to see the ocean from the ground; we had seen it from the air. I ran across the ramp and snapped a photo (will be in the next post) through a chain-link fence since we didn't see a gate to even exit the airport. We could have taken gas in Barrow, but it takes 2 hours for the fuel truck to arrive and they charge even more than in Umiat plus they add a "service" fee. I took my two five-gallon jugs of fuel out of the back and proceeded to fill my tanks with frozen hands while standing on the tires of my plane that's trying to move backwards in the blowing wind. I got most of the fuel into the tanks....I'll leave it at that. All told, we spent about 20 min. in Barrow and we both agreed that it was about 19 min too long.

Preparing to land in Barrow. It already looks cold and the surface winds are easterly at 20 gusting 25.

Admiralty Bay, just east of Barrow. This stretch between Umiat and Barrow shames Minnesota in terms of the number of lakes.

We get to Umiat and I see this sign which makes me think I could walk down the street and find a gas station and a McDonalds at the next intersection. Troy the "fuel guy" drove up in his truck. Troy basically sits on the radio 24/7 and listens for incoming aircraft traffic looking for fuel. I asked him what there is in Umiat and he said, "you're looking at it". I pointed to the sign, and he shrugged his shoulders. So we took fuel and left for Barrow.

This was a very interesting ridge.

Gregg and Hans Tour Alaska

2009-08-10T23:32:00.000-07:00

Some beautiful flatlands toward Umiat. I really wish the air had been clearer.

Interesting rock formations between Anaktuvuk Pass and Umiat.

Just past Anaktuvuk Pass.

Hans flying by Anaktuvuk.

Anaktuvuk

Gregg and Hans Tour Alaska

2009-08-09T22:49:00.000-07:00

Nearing Anaktuvuk Pass. We have been following the John River from Bettles.

More Brooks Range.

My view out the front.

Departed Bettles for Umiat. The smoke made visibilities poor. I still had enough to take photos, but the clarity is definitely lacking. All this in the region where you are supposed to see forever.

Gregg and Hans Tour Alaska

2009-08-05T22:20:00.000-07:00

First night in Bettles.

Beautiful sky in Bettles.

Hans enjoying the weather.

Gregg and Hans Tour Alaska

2009-08-04T20:32:00.000-07:00

A Bettles Helio Courier waiting to launch.

The Bettles Fire Department.

Papa Zulu off in the distance. We tried to walk around the town of Bettles, but realized that the town was basically the airport.

Met David Pippert from South Dakota. He was travelling through the Arctic for the summer with his girlfriend, Megan. David's plane is the silver one off in the distance. It is a Zenith Stol CH 701. He built it with his father and has flown it back and forth between the states and Alaska a few times.

Getting camp set up in Bettles. We could have camped out on the front lawn of the Bettles Lodge, but we chose the rocky gravel ramp for some reason.

Gregg and Hans Tour Alaska

2009-08-04T20:13:00.000-07:00

We made it into Bettles on Sunday 7/26. The smoke was bad all the way from Fairbanks to Bettles.

Cub and Husky competing for most photographed airplane.

Hans showing us where we are.

Prospect Creek International Airport.

Hans looking proud of himself for making it to Prospect Creek.

Gregg and Hans Tour Alaska

2009-08-04T20:04:00.000-07:00

The pipeline crossing the Yukon River. This is the only bridge crossing for the pipeline.

Checking out the runway at Livengood.

Aerial photo of the pipleline and Livengood Camp.

Alaska Airlines on approach to Fairbanks International.

Another float pond photo from Fairbanks.

Gregg and Hans Tour Alaska

2009-08-03T21:29:00.000-07:00

Another photo in the setting sun.

The campsite had public-use bicycles, so I borrowed one and rode over to the float pond. The sun was setting and made for a beautiful sky.

180PZ taken from Hans' campsite.

Here's Hans enjoying an evening fire.

My camp at the Fairbanks airport. It was a great campsite, but the road noise was a bit annoying.

Gregg and Hans Tour Alaska

2009-08-02T23:15:00.000-07:00

Here we are parked at the Fairbanks Aviation Campground. The smoke in the air made for an interesting sky.

Close to Fairbanks, the fires are creating visibilities less than 3 miles.

In the Tanana Valley. Fires off in the distance.

McKinley Park.

Windy Pass. Not too windy today.

Gregg and Hans Tour Alaska

2009-08-02T23:03:00.000-07:00

Flew from Soldotna to Anchorage on Friday 7/24. Here's all my gear. Used almost everything except the rifle, pistol, generator, and a few miscellaneous things.

Hans' airplane is the blue one. A brand new Husky is renting space from Hans in his hangar. This is the night before our departure.

Just before leaving for Fairbanks on Saturday 7/25.

Talkeetna flyby.

Here's Cantwell, just before Windy Pass.

Passing 600

2009-07-13T21:39:00.001-07:00

Thought I would post this photo of the Tachometer passing through 600 hours.