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4th of July in the Idaho Backcountry

ScottSchmidt

ScottSchmidt

Well Known Member
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We finally had the opportunity to fly to Johnson Creek and Big Creek over the 4th of July and we just loved it.
Last year we made it to Smiley Creek but were unable to go onto Johnson Creek because of the fires Idaho experienced. Smiley Creek was a great first for us in the RV-10 but Johnson Creek and Big Creek were even better.

We didn't plan this trip at all. In fact we had a couple of other plans that fell through and had decided to spend the weekend in Southern Utah. One of my best friends offered his house to us near Zion's National Park and my friend Wayne (F1 Rocket Driver) had a spot in his hanger. I had talked with Wayne and another RV builder (Hi Frank) and they were really trying to warn me about the heat they were experiencing down there. It was 107 degrees on Thursday and wasn't expected to change through the weekend. So there we were Thursday afternoon at 4pm all packed for staying in a house in Southern Utah when RaNae and I flipped a coin and decided to go to Johnson Creek instead.
My flight plan said 1 hour 45 minutes from Salt Lake City to Johnson Creek and sunset was going to be just after 9pm. We repacked, grabbed some extra food, the tent, queen sized air mattress, down comforter, three pillows, and the telescope and we were on our way.
We were in the air by 6:30 pm climbing in the heat up to 12,500 to get some cool air.

There was some weather northeast of Johnson Creek but it was clear sailing other than some smoke that was in the air from all the California fires.

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We arrived to Johnson Creek, over flew the runway northbound, over the town of Yellow Pine just to see where it was and set up for final, landing to the south (upstream).
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We landed, tied down on the west side of the runway by the windsock and set up our tent. I found out later that our tent and plane were actually in sight on the Johnson Creek Webcam.

We did not have cell service (thank goodness) at Johnson Creek and I had my brother send me the webcam shot while we were at McCall having breakfast. That is our tent on the far right of the picture.
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Here is a shot of the webcam from our camp spot.
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The next morning we found out that the Cessna 180/185 club was having their fly-in there. I found this out by waking up at 6:00am to the sound of supersonic propeller tips whizzing by my head 50 feet away. I sure miss that sound now.
So, we were up by 6:30 or so watching as everyone took off to explore, find some food or just take a quick flight.
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We of course did not want to feel left out as the morning mass-exitous was occurring so we headed off to Big Creek for their breakfast and then over to McCall for fuel.

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Big Creek:
The night before I had discussed the landing at Big Creek with pilots that had been flying up here for 30 years. Big Creek has a canyon that is a little tighter than Johnson Creek and there is a big rock formation right in the middle of the canyon. One key item they warned me about was to announce my intentions before going behind the rock. Everything went as planned and we fell in love with this approach and airport. It was incredible to land at Big Creek. At Big Creek you also land to the south (upstream).

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We were not the only ones with the idea of flying to Big Creek. There were a few other planes there including the two RV's that were over at Big Creek.

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Big Creek was green and the cabins made you feel like you were in an old John Wayne movie. They had horses and deer walking through the fields.
We walked into the lodge and sat down and were immediately greeted with a bowl of applesauce and orange juice and told the coffee was a self serve system. There is no menu and you eat what they made and it was great. That day it was two huge pancakes, two eggs, bacon and hash browns. The meal was $10 per person.

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As we were walking back to the plane to leave, a deer walked out in the middle of the airstrip and posed for a picture. May need to add some deer whistles to the RV next time I come up.
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So we took off and headed to McCall for fuel and some food.

Big Creek as we climbed towards McCall.
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McCall Idaho
McCall is about a 15 minute flight from Big Creek and Johnson Creek. There you can take mountain flying lessons, get fuel and it is very close to the town. Plus the flight there and back is always spectacular.

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Payette Lake
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We first fueled up ($5.59/gallon) and a couple of back country airplanes told some war stories for a few minutes. (I know were a wanna-be)

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This is where you can take some flying seminars.
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As you exit the airport, this restaurant is directly across the street. We didn't eat there but heard it was pretty good.
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I didn't get a picture of it but there is a grocery store with a built in sporting goods store is directly across the street. There is also a very popular breakfast place called "The Pancake House".
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But before all of this occurred, RaNae needed her Diet Coke. After all, we had been in the Idaho backcountry for about 11 hours at this point and there is no ice machine to be found.
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We did fly back to McCall the next day and had breakfast at The Pancake House after waiting for about an hour. It was great food and I recommend it.

We really made some good friends this past weekend too. They were from Seattle, Denver, Southern Cali., Northern Cali. and McCall. The 180/185 club invited us to hang out with them on Saturday night during their BBQ. They had the Idaho State Aviation Safety Manager come and talk, as well as an expert on visual acuity, specifically night flying and lighting. We had fires every night and Idaho provides free firewood to the visitors.

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Johnson Creek Facilities and Relaxation
At Johnson Creek there are four bathrooms, two showers, plenty of outlets, lots of campsites and the river that runs along side the runway. They also have two airport vehicles that can be rented for $5.00 +.30 cents per mile.
Yellow Pine is 3 miles to the north where you can eat, get ice or head to the corner bar if you like. We actually never even went into Yellow Pine on this trip. There is lots of hiking around the airport. There was a group that hiked up to a lake above the runway (about a 12 mile round trip) where they were catching trout on about ever cast. After about noon, everyone just took a nap or watched the occasional plane come in.
It was fun to watch as everyone came out of the forest and from under the wings when a plane came into land. We would all jump up and watch as a plane circled to the north of the field and landed. We all act like it is the first time we have seen one of these magical machines fly.

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Showers
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Toilet with complimentary reading material
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On Saturday morning we got up early (again to the sound of 185's) and explored many of the other airports around Johnson Creek. We flew down the Middle Fork of the Salmon. We saw lots of rivers runners along the way. They use Indian Creek as a starting point.
It was a little smoky Saturday morning and the low angled light made it hard to get nice pictures.

Sulphur Creek - This is a private airport that serves breakfast in the morning. I heard that the runway was a little rough for our RV-10
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Not sure what this runway was. It may be Morgan but was not in my book.
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Indian Creek - This sounds like an RV friendly airport.
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Thomas Creek - Hot Springs are located here.
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Mahoney Creek
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Lower Loon - Very short and has hot springs.
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Upper Loon
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The Flying B Ranch - Private strip with breakfast
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Bernard
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Soldier Bar
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Not sure what this airport is called since it is not on the sectionals. When I mentioned it back at camp they said it was Roots, but sounds like that is not right either.
So, if you know the name let us know.
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Cabin Creek
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Time to head home.
Well, only one more morning of the 185 alarm clock.
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We packed our stuff and decided to have breakfast in Stanley Idaho before heading for home. It was fun watching all the planes depart early Sunday morning and we finally had the RV loaded and headed out.

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Leaving Johnson Creek
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They recently oiled Stanley Creek to keep the dust down and I had no problem landing on the oiled portion with plenty of runway to spare.
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The Bakery is our favorite breakfast place in Stanley. It is short walk down the hill. It was very busy Sunday morning and we even had entertainment. It was a great way to top off our Idaho camping weekend.

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We departed Stanley, flew over Red Lodge and Smiley Creek and headed for home. We had great weather this whole trip. What a great weekend and adventure!

Next stop, OSHKOSH 08'.

Red Lodge Idaho
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Smiley Creek
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What a great trip write-up

Thanks for sharing this. :D I hope to do this some day. I pounded rivets all weekend, and got the top fuselage skins on. Ready to order the finishing kit.
 
Very nice! It looks like a Piper beat you to the one parking spot behind the restuarant though. :D

I like all types of airplanes, but man your plane looks like a Ferrari at a Volkswagon Beetle convention.

Thanks for the pictures!
 
boom3 said:
I like all types of airplanes, but man your plane looks like a Ferrari at a Volkswagon Beetle convention.
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LOL:D

I really fell in love with those 185's but my dream backcountry plane is still the Beaver. They were taking those planes to strips that I wouldn't take a Jeep. And with 1500+lbs. of useful load, they can sure haul alot of stuff.

But it was fun to fly out there at 170 knots.
 
Floored, Scott!!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you for writing this!!!!

You got way better pics from JC and Big Creek than I ever did. Makes me kick myself for not going this year!!!

Thanks again - awesome!

b,
d
 
Great write up!

Apparently a Mooney tried to imitate you going into Big Creek yesterday and couldn't stop in time! Hit an old pickup truck at the end!

I was watching a video on landing at big creek a couple of hours ago and was wondering if the -10 would have any problems getting in there. You answered that question. Thanks for sharing!
 
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Scott-

Awesome! Thanks for taking the time to write it all up and post the pics.


Man, some of those strips make Johnson Creek look like DFW!

Joe
 
Very thorough. That's the first time I think I've seen a picture of the Johnson Creek pit toilet. :)

But that's not the Root Ranch you're describing in that one photo. Looks like one of the other private strips in the main Salmon River drainage. The Root is about four and a half miles northwest of Cold Meadows. Nice place. We stayed there for a few days in 2004 and rode the heck out of their horses.
 
Idaho Backcountry Flying

Scott,

Thanks for the opportunity to burn thru an hour here at work reading your trip report! Going into the Idaho backcountry in my very own RV is definitely on my "Bucket List".
 
Jealous

You're making us east coasters jealous . . .

TDT
40025
Oshkosh '09 here we come!
 
Dio benedica gli Stati Uniti- (God Bless The USA)

La ringrazio per il bel tour della vostra parte del mondo.
(Thank you for the beautiful tour of your part of the world)

Io sono invidioso della tua esperienza.
(I am envious of your experience)

Ma grato di aver condiviso.
(But grateful that you have shared it)

non poteva essere migliore
(could not be better)

grazie mille!!!
(thank you very much!!!)
 
Going later in the month

I can't do Osh this year so I think I'll do the Johnson Creek this year. Scott, your write up put me over the edge. I'm planning now. Do you know if there is any fishing in the creek there?

Thanks for the great report.
 
Fishing JC and Sulphur Creek

Great write-up, Scott. Good thing you stayed clear of Sulphur Creek. It's a grass/gravel/dirt mix. It's better suited for taildraggers, although I've taken C182s in there.

The Johnson Creek was catch and release in '06. Check the Proclaimation for the latest.

Steve
 
Hey Scott,
How do those -10s do in the backcountry? It's weird to see your post - I grew up in Idaho and flew around all those strips hunting, fishing and floating (yes, the rafting trips usually start at Indian Creek).

Anyway, I want to get back to that the backcountry flying some day and it seems that the short field/soft field performance of a -7, for instance, is probably pretty good, but I haven't heard much about it. Curious about your thoughts on backcountry flying in an RV?


Mike
 
Matt Lauer hasn't got a thing on you! I really enjoyed the last write up you did and this was just great. Thanks so much
 
RV7Guy said:
Do you know if there is any fishing in the creek there?
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From what I understand, the stream at Johnson Creek is catch and release. There is a lake above Johnson Creek where you can keep the fish.

But yes, there is fishing in all the streams. I've heard that the fishing at Moose Creek is much better.
 
Kitman Mike said:
Hey Scott,
How do those -10s do in the backcountry? It's weird to see your post - I grew up in Idaho and flew around all those strips hunting, fishing and floating (yes, the rafting trips usually start at Indian Creek).

Anyway, I want to get back to that the backcountry flying some day and it seems that the short field/soft field performance of a -7, for instance, is probably pretty good, but I haven't heard much about it. Curious about your thoughts on backcountry flying in an RV?

Mike
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Hi Mike, I am probably the 500th RV that has flown to Johnson Creek and I know I am not the first RV-10. I remember reading about someone who had an RV-10 with a flat tire there.
But the RV's are great on these strips. The RV takes off quick and lands slow. I know some would be very cautious taking an -A model RV to a rougher strip but many have gone before me. I have my front wheel off the ground almost immediately and hold it off the ground on landing as long as possible. If you stick to strips like Johnson Creek and Big Creek you should have no issues.

That weekend there were around 55 planes at Johnson Creek and 6 of them were RV's, 5 RV-6's or -7's and one -10. So more than 10% of the planes were RV's.

I know RV's have flown into many of the strips I flew over and I bet there is someone out there who has even landed at Mile Hi with their RV. (anyone, anyone?)
 
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