Breakfast at Big Creek

DAY SEVEN:
On our second day at Johnson Creek, we decided to fly out to Big Creek (U60) for breakfast. This could easily become my favourite place to fly for breakfast in Idaho. This is a beautiful spot in the mountains, about 18nm from Johnson Creek. Big Creek airstrip has a 3500 x 110 foot turf runway, located in a mountain valley at 5740 foot elevation. The surrounding mountains are 8800 to 9300 feet high.


Flying Downwind U60 Big Creek

The Big Creek airstrip serves a local Forest Ranger station and several outfitting lodges. The Big Creek lodge is only steps away from the end of the runway, and serves a large breakfast to guests and fly-in visitors. You can rent a cabin, stay at the lodge or camp beside the airstrip. I chose to fly there from Johnson Creek for breakfast, and then spend the rest of the morning flying around and visiting smaller strips. By 1PM, the air is too hot and unstable for safe flying in the canyons.


Short final Big Creek

Pilots at Big Creek are advised to be alert for moose, deer and elk on or near the strip. It is also a one-way strip, landings on Rwy 19, take offs on Rwy 01 when wind permits. If the wind does not permit a comfortable take off on Rwy 01, do NOT take off!

We arrived early in the day and departed by 11AM. The Husky has lots of power for this kind of strip, as long as you don't try anything foolish. I noticed as I flew the downwind leg that half of the runway was being watered, with a line of orange pylons marking the irrigation hose. I flew a mile downstream before I let down into the valley and reversed course to fly final. The approach is blind, once you descend into the valley, you do not see the runway until short final, like most of these mountain strips.

The runway is not flat. You have a choise of landing downhill, on the flat or uphill. The runway is shaped a little like a ski jump, with the low spot just before mid-field. In the spring, this area can be very soft and muddy, and you can bog down. In July and August it is very dry and firm. Here is the ramp area - at the top of the hill.


Mike Taxis Uphill in the Stinson


It is a short walk to the lodge, where the caretaker and his wife will greet you and sit you at a large table to serve you a hearty breakfast. During this camping trip, breakfast was often my only meal of the day, I simply could not eat anything else. After breakfast, you can sit and watch the hummingbirds at the feeder outside, or watch the deer in the meadow.


The lodge. The hummingbird feeders hanging outside drew a crowd of birds in the mornings.


Departure procedure. Plan to depart before noon, and never with a tailwind. The takeoff roll is downhill, and you have to follow the valley downstream for a couple of miles to gain enough altitude to cross the ridges. Remember to check the density altitude, and calculate the aircraft performance accordingly. It is usually at least 90F by noon in July and August, so the takeoff roll could be at least twice what you are used to, and your climb rate will really suffer while you climb out of the valley.