Idaho 2004 (Second Trip): On The Way To Van's Homecoming by Doug Reeves
Day Two
Cold. It was cold when we awoke. Later we found out from a 180/185 guy that it had dropped to 19F overnight. This trip I remembered to bring some tea to heat up. I'm not a coffee drinker and on the last trip I had ice cold Dr.Pepper for a breakfast drink. Normally that's just fine, but like I said, it's COLD up here for a N.Texan in September.
The fire still had some embers going so getting it started again wasn't much trouble. Soon we had a big, hot fire going again. I walked up to the planes and took a picture of the ice that had crystallized on them overnight. It stood out almost a quarter of an inch in spots and was quite complex up close. I took out the little geology 10X field loupe I keep on my keychain and gave it the once over. OK, enough cold...let's drink something hot.
Before my first trip to Idaho I bought one of those MSR 'Pocket Rocket' stoves and a can of fuel. It works great for heating water and weighs almost nothing. Before this last trip I also found a neat little stainless steal cup that was perfect for making a hot glass of tea in. Next to a campfire with a hot glass of tea sitting between your airplane and a mountain stream is not the worst way to start your day.
After breakfast I took a stroll down to the shower and enjoyed a nice hot shower and shave. Johnson Creek, as you may have guessed already, isn't that 'back country' of a location. Danny had been wondering how well his RV-8 would perform at this strip now that it wasn't full of gear and gas. Around 10:00am he went to find out. I opted to sit in the hammock, read a book and enjoy the surroundings instead of flying. However, when the oil in The Doll was warmed up and it looked like it was about to launch I put the long lens on the camera and stepped up to the edge of the runway. Danny's 200hp C/S setup jumped off the grass in about three seconds and climbed like it always does. Even the 180/185 crowd stopped and watched. In only a couple of minutes Danny was well over the tops of the ridges doing rolls for the breakfast crowd.
After breakfast and 'the airshow' it was time for a hike. I strapped on the S&W.44 and we headed out. Bears are seen here every so often. Walking out to the stream on the north end of the runway is the perfect place to watch planes arrive. They come right over your head and the panoramic view is just spectacular.
Danny's knee had been bothering him for the past few months so we didn't walk that far from the airport, but I spent quite a bit of time searching for the 'perfect desk rock' to put on my desk at work as a souvenir of the trip. I ended up finding a beautifully rounded, almost-worn-into-a-perfect-circle piece of granite a little larger than a golf ball as well as another flat-as-a-pancake piece of granite for it to rest on. A stream can shape some beautiful rocks. Cheaper than a souvenir T-shirt and a better conversation starter, I think. These now rest on my desk beside two of my favorite pictures.
Back at camp a half hour later and I'm inspecting the moss/lichens on the trees and getting ready to settle in for a several hour field test of my hammock. I planned to help pass the time by reading a book but ended up falling asleep. Later when I woke up I saw that Danny was field-testing his hammock also.
OK, that was a tiring morning. Time for lunch. I had one of those 'just add boiling water' meals in a bag and did just that. Nine minutes later I was enjoying spaghetti and meatballs and an ice cold Dr.Pepper from the refrigerator (tied in a net and put in the stream - pictured at right). After lunch was more hammock testing (sleeping) and a long stroll up and down the runway to visit with some of the other pilots that were there. We passed by a particularly well stocked campsite and I had to take a picture. If you've got the cargo room you might as well use it.
Item of note: One of the campers had modified a gas powered weedeater motor and attached it to a blender. Their group was making frozen margaritas all afternoon. Yeah, I know. Roughing it. One nice fellow, and RV-8A owner, offered both Danny and me a cold beer and a couple of chairs to sit in under the wing of the plane he also owns and flew to JC on this trip - a C185. Two good planes.
Another hot meal courtesy our fire, another Dr.Pepper from 'the refrigerator' and it's time to hit the hay. Danny's favorite cup that he's apparently had for many, many years was left too close to the fire and melted some. He tried to fix it, but instead made up a story about fighting off bears. Long story short...he says these are hard to find. If you can find one his email is [danny.king at charter.net].
I slept great. The white noise generated by the stream put me out in a couple of minutes.
The next morning we broke camp down and were in the air by 9:15am headed for McCall. I got a nice picture of Yellow Pine, located five miles north of Johnson Creek. Pretty much the whole town is in the shot. Over some more beautiful mountains and we're in McCall for fuel and the short two hour push over to Aurora, OR and Van's Homecoming. The lake at McCall in the picture doesn't do it justice. It is DARK BLUE water and the trees come right up to the water almost all around it. Earlier in the week some of the Texas B.C. Squadron had rented a boat and gone out on the lake for a wine and cheese evening.
The compass is now on 'W' and we're two hours out of the Portland area. The next installment deals with Homecoming and our trip back over the Rockies.
That was a couple of nice aircraft camping days. Wish you could have come with us.
More to come....
Back to part one
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