Another Johnson Creek Idaho Backcountry Camping Trip

Two Idaho backcountry camping trips in one summer!!

Exciting stuff!!

It was a spur of the moment deal (only a week’s notice) . Friends Mike & Jan were going. A friend that had never been there had a window of opportunity and was willing. So, the decision was made. We were headed north.

The trip north was fairly typical and uneventful. We stopped at Price, UT and again at Challis, ID to top our fuel tanks and head into Johnson Creek.

The first arrival at the Johnson Creek backcountry airstrip is always a bit shocking for new folks. Our friend was no different.  He managed to get in just fine and celebrations began!

The next day was a quick hop to Sulphur Creek Lodge for breakfast.  They put on a massive spread for us and we left there thinking we didn’t need to eat again that week.

We cruised down the Middle Fork river and then up Loon Creek to the Upper Loon airstrip. Again, everyone did well and we enjoyed a bit of time in this little slice of heaven.

Some clouds were building and the afternoon forecast was for thunderstorms starting mid-afternoon. Our plan was to be on the ground at Johnson Creek by 1pm.

After departing Upper Loon, I made a dash to Challis for fuel.

After fueling, I crossed back into the backcountry and could see that the weather forecaster’s timing had been wrong. It was only noon but the wall of storms was VERY significant.  I thought I might be able to sneak back into base and I tried every drainage and hole that looked like a possibility but they were all dead ends.  I was being pushed north by this rapidly moving system so I decided to find a place to land and sit it out before I was pushed all the way to Spokane.  Chamberlain Basin was my first choice but as I approached, it was obvious that hard rain had started there already. So, I headed a bit further to Cold Meadows.

When I made the decision to land at Cold Meadows, I fully understood that I could be sitting there all day, all night, and maybe a good part of the next day.  That didn’t sound like too much fun since I knew where my tent and sleeping back were and that was NOT with me but back at Johnson Creek!! Regardless; it was the only sensible decision.

So, I dug around at Cold Meadows, uncovered an aircraft tie-down, and secured the RV-4.

Then I waited…

The huge mass of weather quickly rolled over the mountains and descended upon us.  I climbed into the RV-4, got comfortable in the cockpit, turned on some music, and enjoyed the show!

After an hour or so, I even got bored enough to take a short nap!

I was lucky. The storm passed fairly quickly and cleared up nicely.  By about 3pm, I was untying the RV-4 and taking off.  Return to base was uneventful.

Yes, I really appreciated my tent, sleeping bag, and pillow that night…. 🙂

The next day was interesting due to the moisture from the previous day.  A couple of us made a hop to Big Creek Lodge for breakfast but found we had to shoot the ILS due to fog.

As always, breakfast was great!  Something about breakfast in the backcountry…. It’s like the odds of actually having food in this place are incredibly low so finding good food makes it seem like a huge treasure!

With the fog still hanging around, the Big Creek drainage was a site to behold.

Another visit to Cold Meadows…

And a visit to Chamberlain Basin…

The next morning required a very early departure to beat more rain and then had us heading south to Caldwell, ID and then into Nevada. Breakfast at Caldwell was good as was the trip home.  It was much delayed and slower than normal so I didn’t get home until 4pm which had me racing thunderstorms and wind in Utah and New Mexico.

As always, a number of things were learned on this trip.  I guess if I’m still learning then I’m not dead yet.

Recently, I overheard a comment about how inefficient airplanes are.  On that note…

On the return trip, I flew from Ely, NV to Los Lunas, NM in 3.4 hours. The winds were not favorable but not a direct headwind either.  I was at a fairly comfortable cruise of 2450 rpm for the entire leg (not fast cruise but not slow cruise either). I was loaded fairly heavy with camping gear. In non-aviator terms, this leg was 545 statute miles and I consumed 22 gallons of fuel. This means I averaged 24.7 mpg at 160 mph. In aviator terms; 477nm, 140 kts average ground speed, and 6.5 gph.

Had I been driving my Jeep and taken the shortest possible route (not the fastest) it would have been 746 statute miles. That would have taken over 12 hours and I would have burned something around 40 gallons of fuel – almost twice as much fuel!

My RV-4 doesn’t strike me as terribly inefficient – thank you very much!!  Btw; I am not claiming my aircraft is the MOST efficient aircraft available – there are some that are much more efficient.