Airport experience.

[starmac]

Well a guy from homer called late yesterday evening that had a truck go down up at Atigun. He had another truck here in town and wanted me to go pick it up and have it at the jobsite by this morning, and he would fly me back. We had a bad site connection and communication was very bad, so I finally told him if he could hear me, I would be there in the morning. An hour or so later his wife called and we had a better connection, and she was booking a flight out of coldfoot at 2:45 and makeing sure that would work, as it is over a 2 hour drive to get to coldfoot, but need another favor, bring BEER. lol
About that time we lost signal, so I didn't get to ask what kind or how much. lol They got 3, 30 packs of bud.

I got there at 5 am so had time to spare, she took me to coldfoot and when we got to the airport there is a clear sign that says public parking to the right, well there is nothing but forest right to the edge of the road to the right. Apparently they had trouble with people parking in the road, on the right side of course, because several of the trees had (no parking anytime signs) nailed to them. lol On the left was a few vehicles parked and in the trees was a dry cabin that someone lived in with kids toys and bicycles, no buildings of anykind to indicate it was an airport.
Just before you get to the sign that tells you to park to the right was a 2 track to the right, so we took that, it went a round about way back to the haul road. So we drive back down there and check it out again, thinking we are missing something. A plane landed so I walked out and asked where to find warbelo air. He told me to back up and take a trail to the left until I found a blue fuel truck, and they would land there if one was coming. We get there and sure enough a plane lands and it is there sister company that does charters, and unloads some passengers that a van is waiting on. I walk out and talk to the pilot, who confirmed I was in the right place.
After 30 minutes or so a warbelo plane lands and a man and a very small japanese girl gets off to stretch their legs while the pilot refuels. The guy walks over to the edge of the woods where I am standing to relive himself, so I ask where he came from, which was fairbanks, but he is going to anaktuvuk, so this is not my plain either.
After he fueled, he yelled my name and ask if that was me, when I said yes, he said load up, so I wind up going to anaktuvuk, then back to fairbanks.

You have to love bush airports, no screening, no ID, no patdowns, no NOTHING, just stand on athe gravel runway till time to load up. lol

Now the guy on the plane was an hvac tech, going to work on something. The japanese girl was going into the wilderness by herself hiking for a week. This girl wasn't as big as a minute, and this is big bear country, when she got off the plane, she donned her backpack and walked across the runway and away from the village, by herself.
I will give her this, her backpack was a nice one, not new and showing signs of much use, so I figured this was not her first rodeo.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

You just let her walk off into the wilderness? Weren't there any "Do Not Feed The Bears" signs?

[starmac]

No signs of any kind. I talked to her a little on the flight, she didn't speak much english, but more than I do japanese. lol I didn't mention bears, I figured she knew what she was getting into, or would soon learn. lol

[runfiverun]

not like your gonna stop her,
she woulda probably kung-foo'd you on the spot.

[472x1B/A]

This girl didn't have a firearm, knife, or walking staff? If not she's done that a time or 2. After my 2 tours at King Salmon there is no way in **** I would go more than 50 yards, in the bush, with out a rifle.

[dragon813gt]

Wish my airport experiences were like that. I will say that I haven't had any issues since I paid for pre check. But they still insist on going through my bags every time.

I've never been to Alaska but I do know that I'd want a rifle/shotgun on me when in the back country :)

[starmac]

She could have had some bear spray, but not a firearm, or at least not a long arm.
She probably would not have weighed much over 80 pounds, maybe the bears won't think she will make much of an appetizer. lol

[Mtnfolk75]

Yep, Coldfoot Airport is all that & nothing more [smilie=s: Flew out of there in February.

[starmac]

The very first time I didn't get a pat down since they started that mess, all I got was told to get in. lol Didn't ask for any ticket, id or anything.

[10x]

This girl didn't have a firearm, knife, or walking staff? If not she's done that a time or 2. After my 2 tours at King Salmon there is no way in **** I would go more than 50 yards, in the bush, with out a rifle.

Either she will survive or folks will start asking where she went in a few weeks.
If she survives, expect her to put her experience on "social media" and be prepared for others to attempt to emulate her experience.

It is improvident to backpack camp in areas where there are large predators.
It is also improvident to simply leave your mode of transportation and walk into the woods to hike and camp for a week without giving folks any idea of where you are going.
Or when you will be back. She may have done this, she may not.

[starmac]

Well she had booked passage for her return flight in a week. Folks hike up here all the time. The old timers did it alone and still do, most younger ones go in pairs or groups, but hikeing in the wilderness is fairly normal, as that is the only feasible way to see much of Ak.

For some good reading check out Alaskas wolfman. The government hired Frank Glasser to hike and follow the caribou migration for a year, he didn't even bother to carry a bedroll. Those guys were of a tough breed back then.

[starmac]

On the other hand some folks shouldn't be hiking alone. My friend dropped a young guy we know off at a bush runway to pac some supplies in for some sheep hunters that are hunting right now (other guys we know). He had easy instructions and had flown over the area several times, and it was an easy hike. Hike about 3/4 of a mile to the river, then upstream for a 1/2 mile to the first creek that spilled into it, then upstream a couple of hundred yards to the cabin. They finally spotted him from a plane two days later, several miles up the first creek he had come to. lol

[472x1B/A]

On the other hand some folks shouldn't be hiking alone. My friend dropped a young guy we know off at a bush runway to pac some supplies in for some sheep hunters that are hunting right now (other guys we know). He had easy instructions and had flown over the area several times, and it was an easy hike. Hike about 3/4 of a mile to the river, then upstream for a 1/2 mile to the first creek that spilled into it, then upstream a couple of hundred yards to the cabin. They finally spotted him from a plane two days later, several miles up the first creek he had come to. lol

See! People got to have at least 5 or 10 cents worth of common sense to go out 'There'. The year I did at Shemya 2 people got lost beach combing.

[dtknowles]

The very first time I didn't get a pat down since they started that mess, all I got was told to get in. lol Didn't ask for any ticket, id or anything.

General Aviation does not involve TSA. We flew from New Orleans to Denver and back and never went thru security. I could have been carrying and nobody would have known or cared. Our luggage could have been full of explosives and again nobody would have known. The whole overblown airport security is a charade for the public and to create .gov jobs.

Tim

[Friends call me Pac]

See! People got to have at least 5 or 10 cents worth of common sense to go out 'There'. The year I did at Shemya 2 people got lost beach combing.

Hey I did a year on the rock (91). They must have walked in circles instead of a straight line.

[abunaitoo]

Guy from Alaska told me this joke...
Q) What do you call an unarmed hiker?????
A) Bait.
Hope she's doing ok.

[472x1B/A]

Hey I did a year on the rock (91). They must have walked in circles instead of a straight line.

The ROCK! '75-'76 Think of a loose prison site. It's like, 'I've been to places people have never heard of and seen things people only see in the National Geographic'. They got lost in the fog.

[dragon813gt]

Can't wait to see what the TSA line is like at PDX next Friday :(
At least I'm flying out of a small regional airport to get there.

[starmac]

General Aviation does not involve TSA. We flew from New Orleans to Denver and back and never went thru security. I could have been carrying and nobody would have known or cared. Our luggage could have been full of explosives and again nobody would have known. The whole overblown airport security is a charade for the public and to create .gov jobs.

Tim

I think it is legal to carry on a plane, as long as we are staying in in the state. What is illegal is carrying powder or primers, which is a pain for anybody living off grid, they just have to cheat.
Thare are also some laws on alchahol, limits or something.

[dtknowles]

I think it is legal to carry on a plane, as long as we are staying in in the state. What is illegal is carrying powder or primers, which is a pain for anybody living off grid, they just have to cheat.
Thare are also some laws on alchahol, limits or something.

I am not sure but I think powder and primers are OK if it is not a commercial flight, meaning no money changing hands just a private flight, same for alcohol. As far as carrying, again if it is a private flight it would be no different than driving in a car except you only have to comply with State Laws in the States where you touch the ground. Commercial and private aviation have different rules regarding planes and pilots ratings. Even Bush Pilots have to have Commercial rating and planes need to be rated and maintained to Commercial Standards. Private flights can be in homebuilt planes with an experimental rating. I just am pointing out that there may be differences in the rules that could be explored. I think you could fly in your own stash of primers and powder legally you just can't pay someone to do it. I could be completely wrong about this.

Tim

[Alvarez Kelly]

Hey I did a year on the rock (91). They must have walked in circles instead of a straight line.

I got to Shemya on a sunny day in May, 1984. I didn't see the sun again for 6 weeks. The fog is amazing.

[NavyVet1959]

On the north side of the HOU airport, there is the terminal and airlines. On the south side, are the General Aviation FBOs. Back when I flew out of HOU, I would often be walking through the FBO and hangar to get to my plane that was parked outside, all while carrying a shotgun.