Skookumchuck, BC

McKenzie Bridge is a jumping off point for all kinds of activities. On this trip we camped at the airport and mainly rode the McKenzie River Trail. I definitey recommend going to Belknap Hotsprings - you can take a dip, recharge your phone and have a nice shower for less than $10. This airstrip has a few tiedowns on the north end and is a great place to spend the night camping.

On the way to land at the Hot Springs in the middle of nowhere :)

Logging

My passenger could hold it no more - fortunately rough elk-trodden grass strips are not a problem for the Maule. This is a USFS airstrip that is open to the public after May 1st. Toketee Falls and the North Umpqua MTB trail is not far away from here but you need to be in real good shape to do the latter. Takeoff performance was a bit lacking this time - in retrospect there was a light tailwind in addition to long grass, density altitude, and heavier loading.

Going south to Harrison mill

A day at the saint agnes hot springs

After a great day of flying and riding around the Squamish area I decided to head east for the solstice to a place that very few Vancouverites ever manage to get to. I had been in contact for weeks with Robin out there at the Hot Springs Lodge and he gave me permission to plop down and roll out my mattress for the night. Once I got there I learned I was the first US pilot to land there - that's awesome!

The Skookumchump Hot springs are located on the bank of the beautiful Lillooet River and they are wonderful. Because the water is so clean and you can adjust the temperature, it is possible to stay in there for hours and not prune up at all. What a great place - I hope to come back soon. I got pretty aggressive on the approach and could have stopped in less than half the runway length which is good considering all the trees on the approach. A pilot could easily have a bad day on this strip - better know what you and your aircraft are capable of cause it wouldn't be hard to end up in the river or in Mr. T's living room - especially with a tailwind.

http://hotspringlodge.blogspot.com/

Fun on the Shuswap River near Enderby

A cool mini-clip of the ebb tide (going out) of the Sechelt Rapids at Skookumchuck Narrows on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia.

A great turn out on March 30