AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2016 - 55

THE TAZLINA GLACIER, the largest northwardflowing glacier in the Chugach Mountains,
spills into Lake Tazlina.

in one direction or another, but most likely there's one area that is
flyable. This makes hunting, fishing, camping, and exploring available most days.
The 3,000 feet of gravel at the Lake Louise airport might as well
be pavement, it's so compacted. Oakland's Cessna 175 is the only
airplane based there. "It's like they built the airport just for me," he
jokes. But like all the airports throughout the state, this one is an
important part of the transportation infrastructure. There are no
services at the airport, but Oakland plans to offer fuel from a portable tank on his truck. He already has avgas at the seaplane base.
With Gaunt in the right seat, I climb the 175 away from the
smooth surface for a trip around the lake. Cabins dot the shoreline,
all of them potential customers for Oakland's barge, which can lug
14 tons of building materials, gear, and even a bulldozer to the sites
for construction, or just everyday supplies. Tall, skinny spruce trees
cover the mostly flat landscape for miles, their size stunted by the
permafrost. Unable to soak in, water pools into ponds everywhere.
Larger lakes abound. Although they mostly look alike to this rookie,
Gaunt and the other local pilots know them all by name.
Company soon arrives as Joe Pendergrass and Danny Davidson
swoop in, both in their Cessna 180s. The pair-along with one of
Pendergrass's passengers, Bob Elliott-routinely fly as part of the
Iditarod Air Force, the official aerial support team for the iconic
annual sled dog race from Anchorage to Nome. Dogs, dog food,
water, supplies, mushers, race officials, media, and medical supplies
move along the 1,000-mile race course via general aviation airplanes.
In case you're wondering, the answer is 16: the number of
sled dogs you can get into a Cessna 180, Elliott confirms. His first
year he proudly managed to get eight into his Skywagon. "It was
full, I thought," says Elliott. An experienced Iditarod pilot came
along and put in eight more-an entire team. "They're mostly well
behaved," he says of the many times he has since flown dogs. "Every
once in a while one of them gets an attitude and starts to harass the
others." A couple of seconds of negative Gs quiets them right down.
DOWN THE RIVER. Pendergrass's Skywagon leads us southeast as
we explore the Copper River Basin. The region gets its name from
the large amounts of copper in the area. The river itself takes on a
green hue, the color of an oxidized copper roof. The river churns
and twists past the Wrangell Mountains. As it continues south to its
massive delta at the Gulf of Alaska, we dodge slightly left to pick up
the Chitina River, headed for the remote mining town of McCarthy.
The town is mostly abandoned, although its gravel airport just
down the valley is anything but. Flightseeing operators ply the area,
giving tourists a bird's-eye view of the Kennicott and Root glaciers.
As we admire the vista from the ramp, de Havilland Beavers, Cessna
206s, and even a Piper Navajo taxi by, eager and slightly nervous
faces pressed to the windows. The tourists return our enthusiastic waves. The wind is calm, the air smooth.
Pendergrass graciously allows me to fly his 180 and we take
off to explore the glaciers ourselves, the 175 just ahead. Mindful
that we are inside Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, we climb to
an appropriate altitude and form up over the glacier for some airto-air photography and video. At 13.2 million acres, Wrangell-St.

RUSTIC GETAWAYS FOR PILOTS

Ultima Thule Lodge
Located on the Chitina River (below), there's a fleet of Piper
Super Cubs, a de Havilland Otter, and a Cessna 185 Skywagon.
You can fly with one of their pilots. www.ultimathulelodge.com

Iniakuk Lake Wilderness Lodge
This fly-in luxury lodge is located 60 miles north of the Arctic
Circle. www.gofarnorth.com
Chena Hot Springs, Fairbanks, Alaska
The hot springs of Chena are compared to those only found in
the Czech Republic. www.chenahotsprings.com
Goulding's, Monument Valley, Utah
Experience the Old West and natural wonders of the Grand
Canyon. www.gouldings.com
Roche Harbor, San Juan Island, Washington
Opportunities for whale watching, kayaking, and hiking.
www.rocheharbor.com
Maddens on Gull Lake, Brainerd, Minnesota
Situated on 1,000 acres of pine trees and hardwoods and
surrounded by 9,418 acres of water. www.maddens.com
Sunriver Resort, Deschutes County, Oregon
On 3,300 acres at the base of the Cascade Mountains
www.runriver-resort.com.
Windwood Fly-in Resort, Canaan Valley, West Virginia
Near the Dolly Sods and Otter Creek Wilderness areas.
www.windwoodfly-inresort.com
Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, Pennsylvania
In Pennsylvania's Laurel Highlands, you can fly in and land on
the 3,900-foot-long runway. www.nemacolin.com
Cibolo Creek Ranch, Marfa, Texas
Experience living American history in the Big Bend area of
West Texas. www.cibolocreekranch.com
Lajitas Resort, Lajitas, Texas
Lajitas Airport has a private 7,500-foot runway along the Rio
Grande. www.lajitasresort.com
Garland Lodge and Resort, Lewiston, Michigan
Northern Michigan golf resort has a 5,047-foot-runway at
the onsite airport (8M8) and the largest log lodge east of
the Mississippi River. www.garlandusa.com

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WEB

www.aopa.org/destinations

www.aopa.org/pilot AOPA PILOT | 55

http://www.ultimathulelodge.com http://www.gofarnorth.com http://www.chenahotsprings.com http://www.gouldings.com http://www.rocheharbor.com http://www.maddens.com http://www.runriver-resort.com http://www.windwoodfly-inresort.com http://www.nemacolin.com http://www.cibolocreekranch.com http://www.lajitasresort.com http://www.garlandusa.com http://www.aopa.org/destinations http://www.aopa.org/pilot

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2016