By Adam Rosenberg
adam-rosenberg

http://www.the-adam.com

There are lots of reasons people fly.

Some fly to get places more easily or faster.
Some fly to enjoy new technology.
Some fly just to leave the surface of our planet for a while.
And some fly for scenery.

There's a lot of scenery to be had.
With much to say about fruited plains and shining seas,
my own preference is purple mountain majesties.
I like the American southwest.

Even here, I have my preferences.
The snow-capped Rocky Mountains of Colorado are wonderful,
the green, forested mountains of Idaho and New Mexico are terrific,
Arizona has its canyons, Grand or otherwise,
but I lean toward the topographic-oceans-Yes-album-covers of Utah.

UTAH BACK COUNTRY

When I moved to the Phoenix valley,
it was exciting to fly my own airplane to the Grand Canyon and Bryce,
then Kanab and Saint George for Zion National Park,
and then to Moab for Canyonlands and Arches.
I looked out the window at the phenominal moonscapes below.

In 2007 it occurred to me I could do more than look.
It's a wonderful world down there and we pilots can see it up close.
The back country beckons us to land there to take a closer look.

What can we do there?
First, we can enjoy the view.
THEY SAY YOU SHOULD SEE UTAH WITH ONE EYE CLOSED
SO IT ONLY LOOKS HALF AS STRANGE.
Just landing at these amazing airstrips is a joy in itself,
also an achievement.

Second, we can hike to various places,
take a walk on the wild side of nature.
In my case, I can run a few miles and see more of this strange country.

Third, we can camp out there.
I haven't gotten into the airplane-camping scene yet,
but I can see it will suck me in.
My one experience so far (at Negrito) was pretty amazing,
waking up at an incredible, back-country airstrip
and being able to fly from there at the crack of dawn.

Each of these amazing airstrips has its own beauty and challenges.
Hidden Splendor involves a canyon approach with two 180-degree turns.
Mexican Mountain comes up in a flash and is a short runway.
Dirty Devil is very short and can have gusty, canyon winds.
Mineral Canyon is sometimes under water, often muddy soft.
Cedar Mountain is high and short with trees at the downhill-takeoff end.
Sand Wash gets very gusty crosswinds, big surprise on short final.

CAVEMAN RANCH FLY IN

Normally these airstrips are quiet.
If I hear somebody on the radio heading for one I'm at, I wait around.
These are places of quiet and solitude.

Once a year there's a back-country fly-in event at Caveman Ranch,
also known as Tangri-La (UT68), with people from all over.
Last year I ran into people from Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho,
Colorado, New Mexico, and Oregon.
122.9 is like New York Approach and the pattern at Caveman is busy.
This year the event is May 24-26, full moon, Memorial Day weekend.
Rod and Paula are wonderful hosts.
Good times, good conversation, great flying.

It's flying in, camping out, sleeping in tents next to airplanes,
or Motel 6 in Moab for wimps like me.
Canyonlands (CNY) has fuel, Hanksville (HSV) does not.

Icing on the cake is a fly-in dinner during the fly-in event
at Mack Mesa (C07), 60 nautical miles from Caveman Ranch.
Mack Mesa also has fuel and Ladd is a terrific host.
I believe EAA Chapter 800 is based there.
The flights between Caveman Ranch and Mack Mesa are beautiful
and the Mack Mesa meal is early enough for daylight return.

PREPARATION

The boy scouts tell us, "Be Prepared!"
Join Utah Back-Country Pilots (UBCP) and get their info and charts.
Buy Galin Hanselman's book _Fly Utah!_
Get local instruction, or at least a local tour guide.

I learned how to fly a traffic pattern during primary instruction.
Fly past the water tower to the power lines,
turn left over the red barn,
and head over the parking lot at 200 feet on final.
Of course, the next airport may not have a water tower or red barn.
So we learn to fly a standard, rectangular traffic pattern.
Sometimes we have to go back to landmarks and local knowledge.
Anybody who has landed at Kearny (E67) or Superior (E81)
(or Red Creek)
knows a regular, rectangular pattern won't work.
There are too many big rocks in the way.
The same goes for Utah's back country. Each strip is different.
Each strip is special and best learned from experience,
best learned from somebody else's hard-earned experience.

The usual back-country precautions apply to Utah's wilderness.
Bring water, food, radio, SPOT, and whatever first-aid you might use.
If something goes wrong, then you could be there a while.

During the Caveman fly-in, it's a lot less lonely.
Somebody had a flat tire at Mexican Mountain.
While I was there, another airplane landed and, shortly after,
the two airplanes took off.
I would have checked in with them, but I was too busy yakking with
Theresa and Joe with their "Coyote Ugly" airplane.

SAFETY

This is inherently less safe flying than breakfast at Eloy (E60)
or even Sedona (SEZ) or Payson (PAN).
Make sure 1000' runways are comfortable for you and
get LOCAL back-country instruction.
John Wayne said life is tough, and it's tougher if you're stupid.
Momentary lapses in judgment that cause embarrassment elsewhere
(squeaky tires, hard or bouncy landings, long rollouts)
become statistics in the back country.
This isn't a reason to stay home, but you should sit up straight
and pay attention to every detail.
Fly over the field and check it visually before landing.
Check the wind to avoid surprises on final.
Make sure you can get in and make sure you can get out.
These fields are short and high.
Many are one-way in and the other way out, no go arounds.
You might not see mud, but you'll see ruts in the runway.
Oh, yes, watch out for cattle. Cows do not "shoo."
It's perfectly reasonable to say "NOT TODAY" in the back country.

On 2012 April 25
Larry Newby was exploring Dark Canyon with a couple of tourists.
I met Larry several times over my years visiting Moab.
He's the best there is, experienced, careful, always paying attention,
and he went in. It wasn't pretty. It can happen to anybody.

CONCERN ABOUT NATIONAL MONUMENT

My Utah Back-Country Pilots buddies mentioned
a new proposed National Monument, not in a good way.
It could keep us from many of our best back country airstrips.
At this point we don't know if the monument will actually be created
or how it will be managed,
but if pilots want to keep the privilege
of landing at back country airstrips,
then we will have to be involved in the decisions.
We can help by letting our legislators know what we want and
by supporting groups like Utah Back Country Pilots and
the Recreational Aviation Foundation
that protect back country airstrips.

These are airstrips that may be within the boundaries of the Monument.

Angel Point * <-- I've been in there (*)
Below Buckacre
Browns Rim *
Dark Canyon
Dirty Devil *
Fry Canyon *
Happy Canyon *
Horseshoe canyon
Mineral Canyon *
Moqui Fork
Poison Springs
Robbers Roost
Rustler Canyon
Simplot
Twin Coral Flats

 

 

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