Farmboy
MEMBER
Middlebury, VT
https://hungryhorsenews.com/news/20...Ty0sFYuWSAWe2DwJWy16HPvgE27LBBymAPLufJU0UzXC8
Transmitted from my FlightPhone on fingers...
Transmitted from my FlightPhone on fingers...
In 1972 I was the fire patrol pilot for the Forest Service flying a 182 out of Spotted Bear. Six days a week I flew a morning and an afternoon patrol around the Bob Marshall Wilderness looking for smokes. Each flight took about two hours. Flight rate was $28.95 per hour. I got ten percent of that and $600 per month! Best job I ever had.
On Tuesday mornings I flew freight into Schafer Meadow which was accessible only by air and pack train and subsequently was included in the Great Bear Wilderness. Pulaskis, barbed wire, food, and (I can admit it now) beer.
One Tuesday I had a big bottle of propane and Slim the horseshoer. Slim was a tall, thin man, hunched over from having been kicked by his clients. He smelled strongly of tobacco and horse manure. Slim had a long thin cigar in his mouth. I warned him that he couldn't light it because we had the propane on board. Fifteen minutes later we landed at Schafer Meadow. Slim had eaten the cigar!
I'm thinking about flying in to Schafer Meadows (8U2) next week. First time. Does anyone (especially Farmer Hank if he's still around!) have a suggested route if flying in from the East? I'm thinking about starting out at KEKS (Ennis), which is South of Bozeman, then flying North to the East of Helena, West of Great Falls and cutting in to the mountains somewhere South of Browning, maybe near Swift Reservoir then over Gateway pass.
Are there any potential problems I need to know about?
I've been into Shafer from the east a couple of times, from both Choteau and Cut bank. From Cut Bank, take the northern approach over Marias pass (on the sectional), stay high and follow the peaks/ridge south and then descend over the field. From Choteau further south I think is better if the weather/winds are not great but Gateway pass is not as obvious if you're not prepared with the gps coordinates.
Either way, I prefer landing to the east - but I do a low approach to the west to inspect the field. The valley is wider and better suited for the setup to the west over the river. Once committed to landing east go around early or treat it as a one-way strip, which is fairly easy to do. I would land west only if the winds were favoring as you have rising terrain to the east and it's hard to get yourself down with the right airspeed to not land long on the slightly downhill.
It's a great spot. Last time I was there, the camping was awesome. Had the place all to myself except the den of wolves a couple of miles away which I could hear baying at night. One of my all time favorite fly camping experiences.
Several years ago there was talk that the Forest Service was going to put a limit on landings at Schafer. (Entry to Glacier Park is now limited to a certain number of vehicles, so the idea is not farfetched.) I think the idea died in the Great Recession when landings at Schafer naturally declined. The result of a limit, of course, would be Twin Otters flying in, rather than two or three 206 trips every day during the floating season. I’ll probably get crucified for saying this, but please don’t fly into Schafer just to put a notch in your belt. Come and enjoy the serenity of a gorgeous airstrip luckily grandfathered into the Great Bear Wilderness.