NimpoCub
Registered User
Nimpo Lake, BC . . . AKA "the Floatplane Capital o
A while back we had a nice couple (they were good, even if they rode a 185) fly in for a few days of camping & flying around our "patch". They had a list of things they'd heard about & wanted to see. We decided to spend a long day & do most of 'em.
We went out over Charlotte Lake & down that drainage to the Atnarko valley & over Lonesome Lake (read that book?) and on up to Turner lake where we landed & tied up at nice BC Parks docks. Across the bridge & 20 mins hike along a nice path to see Hunlen Falls from the ground. Spectacular, ~1000' before it hits the rocks @ the bottom.
Back to our flyin' machines & flew out over the "chain of lakes" (local term for a good fly-in canoe trip) across another huge drainage toward the Monarch mtn range & the icefields. Went to Ape lake to find a lil cabin owned by a couple schoolteachers from Wash. state. Interesting story, half of it in the note in the bottle there, and half by phoning the # left in the note.
Ape lake broke it's banks in 1985 & flash flooded the valley all the way to Bella Coola (on the coast) & took out all the bridges with it. You can see the old water level about 30' above the current water. Easy enough to land on the lake, but harder to find a bush to tie to. Long walk to the cabin.
Then on over to the glaciers just west, what a spectacular flight that is. Huge valleys, lots of different formations, glaciers merging, calving (small calves)
and melting into that lovely green color lakes. One spot I thought of SwissCubPilot, he'd have landed up there. Next over to "Wilderness lake" (another local name for an unnamed mtn lake)
Wilderness lake is popular not only because it's so beautiful, but a cabin was built there & given to "my" Mary. We used it & rented it out infrequently & couldn't justify the expense of the "recreational" lease, taxes, insurance, etc. so gave it back to the builders, who also run a resort out here & will incorporate it into their cash flow. I was asked to pick up a radio/battery/solar gear when I was in the neighborhood.
Anyway, I was surprised to see a Cub parked on the beach when we passed over to check the wind @ 6000' (it's about all a 185 can do to get off of Wilderness with any load) but we had a favorable wind & went in too. Turns out the SCub there is a member here... M1 from Vancouver. They (Mike & Cheryl) were just getting their gear packed up from the beach to the cabin when we buzzed over. Since it's so remote, they probably wondered "what the hell". THey did the Ape lake & glacier thing too.
Fortunately we were well received (for awhile) & I passed on the idea of retrieving the radio gear... good excuse for another flight up there (which I did do, mission accomplished). I was pleased (not surprised) to see that they left the place in better shape than they found it, with more firewood & groceries. Thanks guys.
Then off to find the long/skinny McClinchy valley/lake with it's old cabin on the shore, and to "hunt" sheep in the rock bluffs, then out to the plateau to look for meese (plural) along the streams & meadows. Too late in the (warm/sunny) day to see game, but it's always fun lookin'.
Then back toward Nimpo, & switch back to the local traffic freq. Hell, it's like coming back to civilization when you haft'a worry about other traffic!! We came home with low camera batteries & fuel tanks, lifted spirits & full of stories for happy hour!!
I'm really loving this flyin' thing.
We went out over Charlotte Lake & down that drainage to the Atnarko valley & over Lonesome Lake (read that book?) and on up to Turner lake where we landed & tied up at nice BC Parks docks. Across the bridge & 20 mins hike along a nice path to see Hunlen Falls from the ground. Spectacular, ~1000' before it hits the rocks @ the bottom.
Back to our flyin' machines & flew out over the "chain of lakes" (local term for a good fly-in canoe trip) across another huge drainage toward the Monarch mtn range & the icefields. Went to Ape lake to find a lil cabin owned by a couple schoolteachers from Wash. state. Interesting story, half of it in the note in the bottle there, and half by phoning the # left in the note.
Ape lake broke it's banks in 1985 & flash flooded the valley all the way to Bella Coola (on the coast) & took out all the bridges with it. You can see the old water level about 30' above the current water. Easy enough to land on the lake, but harder to find a bush to tie to. Long walk to the cabin.
Then on over to the glaciers just west, what a spectacular flight that is. Huge valleys, lots of different formations, glaciers merging, calving (small calves)
and melting into that lovely green color lakes. One spot I thought of SwissCubPilot, he'd have landed up there. Next over to "Wilderness lake" (another local name for an unnamed mtn lake)Wilderness lake is popular not only because it's so beautiful, but a cabin was built there & given to "my" Mary. We used it & rented it out infrequently & couldn't justify the expense of the "recreational" lease, taxes, insurance, etc. so gave it back to the builders, who also run a resort out here & will incorporate it into their cash flow. I was asked to pick up a radio/battery/solar gear when I was in the neighborhood.
Anyway, I was surprised to see a Cub parked on the beach when we passed over to check the wind @ 6000' (it's about all a 185 can do to get off of Wilderness with any load) but we had a favorable wind & went in too. Turns out the SCub there is a member here... M1 from Vancouver. They (Mike & Cheryl) were just getting their gear packed up from the beach to the cabin when we buzzed over. Since it's so remote, they probably wondered "what the hell". THey did the Ape lake & glacier thing too.
Fortunately we were well received (for awhile) & I passed on the idea of retrieving the radio gear... good excuse for another flight up there (which I did do, mission accomplished). I was pleased (not surprised) to see that they left the place in better shape than they found it, with more firewood & groceries. Thanks guys.
Then off to find the long/skinny McClinchy valley/lake with it's old cabin on the shore, and to "hunt" sheep in the rock bluffs, then out to the plateau to look for meese (plural) along the streams & meadows. Too late in the (warm/sunny) day to see game, but it's always fun lookin'.
Then back toward Nimpo, & switch back to the local traffic freq. Hell, it's like coming back to civilization when you haft'a worry about other traffic!! We came home with low camera batteries & fuel tanks, lifted spirits & full of stories for happy hour!!
I'm really loving this flyin' thing.
