13. Looking For The K-Team

Route of flight: PAAQ - PAIG via Lake Clark Pass




June 15, 2008

Lake Clark Pass - the entrance is blocked by a prow of rock that you've got to wind around and the exit is forked by another island of rock. The pass itself is a steep sloped narrow gap that twists and turns with few options for a decent landing if the engine quit. It also has a few box canyons off the side that are very alluring - enough to draw you in and trap you. The day we flew it, clouds obscured the peaks and pinched our airspace as the terrain rose. Even so, with sheer slopes on either side coated with blue glaciers tumbling down there's plenty to look at and distract you from your route.

We'd checked the weather cams before leaving Palmer, they showed low clouds at both ends of the pass, opening up on the northwest side towards Lake Clark. The FSS reported lifting skies on the other side and Lake Iliamna was forecast to be high overcast.

Chakochatna River, on the way to Lake Clark Pass

We flew along the northwest shore of the Cook Inlet. Past the Sustina River, there were no roads, and just a few airstrips used mostly to get people and supplies to the oil derricks out in the water. Just past the last of the oil derricks a prow of rock guarded the entrance to the pass. That rock was really the remains of the foothills that hadn't been washed away by the river pouring out of the mountains. It was lush, and at it's base was a small lake - just large enough for a floatplane to land in and with just enough shoreline for a lodge perched on its edge. There was a Beaver at the dock and red Cessna180 on approach as we threaded our way past and into the pass.

The terrrain rose steeply to either side and below us the riverbed climbed fast to meet the glaciers. Fresh snow climbed up into the cloud cover. We kept an eye out for Dall Sheep and bears but to be honest, we kept a brighter eye out on the sectional and the terrain map.

Steep terrain in Lake Clark Pass

Hard to say whether we'd have wanted a perfectly clear day to run Lake Clark Pass. To have done so only would have added to the distraction. Halfway through, we jogged to the south to follow a the higher fork out to the lake. I spotted a bear trundling along the riverbank and we had just enough room to circle for a closer look. This proved to be mildly disorienting. Mark had no problem flying the tight maneuver, but it didn't leave him much bandwith to spot the bear. Figuring there'd be more bears in the Katmai, we headed out the pass.

Approaching Lake Clark

As we flew west from Lake Clark the land opened up, the pines thinned out and we entered the tundra. The Katmai Preserve is found at the eastern end of the Alaska Peninsula. It's most famous for its brown bears, king salmon and rainbow trout. Iliamna Lake is the largest of the many lakes dotting the region (it's about the same size as Great Salt Lake) and it was thereabouts that we hoped to connect with our friends Kate and Kevin who were out on their own Alaskan adventure.


Looking for the K-Team.

Kate and Kev are friends of ours from Seattle. Kate is a chef with CIA credentials and Kevin is a floatplane pilot. Together they got a sweet little summer gig at the Royal Wolf Lodge in the Katmai Preserve and we decided to drop in and say hi.

We had a rough idea of where to find them. They were near Nonvianuk Lake, south of Iliamna and not far from Igiaguig (the closest landing strip). When we crossed Lake Iliamna, we realized that the terrain was more complex than we'd imagined from the charts. The taiga was freckled with numerous small lakes, streams, rivers and very few hills with which to triangulate our position.

Taiga south of Iliamna Lake

Luckily, we'd been in touch via e-mail the week before and had the frequency for the lodge radio. As we flew over one of the lakes around where we thought they might be, we spotted a floatplane on the water and gave a call. The lodge radio was right by the kitchen and Kate picked up right away. After a quick chat, we headed back to Igiuguig to await a pickup from Chris in his Helio.

We landed at Igiugig in a stiff quartering breeze as a DC-3 was running up with a load of passengers. Mark made a sweet short landing and made the first turnoff just to be polite (earning him some friendly compliments from the DC-3 crew). As we tied off on the tarmac we were treated to the rare sight (well, rare for us in the lower 48) of a gleaming DC-3 taking off from a short dirt strip.

DC-3 taxis to the runway at Igiugig

Tail up on takeoff

Chris Branham pulled up in his pickup and took us out to the river where he'd drawn up his Helio.

We took off down stream and climbed out in a few hundred feet heading west flying low over the taiga. 20 miles away we circled over the Royal Wolf Lodge, a collection of buildings that Chris and his wife Linda have built over the last 10 years, stick by stick, all of it imported in that Helio and two other planes that Chris keeps on Little Ku.

Royal Wolf Lodge

It was pretty cool to have tracked down Kate and Kevin way out here. We were just in time for dinner and spent the evening catching up with all their adventures.



We all ate very well thanks to Kate.