Idaho Panhandle

4 Aug-8 Aug 2009

Rick "Doc" Shallman has been inviting us for years to join him in northern Idaho to camp and explore new flying sites. This year our calendar coincided with his invitation and we spent most of a week in Camp Buffalo Bluff and traveling around Idaho and Montana.

(Photo, left: Doc flying Keeler with Terri watching)

4 Aug - As usual, we got a not-so-early start. We made a couple of stops along I-90 including downtown Ritzville, then turned north just beyond Post Falls, ID, in order to avoid traffic in Coeur D' Alene. Specific directions, maps and our faithful GPS, Sheila, got us to Doc's property via Samuels and dirt roads. Val was there but the rest of the gang were out chasing elusive airtime and didn't return until after dark with tales of a 25 km flight from a) a terrible launch or b) a place with no LZ's (Seems like it's always either one or the other).

5 Aug, Wed. - We left camp around 1100 in two trucks to accommodate the smokers (Richard, Doc, K, Val, Chris) and non-smokers (Preacher, Maggie, and us). The route took us north through Bonners Ferry and up US 95 to a USFS road which led up Hall Mountain to the site of a former lookout tower and hang glider launch. Great launch but the weather was not cooperating with over-the-back wind and then rain. We hung out and spent some time picking huckleberries until eventually the sky cleared and the wind came around from the west. Early launchers had mostly extended flydowns while C.J. and I managed to scratch out soaring flights and I got to fly north almost to the Canadian border, not very far. There were huge LZ's all along the highway in the Kootenai River valley and retrieve was simple. We got back to camp in time for Richard to grill lamb for dinner.

6 Aug, Thurs - Steve T joined us last night and in the non-smokers rig Thursday. The route was the same today except that we continued north to the border and attempted to cross into Canada. Unfortunately, the smokers' vehicle must have looked suspicious because they were detained and the whole vehicle searched. After the ordeal was over we headed for the road to Mt. Thompson but it apparently had been misplaced and it was only when we had retraced our route that we found it. It was a long, rocky, 4WD road to the antenna farm on top (7000+ ft)
(photo, left: Dr. K, Steve T, Richard, Preacher, Maggie&Doc)
and the excellent hang/para launch. The sky surrounding the peak was filled with towering cu's and virga so only Preacher felt launching was an option. Surprisingly, after surviving an impact with a tree on launch, he found no lift on the way to the LZ owned by a pilot-friendly family. The rest of us waited with varying degrees of patience until it was clear that there would be no flying. Doc's truck was making expensive transfer case (or differential) noises so we were surprised when he loaded onboard several very heavy rocks to add to his fireplace. We were back early enough to clean up and drive into Sandpoint for dinner at Ivano's, a good Italian restaurant. It was probably more memorable for the eclectic dress of Doc, Richard (utilikilts) and Preacher (clerical collar).



7 Aug, Fri.- Doc decided on an exploratory trip into Montana to Kootenai Mtn near Troy. It was a little more difficult to find the route on the ground than on Google Earth but we got some directions from locals and drove to where the launch ought to be (but not before losing Doc's truck when it was discovered that he had a quarter-sized hole in his differential case - sent down to Troy with the non-flyers to try to get a local mechanic to patch it). Kootenai launch turned out to be "no-go" - it faced east into the wind but there were no LZ's below and the wind was coming out of a gorge or over nearby ridges. Returning to Troy we picked up the now jury-rigged truck and headed off to visit Terri, a lookout on Keeler Mtn south of Troy. She met us at the locked gate and gave some of us a ride to where she thought a launch might be. It was doable, as Doc proved later after doing some minor clearing. But the east-facing launch looked out on to a wide, north-south valley with strong winds from the south. Doc managed to make it all the way across the valley to a little mining town with a bar where Richard and the rest were hanging out. No one else thought it was worth the possibility that they might land in the mine tailings or trees. After getting back down we all gathered at Little Joes for a beer and then started the long drive home which ended long after dark.

8 Aug, Sat.- C.J. and I got started home around 1000 after taking down our big "condo tent" and packing up the unused inflatable kayak and related gear. This time we drove all the way down US 95 to Coeur D'Alene where we gassed up at Costco, had luch at a rest area on I-90 near Sprague Lake and decided on a scenic detour. There is a scenic byway which traverses the channeled scablands but we could not find it on any map so we made our own by driving south from Potholes reservoir through the Columbia NWR. We stopped to look at a campground and then took a short hike along upper Crab Creek. Leaving CNWR we headed back north to Potholes State Park and a fruit stand on a road that connected to SR 26 where we bought some of the last of this year's bumper crop of cherries. Just before the bridge at Vantage we were drawn in by sign advertising "SWEET corn". The price was a bit high but it was the end of the day so the entrepreneur dropped the price for us. Back at home we found the corn worth every bit of the original price and we were glad to have bought a whole dozen.