By Neil Amonson
In late 2023, I received an email from a Dutch pilot (Hans) in the Netherlands looking to do some backcountry flying. We exchanged a few messages, but then we both got busy and it wasn’t until six months later that a plan began to come together. Hans set his sights on traveling to Utah during the month of October, which is historically a great window for flying weather.
Airline tickets were booked, the calendar was set, and fingers were crossed.
Hans was able to fly direct to Salt Lake City from Amsterdam, which is one of the benefits of the international airport we have here in town. As luck would have it, Hans arrived in the middle of one of the best high pressure systems of the entire Fall. For his nine day trip, there was no scheduled wind or rain in the forecast... something that even here in Utah is generally unheard of for that long of a time period.
We met on a Monday morning at South Valley Regional Airport and I learned little more about Han’s background and flying goals. For example, I learned he is 75 years old, has been flying for over 30 years, owns two airplanes back in Europe, and is a retired pharmacist. His flying goals included having FUN, progressing in his tail wheel experience, and learning what backcountry flying is all about. We wasted no time in knocking out the some basic ground training, and taking to the skies.
Lots of "low hanging fruit" of backcountry flying surrounds Salt Lake City. We have an abundance of dirt strips with beautiful scenery to build stick-and-rudder skills. Hans had received his tail wheel endorsement in a Piper Super Cub in Holland that summer. So, he showed up "tail wheel current", and ready to tame our steed, a 1953’ 180hp Cessna 170B on oversized bush tires.
One of Han’s specific requests was a visit to the Bonneville Salt Flats, a popular tourist destination and location of “Speed Week” each year. Most people spend 2 hours driving each way from Salt Lake City to get a glimpse of the famous Salt Flats. However, our bush plane was able to make the trip in about 45 minutes. We stopped along the way to land at a truck stop in Delle, UT, which happens to have its own gravel runway. You can land, and taxi up to the fuel pumps for gas!
A little known treat at the Delle gas station is their handmade brisket sandwiches. Made with fresh BBQ and grilled onions, it’s a staple of my visits there. We took sandwiches to go, and ate our lunch on the Salt Flats while enjoying the expansive views. Hans particularly enjoyed the sensation of landing on a 7 mile long, 1 mile wide smooth salt runway.
Another one of Han’s requests was to do some star watching, and I knew just the place. On Cedar Mountain, there is a special runway up at 7,500’ MSL, on top of a tall bluff in the middle of nowhere that would be the perfect place... with no light pollution... to watch the stars.
Only one catch.... to truly do the best star watching, I recommended we spend the night camping out there!
Over the years, I have grown very fond of airplane camping. To me, it is the pinnacle of backcountry flying; to not only land your plane in remote places, but to spend the night there. I asked Hans if something like this sounded interesting to him, and he said while it had been many years since he had camped, he would like to try it again! To spend the night under the stars, camped out under an airplane wing, is something most pilots have not experienced, so I was extra proud of Hans for wanting to try it out.
After waking up, we made some coffee and enjoyed a breakfast of cheese and croissants. We took off into calm winds and cool air, and continued our journey south towards the iconic red rock town of Moab, UT. Hans was unable to contain his excitement as the scenery turned into the classic cliffs and rock towers commonly associated with views of the Grand Canyon. This was the good stuff that he flew all the way over here for!
We stopped at a variety of airstrips that day, with “Hidden Splendor” being the most well known within the pilot community. Hidden Splendor is possibly the most unique approach in the "lower 48", with calm winds allowing an approach where you are literally flying your final inside a canyon with vertical walls on each side of the airplane. The canyon walls open up to lead towards a 1900’ x 30’ runway with amazing 360 degree views.
The rest of the day was spent visiting some other unique and special airstrips around the southern Utah area. The geography is full of amazing colors and textures, and the only thing better than flying over the terrain, is landing and getting to see it up close. That night we stayed in a hotel before flying back to Salt Lake City.
Salt Lake City is great for a number of reasons, one of which is its prime location in the center of the best backcountry flying outside of Alaska. With Moab just a couple hours to the south, and the famous flying of the Idaho backcountry a few hours to the north, we are in the middle of the bullseye.
Having already flown south, the next logical direction to explore was north, to Idaho. Many parts of the US were hit particularly hard with forest fires this summer, and Idaho was no exception. Many of the fires were still smoldering (a safe distance away) during our trip, and they provided beautiful and surreal smokey mountain views.
After our night under the stars in Moab, we decided to treat ourselves to a stay at the Shore Lodge in McCall, Idaho. The views of the lake were amazing, and the McCall airport is located just a short flight from some of the most popular backcountry strips in Idaho.
The first morning, we set our sights on Fish Lake, a well known backcountry strip on the north end of the state. It has a reputation for being unforgiving on hot and windy days, but this morning had cool temps and no wind, so we lucked out. This runway can only be landed one direction, and due to the high terrain behind the direction you land, you only get one chance to make a safe approach once committed on short final. We did a couple passes over the runway to ensure it was suitable for landing.... then Hans made a perfect touchdown on the 2600’ runway.
As you can see from the mountains in the background of the Fish Lake runway, you would not want to take off that direction since the terrain rises faster than the climb rate of most airplanes. Luckily the other direction has you taking off over a gorgeous lake with only small rises in terrain to clear.
We landed at 6 different backcountry runways that morning as we worked our way back to the McCall airport. Each runway offered a unique challenge. As Hans put it, “This is real backcountry flying!”
Some of the variety of fun challenges we faced in Idaho were curved runways, one-way runways, narrow runways, no-go around runways, and runways that you could not see until turning on final approach.
After another relaxing night at the Shore Lodge, it was time to head back south to Salt Lake City, but not before one more pit stop. Our last morning we flew from McCall To Smiley Creek, which is just north of Sun Valley. The Sawtooth Wilderness Area was showing its teeth to our west as we made our approach into the high altitude Smiley Creek grass runway, located at 7,200’ above sea level.
After making a superb landing on the 5,000’ Smiley Creek grass strip, Hans and I walked over to the nearby restaurant for brunch. It was a quiet, off-season morning, and we were the only pilots there that day. We spent our meal chatting about the variety of airstrips we had visited and how lucky we were with the weather. The next stretch of flying would be the last of his trip. He was to leave the next morning to head back to the Netherlands.
A note worthy thing about Hans is that he truly loves flying. I’m not sure I have met a more passionate aviator! We flew for 27.5 hours over 9 days, and never once did he ask me to fly for him. He was like a one-man autopilot! I was impressed at his level of energy, excellent communication skills, and laid back positive attitude . We shared many wonderful conversations over the course of his visit, and I’m thankful that aviation can connect me with so many wonderful individuals from around the globe. Hans arrived as a client, but left as a friend. I hope when I am 75, I am chasing my dreams just like Hans is. He is an inspiration to us all... a classically KAVU Spirit.