Big Creek Lodge destroyed by fire

flyingcheesehead said:
Oh man, that's terrible. :( :(

I hope they rebuild. I was hoping to go airplane camping at Johnson Creek someday, and fly up the creek to Big Creek for breakfast - Seems that's what everyone does!
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What a downer.
Not too far away Sulphur Creek Lodge, is in the same league for breakfast, rooms and cabins but the runway and environment are much more demanding and unforgiving.
 
Big Creek's accommodations were certainly rustic. Sulphur Creek (ID74) seems a little more modern. Big Creek's runway is wide, smooth turf (with a dip near the approach end), but its approach is closer to the terrain. Sulphur Creek's runway is narrow with a rough gravel surface.

Photos of both Big Creek and Sulphur Creek here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Pilawt/IdahoBackcountry2008
 
I was just planning a trip into Big Creek for breakfast. I have a friend that has just been diagnosed with cancer and he loves to go flying with me. We were going to take him into Big Creek one last time. I guess we will have to go somewhere else. Bob
 
This really sucks. The owner, Scott, is kind of a friend of mine. I hope he gets to rebuild but the forest service may have something to say about it. They were not real sympathetic with any improvements Scott had wanted to make. I think they want the land back.

Barb
 
One Short said:
I hope he gets to rebuild but the forest service may have something to say about it. They were not real sympathetic with any improvements Scott had wanted to make. I think they want the land back.
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That seems rather short-sighted. :(
 
flyingcheesehead said:
That seems rather short-sighted. :(
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Yah, well, that is our government at work. It seems like the new preferred way to protect public lands for the public is to keep the public out of it. (Don't get me started, this is kind of a sore spot with me on several fronts.) I hope I get proved wrong and they get to rebuild.

Barb
 
One Short said:
This really sucks. The owner, Scott, is kind of a friend of mine. I hope he gets to rebuild but the forest service may have something to say about it. They were not real sympathetic with any improvements Scott had wanted to make. I think they want the land back.

Barb
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he could just reopen it as Scott's Burnt Down Breakfast Place
 
Big Creek is beautiful. The lodge and cabins were VERY rustic; real back-country old-school stuff. There's no way they can rebuild the character that place had. What a crying shame. The runway is really really nice. Great grass, a bit of an upslope, and a nifty downwind leg with a hogback hiding the runway. I hope they can rebuild and come back because it's a great place to visit.

Sulphur Creek was just not nearly as picturesque, although I think the lodgings looked a bit more inviting. Still rustic, but more inviting. The runway sux, gravelly crap compared to Big Creek. Much less imposing approach though.
 
Pilawt said:
Big Creek's accommodations were certainly rustic. Sulphur Creek (ID74) seems a little more modern. Big Creek's runway is wide, smooth turf (with a dip near the approach end), but its approach is closer to the terrain. Sulphur Creek's runway is narrow with a rough gravel surface.

Photos of both Big Creek and Sulphur Creek here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Pilawt/IdahoBackcountry2008
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Looks like you were there just a few days after I was this year. Great Wx. I stayed at Waipiti Meadows just upstream from Johnson Creek, and did day flying (Salmon Creek, Sulphur, Flying B, etc.) from there.

Great fun.
 
flyersfan31 said:
Big Creek is beautiful. The lodge and cabins were VERY rustic; real back-country old-school stuff. There's no way they can rebuild the character that place had. What a crying shame. The runway is really really nice. Great grass, a bit of an upslope, and a nifty downwind leg with a hogback hiding the runway. I hope they can rebuild and come back because it's a great place to visit.

Sulphur Creek was just not nearly as picturesque, although I think the lodgings looked a bit more inviting. Still rustic, but more inviting. The runway sux, gravelly crap compared to Big Creek. Much less imposing approach though.
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On climbout that huge pan that Sulphur Creek sits in can get quite small as DA gets high...
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Oh man, that's terrible. :( :(

I hope they rebuild. I was hoping to go airplane camping at Johnson Creek someday, and fly up the creek to Big Creek for breakfast - Seems that's what everyone does!
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It is a little more than flying up the creek form Johnson Creek to Big Creek is only about 20 miles but you have to cross over Profile Mnt. So it is a bit of a climb to get to Big Creek. A couple of years ago a couple in a 172 were making the trip and he turned up the wrong canyon and found themselves in a box canyon. He didn't survive and they found her 4 days later and she did survive. Flying in the Idaho backcountry is something that requires some planning. I hope you know this Kent. I don't want to lose a flying buddy.:frown2: Bob

http://www.idahostatesman.com/newsupdates/story/546422.html
 
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Kent, You can read about the crash that I described in the above post here: Google- McCall,Idaho News-Woman survived 4 days in forest after plane crash that killed her husband. 2007 Bob
 
Bob Bement said:
It is a little more than flying up the creek form Johnson Creek to Big Creek is only about 20 miles but you have to cross over Profile Mnt. So it is a bit of a climb to get to Big Creek. A couple of years ago a couple in a 172 were making the trip and he turned up the wrong canyon and found themselves in a box canyon. He didn't survive and they found her 4 days later and she did survive. Flying in the Idaho backcountry is something that requires some planning. I hope you know this Kent. I don't want to lose a flying buddy.:frown2: Bob
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We flew right past that canyon. Took a little peek up it. Yup, iffin ya don't know what you're doing, you can get yourself killed real easy in those canyons. You have to get really comfortable flying an arm's length from some ugly vertical terrain.
 
Bob Bement said:
It is a little more than flying up the creek form Johnson Creek to Big Creek is only about 20 miles but you have to cross over Profile Mnt. So it is a bit of a climb to get to Big Creek. A couple of years ago a couple in a 172 were making the trip and he turned up the wrong canyon and found themselves in a box canyon. He didn't survive and they found her 4 days later and she did survive. Flying in the Idaho backcountry is something that requires some planning. I hope you know this Kent. I don't want to lose a flying buddy.:frown2: Bob

http://www.idahostatesman.com/newsupdates/story/546422.html
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I understand Bob - I didn't get a chance to plan or fly that while I was out there, that's how some of the folks we were talking to on the ground at Johnson Creek described it.

It certainly made an impression on me to see the CFI who flies in that area all the time focusing almost all of her attention on navigation, keeping her finger on the chart and constantly verifying our heading against the track we should be taking. It's obviously not something to be taken for granted. And we *still* made a wrong turn at one point. Nothing out there is at a 90-degree angle, and there are so many spots that look just like others a very short distance away, it's easy to see why that terrain eats so many airplanes. GPS ain't gonna help you in that area either. :no:

Doing that course really helped on the remainder of my trip - It allowed me to depart Gravelly Valley via a canyon rather than having to circle above the lake for several thousand feet. It also helped immensely in Colorado, where I weaved my way through the mountains rather than climbing above, and got much better views as a result:

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Any update on this? Will they be able to rebuild?

Also, after Dave posted that Highlander video, I tried to find Mile Hi, but couldn't. The only one that shows up on AirNav is in Colorado. :dunno:

EDIT: After looking at Jeff's excellent photos of the area (which are geotagged), it appears that Mile Hi isn't charted, but is just north of Big Creek (the creek, not the airstrip) and just a couple nm WSW of the Cabin Creek airstrip. Not charted.
 
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flyingcheesehead said:
Any update on this? Will they be able to rebuild?
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I talked to Scott Fodor, who owns the lodge. He isn't sure yet. The land is leased, the buildings were owned, like Jackson's airport. The park service has alot to say on building on the property. He is looking to buy some other property and trade so that he will own the property outright and then he would rebuild. Otherwise, he is not sure if it will be worth it. :frown3:

Barb
 
Negotiating land lease deals with government agencies is not a rewarding experience. Those who have done so with airport authorities understand the idiocy and arrogance that comes with such activity. One of my great pleasures is that my leased hangar is owned by a private party rather than the idiots who run the airport.



One Short said:
I talked to Scott Fodor, who owns the lodge. He isn't sure yet. The land is leased, the buildings were owned, like Jackson's airport. The park service has alot to say on building on the property. He is looking to buy some other property and trade so that he will own the property outright and then he would rebuild. Otherwise, he is not sure if it will be worth it. :frown3:

Barb
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flyingcheesehead said:
Wow, NICE!!! :yes:

Now I want to go land at Mile Hi. :D
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There are many that want to stop you forever! We at the Recreational Aviation Foundation (RAF) are yet again preparing to fight the greenies at the Forest Service who are again trying to deny pilots access to Airstrip Trailheads such as Mile Hi and the Big Four.

Similar to thousands of trailheads accessable by car, these Airstrip Trailheads have been in use as such by pilots often for the last 70 years or more and are totally unique national treasures that should be maintained as such. Not that the FS does anything to maintain them though, they just cause problems for flying users, among the lowest impact of all users.
 
wabower said:
Negotiating land lease deals with government agencies is not a rewarding experience. Those who have done so with airport authorities understand the idiocy and arrogance that comes with such activity. One of my great pleasures is that my leased hangar is owned by a private party rather than the idiots who run the airport.
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IME, the US Forest Service fits the description to a T. Once had to negotiate the use of an antenna site in LA area that was designated "low power". Forest Service interperted that as "no broadcast" even though our power levels were far less (like less than half) of the power levels run by paging companies and even the USFS two-way system at the same site.... both in raw transmitter power and ERP.

They were "protecting the environment".
 
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