Flying the Snake River

Shoshone Falls of Snake River near Twin Falls, ID

At 1,078 miles, the Snake River of the Pacific Northwest is one of the longest rivers of the US.

Snake River (By USGS and modified by Shannon1 - Terrain data from DEMIS Mapserver, CC BY-SA 3.0)

The river starts in western Wyoming. Southbound, the river flows along the eastern part of the Teton mountain range, swings around the southern edge of that range, and then proceeds northwest into Idaho. From there, it flows westerly in a long arc through that state. Finally, the river turns north, forming the border of Idaho and Oregon, and empties into the Columbia River at Pasco, WA.

Over the years, we have seen parts of the river on various trips. This year, we decided to fly along all of it save a small portion at the beginning and end. 

This was a solo flight, since we have found that long flights over difficult terrain with a passenger entail too much distraction and thus impinge on safety.

Getting There

Solo flight has the advantage that with max fuel and camping gear, gross weight of our Zenith 601HDS, N314LB, is below 950 lbs. As a result, the plane requires less than 3,000 ft of runway for takeoffs at high density altitude and has a ceiling far beyond the legal limit of 14,000 MSL for flight without supplemental oxygen. Thus, we can take off and fly everywhere in the Rockies.

The first day takes us from Aero Country airport, our home base in Dallas, to Goodland, KS. As always, it is a pleasant stop offering hangar storage and a courtesy car. The next day, we refuel in Greeley, CO, then take off to the west for the high country. 

The Adventure Begins

As we gain altitude, the Medicine Bow Mountains rise on the left. The landscape becomes barren, but with a stark beauty. Soon we reach the Seminoe Reservoir, which stores water of the North Platte River for irrigation and hydroelectric power generation.

Seminoe Reservoir

We land in Riverton, WY. Jim, the FBO, offers hangar space and a courtesy car for the overnight stay. His daughter Kimberly expertly fills the tanks.

On to the High Country

In the morning, we follow the road west and climb toward the 9,658 ft MSL Togwotee Pass.

Rising valley west of Riverton

First, we pass Dubois, WY, then encounter to the right the Teton Wilderness Area, with peaks 11,000-12,000 ft MSL.

Teton Wilderness Area

As we crest the pass, Grand Teton National Park spreads out before us.

Grand Teton National Park

We get closer and fly along the mountain range, first with Jackson Lake in the foreground.

The Tetons with southern end of Jackson Lake

We get ever closer, an exhilarating experience. High up in the mountain, valleys have been carved by glaciers, and streams cascade down in water falls.

Cathedral Group of the Tetons

Passing over the Jackson Hole, WY, airport, the only commercial airport of the US within the boundary of a national park, a small jet comes in for landing. We are far above the airport traffic area, so need not be concerned.

The Snake River starts north of Jackson Lake, then enters that lake. We skip that early portion since we still have quite a distance to go to Rexburg, ID, our destination for the day. 

Jackson Lake drains into the southbound Snake River, which later circles around the southern end of the Tetons and then proceeds north.

Snake River going south from Jackson Lake

We follow the river to the northernmost point west of the Tetons and stop at Rexburg, ID. FBO Lewis provides hangar space. He repairs planes and helicopters and is known as the "Copter Doctor Plus." He also provides flight instruction for planes and helicopters. A versatile man indeed.

A large hangar at Rexburg is owned by the Legacy Flight Museum of Idaho. In front is one of their jewels: the P51 Mustang flown by the WWII ace Bob Hoover, who died in 2016 at age 94. Many years ago, we had the good fortune to see Hoover fly a terrific aerobatic routine at Oshkosh.

Bob Hoover's "Ole Yeller"

Camping Interlude

We interrupt the flight along the Snake River in Rexburg for a camping trip to Grand Teton National Park, thus returning to the area we just overflew. Josh of Enterprise picks us up at the airport and supplies the rental car.

We camp in the Colter Bay Campground on the eastern shore of Jackson Lake. A first hike takes us along String Lake and Jenny Lake and then up to Inspiration point.

View north from Inspiration Point

Mountains rising from Inspiration Point

Ferry service across Jenny Lake is used by many visitors to reduce the hiking effort for Inspiration Point or Hidden Falls, which we visited several times during years past. 

The ferries produce waves that travel all the way across the lake. When two ferries travel on opposite sides of the lake, the waves cross and produce a checker board pattern.

Checker board pattern produced by two ferries

In the evening, gentle sunlight is perfect for photography of meadows and flowers.

Meadow at beach of Colter Bay

Fireweed

A single seed about to take to the air

The last rays of the sun gently bathe the mountains.

Setting sun, Colter Bay

The next day-trip is more ambitious. We hike the Paintbrush Canyon up to Holly Lake, gaining 2,000 ft. The roundtrip distance is 13 miles. 

Holly Lake of Paintbrush Canyon

A giant fir near the lake fell many years ago and has been reduced to a gnarly tube.

Remnant of fir at Holly Lake

For hardy hikers, Holly Lake is just the halfway stop to Solitude Lake of Paintbrush Canyon. Even more ambitious is then a return to Jenny Lake via the adjacent Cascade Canyon. The 20 mile round-trip hike gains 4,000 ft of altitude and is clearly beyond our capability.

Mountains surrounding Holly Lake

In the Colter Bay campground, a family occupies a nearby campsite: Mother Deirdre, son Adam, and his bride-to-be Cristen have brought along three kayaks for excursion on the lakes. Adam and Cristen have to leave early, and Deirdre remains with the trailer and the kayaks. Talking with me, she offers a trip with two kayaks on Jenny Lake for the next day. 

Give our lack of kayaking experience, we are a bit reluctant, but then agree. Deirdre turns out to be a good instructor, and we spend a wonderful day touring all of Jenny Lake.

Instructor Deirdre

Waterfall where String Lake drains into Jenny Lake

The final day is marred by rain that stops late in the afternoon. Afterward the mountains are ringed by low-level clouds.

Tetons after the rain

Toward the evening, the clouds lift, and photographers wait for a spectacular sunset.

Waiting for the sunset

Reluctantly, we leave Grand Teton National Park after the short visit. But we have already planned to come back next year.

The Plains of Idaho

Within minutes of the takeoff from Rexburg, the Snake River comes into view again. The river nourishes vast fields.

Snake River south of Rexburg

Near Pocatello, ID, American Falls comes into view, with large dam and power generation station.

American Falls

Next is Shoshone Falls; see the photo at the beginning of this post. Just after Shoshone Falls, the elegant, indeed delicate looking, Perrine Bridge connects the two sides of the river. Large areas of Idaho continue to be irrigated by the river.

Perrine Bridge of Twin Falls, ID

Once we have passed Boise, ID, we turn west and after brief flight through mountainous terrain, land at Baker City, OR. The FBO provides a hangar and a courtesy car. Indeed, this is a small but busy airport, with plenty of flight activity, instruction, and plane maintenance.

Grand Canyon of the Snake River

After an early takeoff from Baker City, we return to the Snake River for a spectacular trip along the Grand Canyon of the Snake River. On the way, we pass a large mining operation.

Mining near Snake River

Soon we see that the name "Grand Canyon" is no exaggeration: Steep cliffs and rugged terrain force the river into a deep gorge even before we get to the official start of the Grand Canyon.

South of the Grand Canyon of the Snake River ...

The Oxbow Dam is nestled into a U-turn of the river.

Oxbow Dam

Then the Grand Canyon begins. Photography is difficult. We use the autopilot to fly circles and turn on the Terrain option of the Garmin Pilot to color portions of the map red (= don't go there), yellow (= caution is advised), green (= altitude is safe), and no added color (= no problem whatsoever).

Grand Canyon of the Snake River ...

When we come to the end of the Grand Canyon, we leave the Snake River since we saw the remaining portion when we traced the route of the Lewis and Clark Expedition many years ago.

We turn left, going upstream the Grande Ronde River. It loves to meander.

Grande Ronde River

We refuel in Hermiston, OR, then stay with friends Mary and Gene in Redmond, OR, for a great visit. Leading Edge, the FBO of the Roberts Field airport in Redmond, provides a hangar and first-rate service.

Going Home

It's time to fly home. 

The stop of the first day is Brigham City, UT, where FBO Bennie of the Mountain Air Jet Center provides a hangar and courtesy car. 

Next is Montrose, CO. Atlantic, the large FBO, takes pains to provide excellent service not just for corporate jets but also for private pilots. They also supply hangar space.

The third and last day is a monster schedule of more than 9 1/2 hours of flying from Montrose to Dallas. 

While still climbing out from Montrose at 6:30 am MDT, we have a magnificent view of the Blue Mesa Reservoir.

Blue Mesa Reservoir

In Oklahoma and Texas rain and low ceilings are thrown in for good measure, as if the day wasn't tiring enough. Despite detours forced by the weather, we land at Aero Country airport with plenty of daylight to spare. 

In total, we have flown 45 hours, using 148 gallons of fuel. The burn rate of 3.3 gal/hr is an amazing performance of the 80 hp Rotax 912 engine. Equally astounding, the engine has now run for 1,860 hrs during 22 years without any work on cylinders, valves, water pump, alternator, ignition, etc. 

Maybe our low-rpm use of the engine, where, due to the very efficient Sensenich propeller, we can cruise at 4,400-4,500 rpm even at high altitude, has something to do with this astonishing reliability.

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