So tonight we’re in Smithers. We’ve fed and pampered Tripp a bit and checked into a hotel. I got to thinking about our explorations since first reaching Smithers yesterday. That morning began in Burns Lake, we flew around and past Smithers without landing (1), then relatively low along the highway past Hazelton and Terrace out to Prince Rupert where we very nearly got stuck due to weather and lack of fuel before returning to Terrace (2) for a nap in the plane and then a sleep in the tent. This morning we flew back toward Rupert climbing high (3) and thus more able to shortcut the highway and fly more direct to Ketchikan. This afternoon we flew back to Rupert (4) for Canada Customs entry but again weather had other plans for us so with lots of wonderful help from ATC we were able to fly the back country shortcut to Smithers (5) and clear customs here. I’m laughing as I type this, in disbelief at how much we’ve seen in two days! 🙂
Smithers to AK Tracks
Note that I’ve used different colors on the tracks from our portable aviation GPS and on the numbers I’ve added, to help you sort out where we actually went. We got to know the route between Terrace and Prince Rupert fairly well, having flown it four times in two days. We were pleased to see plenty of settlements, boats, and other signs of solace along our Prince Rupert/AK flight in event of engine trouble. Going up we reached 11,500 for safety but coming back we didn’t climb above 9,000 having seen so many options within gliding distance. Flying this route in summer seems to me relatively safe at anything above 7,500 if you’re ok with survivable off-field forced landing in event of sudden engine failure. Since that’s so rare, the more likely worst case in good weather would be an adverse engine indication that would force an emergency diversion to the nearest airport. Since it looked like we were never more than 30 miles from an option that would probably not even cause damage, we’d recommend the flight to other fixed gear flyers like us. Still, it was nice how easily Tripp hoisted us to 11.5k for the first crossing!
Many times we remarked on how beautiful it all is, even when seen from different altitudes and routes. Too bad the smoke was so thick, because the photos come out much worse than what we saw. OK, I’m going off-grid for a rest!
John & Anne Wiley 
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