Flyin' Down South

By: Neil Amonson

By KAVU

March 23^rd, 2021

I recently had the opportunity to meet a good high school buddy, Sev, down in southern Utah for some adventuring. We agreed to meet at the Canyonland Airport just outside of Moab, and to explore some of the local famous dirt runways.

My good friend Mike, who owns the blue and white Bearhawk, agreed to tag along and act as a "flying tour guide" since he's always looking for an excuse to get his plane into the backcountry.

Our first stop was Dolores Point. This unique strip is located on the UT - CO border near the town of Gateway. It sits on top of a high plateau at 7k’ MSL (mean sea level) and is surrounded by steep drop-offs. Mike had been there before, so he landed first while I watched from above. The runway is plenty long, wide and was a great first stop of the day.

After landing, we found the runway to be in good condition but with a 1” layer of sticky dirt on the top surface due to some recent precipitation that caused it to stick to our tires. It kind of felt like we were the airplane version of jeeps for a little while. We ate some breakfast burritos we had brought with us and walked around and as the wind calmed down, soon the only sound we could hear was the dirt and snow crunching underneath our shoes, and the sound of our own heart beat in our ears. It was amazing.

Our next stop was just a few miles away, but many thousands of feet lower in the town of Gateway, CO.

Located in the town is the famous Gateway Resort, popular with backcountry pilots who walk down from the dirt runway to enjoy some of their fine dining.

Similar to our first stop, we spent most of our time on the ground walking around and enjoying the spectacular scenery while taking photos. In every direction was postcard-quality views.

Every few minutes I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. Before long we had to make our way back to the Canyonlands Airport, and then we stayed the night in Moab before continuing our adventure the next morning.

That next morning, we headed south-west (about 50 nautical miles) towards a dirt strip known as Hidden Splendor. Along the way we flew over some of the most rugged and beautiful terrain I had ever seen from the air.

Hidden Splendor is famous for its canyon approach, almost like a slot canyon for airplanes. It is unconventional flying at it’s finest and not for the faint of heart.

Once again I found myself in what can only be described as a dream for backcountry pilots. Red cliffs reaching up to the heavens a thousand feet in nearly every direction.

This is what I become a pilot for!

Another brief walk around the local area had me thinking about coming back with the dogs and a tent for some camping this coming spring.

This time, I took off first and was able to circle back over-head to get a view of Mike about to take-off.

This angle really gives a good look at the cliff edge just off the end of the runway. Don’t go long on this one!

Our next stop is perhaps the most famous of all the Utah backcountry airstrips, Mexican Mountain.

It is named after the mountain the airstrip lies directly beside and can be seen from above as a small dirt line between two bends in the river.

While myself and Mike are both using large bush tires, this strip is maintained well enough that an aircraft with regular sized tire will do just fine most of the year. Once you taxi off the main landing area the large tires come in handy for not getting stuck in soft sand and shallow holes in the ground. Plus they really smooth out the imperfections on the runway during take- off and landing, almost like you are riding on giant marshmallows.

Mike took in some quite time while me and Sev explored around the local area. There is a lot of old, western history in this canyon and it’s fun to think about how few people actually make it out here since those times of old.

One of the most popular things for visiting pilots to explore are the petroglyphs that can be found only 5 minutes from the airstrip.

One our flights into Mexican Mountain, we could see some snow storms brewing on the horizon so we were a bit anxious to head back north towards Salt Lake City.

Looking back down at the airstrip after take-off, I could only think of genuine gratitude for being able to fly to such a beautiful place. I’ve always enjoyed knowing that airplanes are not just toys, but tools as well.

On this KAVU day it was definitely a little of both.

Before the trip, we noticed some snow showers were forecast for the afternoon we were planning on flying back into Salt Lake City and sure enough mother nature didn’t make it easy on us. We refueled in Huntington and did a map study to try and figure out the best way over the last two tall mountain ranges between us and I-15.

After taking off Mike decided he didn’t like the looks of the weather and he returned to Huntington to spend the night and fly on to SLC the next morning. I opted to explore around for an alternate way though and found a large blue hole in the sky to climb up to 12,000’ MSL and was able to see a small, but clear path over the Wasatch mountains and down into the low terrain on the other side. I was sad to part with Mike and that he got stuck on his own over-nighter at a small airport, but that is the beauty of aviation......

Each “pilot in command” must make their own decision based on their comfort level and experience. I supported Mike in his decision to turn around, and was 5 minutes from turning back myself and joining him. But with a little luck and creativity, Sev and I were able to make it over the "crux" of the return trip, making it home safe later that afternoon.

This trip had a profound influence on my vision for my future in aviation. While the money is in flying corporate jets or being a long-term airlines pilot, my heart is in the mountains. I will continue to be a tailwheel flight instructor as well as expanding my training program to help other pilots have their first experiences in the backcountry. Salt Lake City is the perfect launch platform to explore the state of Utah, whether by plane, car, bike, or on foot.