This video shows it well. The Bhutan pilots who fly this route are highly trained and are considered the best of the best. The flight in is always visual, no instrument approaches.
Beyond its natural beauty, it’s the people who make Bhutan so special. They’re connected to their country and to each other in so many profound ways.
They love their king.
They’re devout Buddhists.
They’re proud of their young democracy, established in 2008.
They’re well educated.
And they wear traditional dress, everyone, men and women alike.
And yes, they are happy!
I’ve only been here two days.
On day one, we went to a large festival in the capital, Thimphu.
Thimphu festivalStag dancers
Yesterday, we hiked to the Tiger’s Nest, an amazing feat of architecture built into the side of a cliff. It’s the iconic image of Bhutan; chances are you’ve seen a photo of it. Getting to go inside was a real treat.
Today, we start our 25-day trek. I am so ready to finally begin the journey.
I flew to Diamond Point on Friday, a private air park, to meet an avionics expert about my panel.
Before I took off for home, a thought hit me: I should see if Megan’s home. She was! And said she’d be right up. I taxied to parking and waited. And that’s when the day started getting good.
First, up walked Deanna. I’d met her a couple days earlier at Sequim Valley, where she was fueling her C180. I couldn’t help myself—I’d gone right over to cheer her on for being a female 180 pilot. There are so few!
(L to R: Me, Megan, Ginny, Deanna)
Then Ginny rolled up in her golf cart. And suddenly there we were: four female pilots, in one place, completely by accident. I honestly can’t remember that ever happening before.
We had such fun. Megan took me up in her 150 for a quick flight to Port Angeles. Ginny told us the recent sad tale of running her 172 into a hangar door—she was handling it with calm and grace. Deanna and I traded notes on go-arounds in a 180. Somewhere in there we decided we had a quorum and really ought to start making decisions about the world.
Megan filmed my short field takeoff and sent me the video. I was dodging this huge rough area in the grass – nice and short!
When Scott started going in 2008, he found his people.
My Burningman journey began in 2013, where we celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. It was one of my most favorite memories with Scott.
Who knew we wouldn’t make it quite to our 30th. This year would have been 38, and I passed it on playa.
I wasn’t planning to go this year. I felt like Burningman was in the rear view mirror.
Then Alex, and Cherry both, separately, encouraged me to go.
I called Crunchie (Mitch) and asked if he could take a rider in his Comanche. The answer was yes. Next, I reached out to Load Drop (flight operations manager @ 88NV) and asked if there were any early shifts I could fill. Again,yes.
Crunchie landing at Sequim Valley to pick me up
When I asked if I could buy a ticket through the airport, they opted to give me a credential (A staff ticket).
I borrowed a tent from Odd Boy, a bike from Cherry, and a neighbor from Sequim took some items to the playa for me in his RV.
My shift pod (tent)
I was destined to go. And I went.
It was magical. I got to be a burner again. I rode the playa, visited 35 camps, saw art, volunteered at the airport, and received SO much love.
Eiffel TowerTumbleweed art pieceThe cubeCanadian Goose artistEl PopoThe man base being built Blazing sunset from the airport camp
It was amazing, I feel incredibly grateful……and it was exactly what I needed.
So fun! It’s one of my favorite places on earth. I’m training for my trek in Bhutan, and Alex and Patrick agreed to joint me for a backpacking trip up Electric Peak.
Alex picked me up at the Sequim Airport in his very fancy Epic airplane.
Alex in the EpicPilot Alex
Next stop, Boise to pick up Patrick, then on to West Yellowstone.
West Yellowstone Airport Campground
The campground is fenced, so there is no bear worry. It has four campsites with picnic tables, a really clean pit toilet, fire wood, and a wagon to haul your stuff.
The next morning, we loaded the rental car and headed to the trailhead. Along the way, we visited Norris Basin, saw a fox, sand hill cranes, some elk and a huge bison!
Sand Hill CranesElkFox
Big Bison
Along the drive, we stopped at Norris Geyser Basin. It was early, so we had the place nearly to ourselves.
We made it to the trailhead and began our seven mile trek to camp. It was breathtaking with wildflowers everywhere.
The map I left in the car…..
The highlights of the trail were the silence and the wildflowers. Amazing!!
Balsa root, lupine and moreElectric Peak view
Camp was cozy with sleeping quarters, a bear pole and fire pit.
Lots of flies and mosquitos
The next morning, was the climb. 7.5 miles and 3000′ elevation. Party Bear had ruined feet with blisters, so he waited down lower before the serious scrambling. Alex and I made it just below the summit. I remember a walk up…..40 years can do that to your memory. It was a serious rock scramble…..
Party Bear’s feet Mountain Goat near the summitScrambling downOur summit
This was our second try, and there was never going to be a third. This climb is brutal. Not because of the summit push, but because of the arduous route to get there. I could not have had a better climbing partner for this trip.
We drove to the trailhead and slept in my Westie, then hiked to beautiful Ross Lake and called the resort to come pick us up (we had a reservation). Soon we were whisked away to our trailhead. Our boat driver was a crazy man who went about 40 miles per hour through the smallest break in a log boom… well, that’s another story.
The hike is 16 miles to the first camp. It’s a pretty good cruise until after Luna Camp. Then we had over 80 deadfall trees to navigate around, over, and under. It took about 5 hours to get to Big Beaver Pass camp.
The Lodge and our rideThe trail in….and outInto the ParkCool FrogSam did this SO much easier than me!
The next day is the crux. You leave camp and just start up — weaving in and out of slide alder, devil’s club, and multiple cliffs. Eventually we made it to the top of the ridge (about 4 hours), and then we just navigated our way up, down, and across ridges, cirques, and rugged terrain. We used a high route, which added some extra time and effort, but eventually we got to our camp on the edge of the Challenger Glacier.
Out of the brushand up and upAnd across
Oh, and the weather. It just wouldn’t give us a break after our first day. It rained every day, and most nights. It rained all night at our high camp, and our feeling was that we had no more than a 50/50 chance of summiting.
I woke up at 3:30 and it was socked in and rainy. When I woke up again at 4am, it was getting lighter, the clouds had lifted, and it looked like we might have a chance. I woke Sam up and said, “Let’s give it a try.”
The glacier was in great condition. The snow was soft-ish, but not too soft, and the crevasses were closed. The biggest crevasse/bergschrund was open and very passable.
And down we go.
The climb was a cinch. Sam is so in his element on rock. It is pure pleasure to climb with him — strong, competent, efficient. Getting to the summit was a blast. And we were SO SO surprised that we made it up! Sam mentioned that I might be the oldest female to ever summit Challenger. I think he’s right! I am claiming the title.
When we got back to camp, we decided to break it down and move at least a couple more hours toward home. That was a great idea. We hiked for about 3.5 hours and set up camp in a nice basin. Again, the rain returned. It was amazing that we got the window we did to summit.
The view from campBack downAnd downCamp after summit. Poor Sam was in a bivy bag and it did not stop raining! Sam’s Bivy homeI look pretty cozy in my tent
The next day we again went the extra distance, stopping for the night at Luna Camp instead of our permitted Big Beaver Pass camp. That way, we only had 10.8 miles to go to the dock and our boat ride out.
Bushwacking downLuna Camp – NO RAIN!
We arrived at the dock at 11:30 am, and our reservation wasn’t until 3pm. Lucky us! The boat was arriving just as we stepped onto the dock. We asked if we could get a ride back early, and the driver said, “Sure!” What timing! We were so relieved.
So happy to be on the boat.
The highlight of the trip for me was getting to spend five full days in the backcountry, doing a big mountaineering trip with Sam. We had so much fun. The icing on the cake was the summit.
I passed! It took 6 hours of flying this adorable Cub on Lake Washington and a check ride.
66P a fun airplane to fly!
Yes, I was nervous during my check ride — and the fact that my examiner was my original flight instructor’s daughter, whom I had specifically asked to give me my test, only added to my nerves. He showed up after I finished specifically to congratulate me on my new rating! What a treat to see him again after a couple of years, and how meaningful that she was willing to do this for me.
Michelle (my examiner) and David (my PPL instructor and her Dad) at the dock at Kenmore Air.
I’m feeling pretty pumped. It would have been easy to just let it go — I honestly thought about calling the whole thing off before it began — I am so thrilled I did it!
Halibut fishing was one of those things I’d been wanting to try — I love halibut, and it’s just one of those experiences I hadn’t had yet. So I finally did it.
It was, overall, a pleasant day. The weather was beautiful, and most of the people on the boat were nice — except for the one young guy who was loud, not terribly bright, and more than a little annoying. Every group has one.
The highlight of the day: I caught the biggest halibut on the boat!
My halibut
Then I landed a Ling Cod
Milan our captain and my Cod
Then I lost my lure and I was done for the day. We had to go 33 miles west of the coast to get our catch, but we did it.
We left the marina in Neah Bay at 5:15am and returned around 5:00 pm. Long day, with beautiful weather.
Back at the dock in Neah Bay, there were guys set up to fillet the fish. Not really my preference, but since I have no idea how to process a fish, I handed it over and let them do their thing.
The fillet guys
My freezer is now stocked with about 14 pounds of fish – which, when you add in the cost of the trip, is no bargain. But now I know what halibut fishing is like, and that was the whole point.
