THE HODZANA RIVER: THEN AND NOW

One of the most beautiful rivers in Alaska is the Hodzana River which flows into the Yukon River just below Beaver. I have visited this river in all seasons since the mid-80's. This is a small river arising in the hills East of Bettles with many twists and turns as it meanders hundreds of river miles to the South and East. Because of the tight turns and high flow rates during spring break-up and during heavy rains, the gravel bars on this river are constantly changing and are subject to heavy buildup of tree trunks and other debris, and sometimes a bar will wash away and disappear completely.

I have three favorite landing spots on this river - all are located on sections where the river is straight and the approach is over water with plenty of vertical clearance at each end. This favors what I call my "Stealth approach" which involves a route of flight just a few feet off the water at a slow approach speed, full flaps landing configuration, which allows one to cut the power and land right at the beginning of the bar with the benefit of being in ground effect during the final part of the approach.

On May 24th I flew up to the area of the Yukon below Beaver. The Yukon River was at full flood. The bar I had landed on just two weeks ago when the river was still iced up was completely covered with water. My intention was to fly up the Hodzana, as I do at this time each spring, to see which if any bars might be free of debris and possible for landing.

I was relieved to see that the Hodzana was not flooding and that from the junction with the Yukon, many short bars were visible. The Yukon was so high that it was actually back flowing up the Hodzana!

As I proceeded up the river, I was saddened to see that my lower landing spot had completely disappeared. Even at relatively low water, nothing was left. A little further up river, is my main landing spot - always roomy enough though constantly changing. It is located beneath an impressive cliff and has always been an exciting place to catch small wild Arctic Greyling and also a spot to see bear sign. Thankfully, for this summer, there were only a few large logs and none completely blocked the extent of the bar required for a successful landing. I landed here, the first time I have been able to do so in nearly 4 years!

A series of photos follows, showing the changing topology of the Hodzana River.

1. This first group of 5 pictures show a large and long bar on the lower part of the river that has now completely disappeared. (July 2007)

2.  Most of this next group were taken on May 24th 2015, a little farther upstream. This bar was my first landing spot on this river. It has changed over the years but has never completely washed away. For the past 4 years there have been tree roots and logs obstructing the landing but this year there was a clear path and just a few logs to the side which made for a convenient seating area and location for a lunch break.
This area was the location of an intense fire in 2006 and the result is a colorful array of Fireweed in the second and third pictures. The reflecting water is a great backdrop for a beautiful and cherished aircraft and opportunities to see nature abound! The grizzly bear tracks are especially striking!

This is Alaskan wild country at its most beautiful!

Paying Homage to The Spot Device

There are two devices that have fundamentally changed General Sport Aviation in Alaska for the better and enhanced our safety. One is GPS for navigation and the other is the Spot Device which I shall pay tribute to in this posting.

Three years ago I first acquired the Spot Device and I wrote the following review for Amazon.com:

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An essential device for the Alaskan Pilot, November 17, 2012

5 Stars

I fly in the far North of Alaska in the Brooks Range, the upper Yukon Valley and North and West of Bettles. I do this for pleasure but danger always is lurking on the most familiar gravel bar or remote lake and I am frequently more than 500 miles from the nearest outpost of civilization. I use and count on the Spot device to let my wife and my friends know my where-abouts and that I have landed safely. My Spot has never failed me and has sent many perfect localization messages. I have reviewed the Spot messages after returning, I am in awe of the accuracy of the location on google maps.

For those of us who are pushing the envelope of safe return this device has changed the game and allowed us to fly with an extra margin of safety and given those who stay behind the reassurance of knowing that we are safe. I am grateful as are many of my pilot buddies for this essential and sophisticated device and service.

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The passage of time has only enhanced my respect and appreciation for this technological innovation and its integration into the iPhone and devices supporting email.

I am embarrassed and ashamed for the whiners and complainers who have given poor reviews for the SPOT device on Amazon. These timid souls seem to be looking for something that will track and announce their course as they venture forth to their barbecue grills or their day hikes in the familiar hills of the civilized world, places where the true danger is more stupidity than geographic. Let them visit Alaska and contemplate the daunting nature of true risk!

When I fly from Fairbanks to Bettles I cross through two completely separate weather systems. If I venture North to Anaktuvuk Pass and the North Slope I enter a third and a fourth. If I fly West to the Kobuk Valley and Kotzebue Sound I enter yet another and if I angle Northwest to the Noatak Valley I enter even another distant weather sector. There are no locally based weather reporters in any of these regions, only automated sensors, which cannot always be relied upon to give up to the minute accurate weather data.

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Pictures follow of the SPOT Device in use:

A Winter with a Paucity of Snow and Ice

The winter of 2014-2015 has been one of historic high temperatures and relatively low snowfall. The Anchorage area has had zero snow pack for most of the winter thus necessitating a change in venue for the start of the Iditarod Dogsled Race from Willow to Fairbanks. Even here in Fairbanks the river ice on the Chena River was too thin to support the racers so at the last minute the start had to be moved to a nearby road.

Ski flying, that most splendid of small aircraft activities, was thus curtailed this year.

Those who were thrilled by my post from last April of the trip to the Ray Mountains and the frozen surface of Round Lake will be interested in one new development - I have installed brakes on my skis. Pictures of these ski brakes follow, along with some shots of a quick flight out to Minto Lake, West of Fairbanks for some touch and goes and maintenance of currency.

The first three pictures show the skis after returning from Minto Lake with a large amount of snow and ice heaped up on the ski from use of the brakes.

This pictures shows graphically the rapid loss of snow early in the season. This enlarging snowless gulf between the plane and the runway forced me to move my plane temporarily to a friend's strip that has an East-West orientation which means that the snow is more protected from the heat of the sun. 

The following pictures show in greater detail the design and installation of the brakes. They are hydraulic and are actuated by the toe brakes on the rudder pedals.

Out on the Minto Flats