How to fly from Alaska 🇺🇸

Ok so in one of my previous posts I documented a trip north from Seattle to Alaska. This blogpost documents the trip back down, this time instead of a Cessna 172 we flew a much slower airplane, a Piper Supercub, PA-18. We took a much more scenic route, one that I would highly recommend others take if they’re able to land on a few gravel/dirt strips and don’t mind tankering fuel for the trench (or fly an airplane with a 400nm range).

The Route:

PAAQ PAGK 0AK8 61.75233/-141.67969 CYXY CYQH CYZY CAV4 CYGE CYXC 1S1 KCOE

1. Wolf Lake (4AK6) to Fireweed (0AK8)

For the first leg, we flew over the pass near Glacier View, then continued toward Sheep Mountain Lodge. From there, we cut the corner just south of Glenallen to make our way to McCarthy. We landed at Fireweed Airport, where my co-worker Christina lives right on the strip and flies a Supercub. If you need fuel at Fireweed, you’ll need to set up an account in advance, which has a $70 startup fee. Fortunately, we were able to use Christina’s account to fill up for the next leg. The flight took about 2.5 hours in total.

2. Fireweed (0AK8) to Whitehorse (CYXY)

After departing Fireweed, we set our sights on the Nazine Glacier Pass. The climb to 5,500 feet was smooth and uneventful, and soon we were soaring above the stunning expanse of the Russel Glacier. From there, we intercepted the White River and followed its winding path all the way down to Whitehorse. The leg took about 2.5 hours in total, offering breathtaking views of the Wrangell St. Elias National Park.

3. Whitehorse (CYXY) to Watson Lake (CYQH)

We cleared customs quickly in Whitehorse and topped off the airplane before departing for Watson Lake. The flight itself was smooth and uneventful, giving us a chance to relax and enjoy the scenery along the way.

4. Watson Lake (CYQH) to Mackenzie (CYZY) aka “The Trench”

We arrived at Watson lake and felt a bit of a hard pull while taxiing. We stopped and realized the tailwheel went flat. We also found an oil leak that was spraying oil all over the inside of the cowling. To say Watson Lake is a bad place to break down is a bit of understatement. It’s in the middle of the Yukon and there’s absolutely no services available. No maintenance on the field and the nearest airport with aircraft maintenance is Whitehorse, about 1.5 hrs behind us.

We spent the night camping out while we thought of things to do. The next morning we woke up early and started working. The airport office advised us there was a AME (Canada’s version of an A&P) on the field. We walked over there and he was just about to leave but said if we wanted to fix the tail wheel there they’d lend us tools as long as we were quick.

We raised the tail and took off the tail wheel then got to work on disassembling it. It’s a split wheel hub so once you get the bolts off it splits open fairly easily. We borrowed a patch kit from a guy named Ray, he was traveling through Watson Lake on his way up to Alaska and he’s friends with Christina. We patched the inter tube and filled it up. The patch held so we were set on that.

We finished the tail wheel in about an hour and a half. Then the real work came with the oil leak. What happened was the oil hose that runs to the oil cooler rubbed through the metal oil return line and created a small hole. Oil (luckily not under pressure) was squirting through that hole.

We asked the AME to take a look and rate it from 1-5, 1 being ok to proceed and 5 being need to ground the airplane now. He rated it as a 5. He also advised that if we raided the WW2 hangar on the field we might be able to find a rubber hose we could wrap around the oil line and then use a couple of hose clamps to keep it in place.

We went and explored the abandoned (mostly) WW2 hangar until we found some parts. We then returned to the aircraft and got to work.

5. Mackenzie (CYZY) to Charlie Leake / McBride (CAV4)

6. Charlie Leake (CAV4) to Golden (CYGE)

7. Golden (CYGE) to Creston (CZPS)

8. Creston (CZPS) to Coeur d’Alene (KCOE)

Summary

All in, the trip was about 1,520 nm, 3 nights, and $993 CAD in 100LL. That fuel total is from the pumps at Whitehorse, Watson Lake, Mackenzie, Golden, and Creston. It doesn’t include the fill at Fireweed, which went on Christina’s account.