Flying to Ranger Creek
August 8th, 2020 — The country and the world are in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, which among many other things meant that we were unable to just get out and fly.
While I resumed my CFI training just over a month ago, Derek hasn't been back in the helicopter since at least December. He and I have been trying to come up with a fun way to fix that, and we opted for a trip out to Ranger Creek (21W).
Located on the northeast slope of Mount Rainier, at 2,650 feet it's the highest elevation paved runway in the state of Washington. The original plan was to pick up from Boeing Field around 11 am and have a picnic lunch at the campsite attached to the airport. The weather around the city wasn't cooperating, so we ended up digging in to our lunch at Atomic while waiting things out. Luckily, by 1 pm things had greatly improved and we had an absolutely amazing adventure.
An important thing to remember when flying into Ranger Creek is that it’s an active campsite. We flew a tight-in downwind for 33, both so that we would be able to see any people moving around on the runway and so that they would be able to see us. If you watch the video closely, you’ll notice that about half a dozen people (mostly kids) quickly exited the runway as we were on short final. One of the benefits of being in a helicopter is that we can slow way down, observe, and side step if necessary to avoid people, animals, or objects in the area.
From the moment we stepped out of the helicopter, we were surrounded by interested campers. Derek had an absolute field day talking to a bunch of other kids about how helicopters work, where we came from, how long it took, and why we were there. He loves aviation, and like so many of us, he’ll take any opportunity he can to share that passion with others.
Once the crowd dispersed, we sat down for a snack and some drinks. We took a small walk around the runway to stretch our legs, then jumped back into CW and made our way home to Boeing Field. This was a day Derek will remember forever, and I know we’ll be making more trips out to Ranger Creek in the future.
