Bozeman Pass

The flights to and from Bozeman were the ones that gave me the most concern.  It is 113 miles, about 40 minutes but it possibly presented the most challenges.  Our other destinations did not have a lot of close high terrain and this time of year they do not tend to be low IFR for extended periods. Spoiler, I will regret these words in a few days. Basically, we could wait out most stuff and expect conditions that could easily be handled IFR.

Bozeman is different.  It sits in a bowl and is surrounded by mountains.  To arrive IFR your MEAs are going to be at least 11,000.  Sitting in the valley it has prolonged low IFR periods and with the mountains, the approach options are much more limited.  Bozeman could have been a show stopper.

I had a good backup plan.  The drive from Billings to Bozeman is a bit over 2 hours.  If the weather was going to make the flight impractical, I planned to call AVIS, extend the rental and cancel my Avis in Bozeman.  On the way over it would have been a wash on time as it took us about the same to prep the plane, fly and get in the new car.  Heading to Rapid City next Tuesday it would have added a few hours having to drive to Billings first and then fly onto Rapid city.

As it turned out weather was coming Friday but it wasn’t due until after 6 PM.  Tuesday was also forecast clear so we flew.  The FBO at Billings was really good.  Not only was their line service excellent but they had a very friendly staff, candy and gave us fancy cookies on departure.

It was a cool morning in Billings and they had parked us facing uphill.  This meant I started up and just sat there while the oil warmed.  I needed about 1300 RPM to get rolling uphill so we chilled for about 5 minutes while the oil made it to the mid 80s.  A quick blast of power got me rolling and Billings ground got me a squawk for flight following and cleared us to taxi.  The warm up delay meant the engines were ready for runup at the end of the runway.

We would be light this morning, typically I like lots of gas  and in the flat country I often carry extra gas.  Out here I like single engine climb performance more.  With less gas and weighing 5000 pounds the computed climb available was 320 fpm.  If I had topped off it would have dropped to near 200.  Since I am no test pilot, that extra performance could save my bacon and I like to stack the deck in my favor.

The departure was normal, I did lean the engines and the acceleration was not as good as sea level but with 10,518’ of runway, even the slight uphill slope did not concern me.   Everything worked and we were soon heading towards Bozeman.  I had decided to go VFR because the weather was excellent and I did not want to have to climb high enough for the MEAs.  We still had flight following so ATC would be watching us.

It was fun to be VFR, after liftoff it was 6BY, turn on course, contact departure.  I really enjoy IFR flying but when VFR you can be a bit more relaxed, dip the wing to get a better view of the scenery and be a bit more laid back.  This includes the route, we planned IFR, I follow roads, and would follow the highway through the Bozeman pass.  This would keep us over the lowest terrain and near people. 

It was a quick flight, 40 minutes and it seemed to go fast.  We talked to Billings, then Salt Lake Center, then Bozeman approach and finally tower.  After we slid through the Bozeman pass and headed down, I was hoping to land on 12 which is long and close to the FBO.  Tower wanted me on 11 which is shorter and farther out.  Tower also did not want us to be on final next to an arriving regional jet on final to 12.  This meant we got to fly an extended downwind to turn behind the RJ.

We landed 11, cleared and called ground who told us to call tower to get across 12.  Tower got us across and gave us instructions to the ramp.  Signature had it together and put us right at the front door.  Before I could get out, our car was positioned for us to load and the line guys helped us move our stuff.

Signature gets a bad wrap because some locations can be very overpriced.  I agree that some are but not all.  They publish prices online, and in many locations they are very reasonable.  I like the transparancy.  Avoid the outliers and Signature can be a good value.  The gas here is a bit high but parking is only $15/night and you just need to buy 30 gallons to waive all fees.

They have a nice facility.  When I went inside to check in, I grabbed a snack and they had a fancy coffee machine.  I had it make me a hot chocolate with a shot of espresso.  They also loaned us bear spray.  I had thought of buying some but carrying it in the plane seemed to be risky.  Yes it would go in the nose and not the cabin but those areas are not completely separated.  

This is Bear country though we never saw one. I had planned to go to Costco to grab some spray when we landed as it was nearby.  I had called a week before and asked if we could drop it for disposal when we left and the guy said they usually had some from people doing just that.  So when we landed I asked and they had some to lend us.

The weather had been great but we still had the rain coming around 6:00.  Our Saturday plan was hiking with Friday being museums and downtown.  Given the forecast we decided to hike Friday instead.  After dropping our stuff at the hotel, we were off to Big Sky.  Montana is called Big Sky Country but they also have a town by that name.  It is known as a ski location but right now it is more a fishing and hiking destination as there is not much snow yet.

We drove South alongside the Gallatin river and it was quite scenic.  We were heading to Ousell falls.  The falls are a 1.4 mile round trip on a well maintained gravel path.  It would be easy except for the fact that the falls are around 9,400’ and the trail dips down several hundred and then climbs back up.

Other than breathing heavier than normal we made quick work of the trail.  At the end you reach an observation area which has nice fall views.  You can then add on a climb to the top of the falls and a descent to the base of the falls.  We did both.  The falls were worth the walk and though I had the spray we saw no bears.  It was interesting to see that only about one in 5 groups had spray.

After the hike we drove back to town for a quick walk.  It reminded CC of Telluride in its architecture and feel but it was smaller and seemed more commercial.  We stopped by the visitor center to see if we wanted to do another local hike or head to Palisade Falls.  After looking at the options we chose to head on.  We did stroll the main drag and it does seem that this quaint small town had been fully gentrified into a luxury resort mecca for the ultra wealthy.

Our next falls were not far away but there was a big ass mountain in the way so we drove about 45 minutes around it to arrive at Palisade Falls.  As a bonus we drove around the Hyalite Reservoir which is known for its picturesque views.  These falls seem easy but...  The path is fully paved and wheelchair accessible from the parking lot to the observation area. So easy right?

Not really, the path to the falls is uphill and has grades as much as 13% and when starting at 6,900 feet, it seems steeper.  We powered through and made quick work of the .6 mile walk.  On both hikes we saw many people but while it was not empty it was not busy.  At Ousell, we must have seen 40 people heading back from the falls but when we arrived we had the falls to ourselves for a few minutes and just a handful of other people around later.

At Pallisade, less overall people and upon our arrival there were two small groups just leaving.  We had the falls to ourselves again until just before we headed out when 3 people showed up.  While the path is paved.  To go the last 200 feet you do need to walk across the uneven rocks.  The climb is steep but there are no shear drops, just watch out that you don’t slip or turn an ankle.

After the falls we headed to town.  It was not Tuesday but I wanted Tacos.  I had seen a Taco truck (actually a Taco school bus) with great reviews and it was on the way to the hotel.  On Tuesday we tried to get tacos and two places we tried were closed.   When we arrived at the parking lot the bus was not there.  There were three other trucks including a taco one that had good reviews so we went with it and ordered way too much food.  It was not the truck we read about but their food was very good and we were both stuffed.

The rain came at 6:45 but was not much, at least by Florida standards.  That said we are under a flash flood warning.  We discussed alternate plans for the morning and decided to wait and see what actually developed.