From Johnson Creek, we decided to conduct an evening flight to Big Creek, then on around the Salmon River Canyon in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness area. This area was virtually covered by fires in '07 and we wanted to see how bad it had been. Sadly, we found that a good part of the wilderness area had been blackened. Canyon after canyon was covered in dead standing trees with only a few spots of green remaining. It will be several decades before this area recovers.
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John Galban's Flying Site | home
Salmon River '08
Departing north out of Big Creek.
There was plenty of snow on the higher peaks in July.
The Path of the '07 fires was plain to see.
Down below, several planes are visible Thomas Creek strip (2U8) at the bottom of the canyon on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River.
View of the incredibly rugged landscape in the River of No Return Wilderness. As far as the eye can see, there's nothing but steep canyons
surrounded by ridges and peaks climbing from nine to ten thousand feet above sea level.
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