Day 51 - Havre to Kalispell

Tony Cacciarelli • Aug 04, 2020

Havre, MT (KHVR) to

Kalispell, MT (S27) - August 4, 2019

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Cool old hangar in Havre

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Fuel stop in Cut Bank, MT

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Location, Location, Location!

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Getting into some serious mountains

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Touchdown on Flathead Lake

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Original Instagram Post

Got out of Havre this morning and had a slight tail wind for a change, which got me to my first stop, Cut Bank, MT in about an hour. I topped up on fuel so I'd have plenty for my trip over the mountains. Kalispell wasn't too far, but I didn't know how much I might have to deviate from my planned path, so I wanted to have a good reserve.

The mountains were a bit lower to the south, so I found a good path over them but still had to climb to 12,500' for part of the trip. I sort of surfed along on the upwind side of a few ridge lines and was able to move from one to the next without getting caught in any big down drafts. It wasn't the most direct route, but it was a great experience reading the terrain and figuring out how to safely get across.

After crossing the main set of mountains everything flattened out into a big valley with several lakes. The view was amazing! I dropped back down over Flathead Lake and found a good spot to set down on the water. It was still only about noon, so I decided to fly around the lake a little more. The water in other areas was getting pretty choppy, so I didn't land, but flew around the whole lake.

I'd originally planned to spend another day here in Kalispell and check out Glacier National Park, but I'm having to cut things short to try and make up for the lost time in Brainerd so I'll just have to come back here and do that another time.

Tomorrow I'm heading over to Sandpoint, ID. It's only about 90 miles, and not nearly as high of a mountain range to cross. I should be able to get there early and then head up to Priest Lake just to the north. I'll be passing through the skinny part of Idaho that's only about 40 miles wide. It also means I'll be back on Pacific time. Last time zone change for the trip!

😀👍🏼

This was probably the day that made me the most nervous of the entire trip. I knew I had to cross the Rockies at some point to get back to the west coast. When I was planning things out I chose the more northern route close to the Canadian border because the mountains weren't as high (relatively speaking) and I wouldn't have to be over them for very long.

The A5 is rated up to 15,000 feet altitude, so I wasn't outside the envelope at 12,500 feet. 12,500 is the highest I've been in a small plane and you don't need oxygen as long as you aren't up there for more than 30 minutes - which I wasn't.

I probably didn't have to climb up quite so high, but I wanted to have some extra space between me and the mountains. I'm funny that way.

It was also important to keep track of the wind direction. Air will rise on the upwind side of a slope but once it gets over the peak it can swirl and create strong downdraft. In a plane as small and light as the A5, even a moderate downdraft can be more than you can climb out of and these weren't small hills I was dealing with. Having extra altitude meant I had more options for getting out of trouble - although I mostly wanted to avoid getting INTO trouble in the first place.

Overall it was pretty uneventful getting across the mountains. I had tried to contact ATC and get flight following but my multiple calls went unanswered. Not sure if they just weren't receiving me or if they were too busy dealing with the commercial traffic going into Glacier National Park. I did have my Garmin InReach Mini fired up and ready, as always.

The airport at Kalispell was really small but they were able to point me to a hotel that was within walking distance and they had a courtesy car. I used the car to get my stuff over to the hotel and grabbed lunch at The Forge a few miles away (really good barbecue!). I couldn't keep the car overnight, so I planned to walk back to the airport in the morning.

The hotel was perfectly fine, but the room looked like a prison cell with cinderblock walls and a window that looked out on...a wall.

When I arrived the police were interviewing someone about a break in or stolen property or something. Turned out to be some sort of domestic disturbance.

Kalispell felt a little bigger than Havre, but not by much. I walked around for a bit and then had a rest back at the hotel.

For dinner I walked over to the hotel next door. It was much nicer than mine, but also more expensive.

Hotels were the biggest expense of the trip and small price differences definitely added up over two months. I tried to save a few bucks whenever I could.

People asked if I thought about camping instead of paying for hotels. I'd considered it but even super-lightweight camping gear added a lot of weight and space - and I didn't have extra of either. Also, the thought of sleeping in a tent for two months did not sound like the kind of trip I wanted this to be. I doubt my back would've survived intact.