Yaaa! After clearing US Customs in Oroville Washington, I do a long, hot, bumpy 4.5 hour flight. Going higher and smoother means a headwind, lower ground-speed, a landing for fuel and most importantly, a missed dinner. So I put up with the bumps and eventually I touch down in Placerville, grab a few things from the plane and head home for dinner with Betsy and the dogs. Sweet!
It was a fantastic trip and for doing relatively little planning it worked out exceptionally well. I flew the coastal route up, went sea kayaking, had a stunning flight north past Denali and the Arrigetch Peaks, went backpacking in the Brooks Range (a dream of mine) and then flew the inland route home. With a few little adventures thrown in. Just awesome!
West Coast Flying Adventures 
Welcome home, Ney. It was wonderful reading about your trip and adventures. Thank you for taking the time and trouble to do it.
Allan
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Really an inspiration – so in a T210 like yours I’m going to do Alaska too, from Santa Rosa in June. Would you be will to tell me what you would do differently, if anything, and what other equipment you would take, or not? A .357, really, Ney.
I, too was really worried about your long absence from the blog – so glad you are back.
Hi Dan,
Well, besides the kayaking and backpacking gear for the side trips, the stuff I really liked having was a nice cooler (my wife gave me a Yeti as a gift – it was great). I had extra food so that if I didn’t end up somewhere near food I could always get something from the stash in the plane. I also had a 7 gallon plastic jerry can of drinking water that was very useful. I had to work a bit so I took a car battery that would charge up my electronics. I didn’t use the folding bike a lot, but it was there when I needed it. The airport at Nenana was outside of town with no one there. I biked into town for a cold beer and groceries. Your choice of alcohol too, if you drink. I took a few bottles of CA wine and that was handy for a glass of wine in the evening, and I also gave away a few bottles as gifts.
Fortunately a 210 can actually carry all this stuff!
Thanks for that info. All your posts are really great to read – vicarious enjoyment and inspiration. My wife and I find we are using our 4×4 Sportsmobile Sprinter with solar more than the 210 but not for Alaska. I fly a Pitts about 3xs a week to keep sharp. Keep the posts coming.
You know we have a Sprinter, right? Its three years old so not 4×4 but close since we installed automatic chains. It does have solar. If you head up to the snow via highway 50 you should stop by. We are 5 minutes off 50.
Grant- Leaving soon on some of your route. Was your first stop in Canada Port Hardy or some place near, then to Ketchikan?
No, I skipped Canada completely and went from Port Angeles to Ketchikan. Thus no border crossing to deal with.