This is a photo of Mike lining up to land on a strip headed down valley. It’s actually one of those odd strips where we are landing up hill when facing down valley. It’s really nice for landing because valley winds tend to blow up hill after about 9 am. So in this situation it’s the best of all worlds because we are landing with a head wind, going up hill, but, headed down valley so a go-around is still feasible. There are not many strips like this, but I don’t complain when I get to use them. Of course, this means that on take-off we must go up hill, down valley, but the strip is long enough so it does not matter. Once I get the plane in the air all I have to do is maintain altitude and the ground will fall away below me. I’ve come off this strip with a passenger, all their gear, and a caribou, with no problem. The strip is at 5000′, and it is 400 feet long. But the tussocks off the down valley end of the strip are not that big, so I can always drag my tires over them on lift off if necessary.
I have not been flying much lately, and I miss it already.