The Alvord Desert

September 2008. With my flying buddy, Steve in his Cessna 150. We departed Chehalis at 2:00 pm on a southeasterly heading for our first stop, The Dalles Oregon. Weather didn’t require us to “Fly the Gorge” which is often used to get past/through the Cascade Range when ceilings are low, our best route took us there. The Gorge can be terrible windy, and care must be taken to watch for power lines, but it’s a good alternative. Winds were strong at The Dalles –with gusts to 24, which is often the case, but fortunately right down the runway.

From there we flew southeast along the eastern side of the Oregon Cascades to Burns OR which is fairly close to middle of the state. We flew over lots of beautiful wild country. It was late enough, at Burns, that dinner and a night in the pilot lounge was the prudent choice. We listened to the tale of the hangar destruction courtesy of a huge helicopter rotor. No people damaged, but one close call from flying debris.

We made a dawn takeoff so we’d be over the Steen Mts, landing in the desert early – always a good idea, and especially so in a 150 with 2 people and camping gear. The terrain we flew over was otherworldly and tortured . The Alvord is a flat stretch about 10 miles long and 4 wide, most of it ideal runway – just pick a direction, any direction. We flew along the west side, with no reason to go above 50 feet so we didn’t. Yippee! What fun! Tearing along to the east, checking our proposed landing area for damp spots, holes and debris then turned and landed. Nothing but sand, sage brush and silence. Nothing could our ears pick up but the faint ticking of the cooling engine. Even the wind was still. Within minutes the sound of an approaching engine caught our attention and we turned to see a jeep crossing toward us. We watched them come, stop about 100 yards away, then turn and leave. What was that about? Then it came to me. They were ground pounders camping on the other side who saw us come in low, then disappear . They were just looking to make sure we hadn’t crashed. Darn nice of them. Only people we saw for the next two days!

The Alvord has no amenities at all. If you need it, bring it in or go without. The peace, beauty and quiet of the dessert were worth the basic living conditions. Make sure you’ve got really GOOD tie downs as sometimes the wind comes up hard. September is a great time of year – still good weather and not too hot. (We had upper 80’s low 90’s). . For those of you who haven’t gone – do it. We loved hiking, exploring and having all that space to ourselves.

There is an airport, Denio Junction (E85) about 35 nm south, dirt runway. The fun is that you land and taxi over to the gas station for mogas, supplies , or a meal at the Café. We didn’t visit, so I cannot provide an opinion.