Monache Meadows

Not long after dad bought the Tri-pacer he decided it would be fun to take it camping. He loved the mountains, so he decided some remote airstrip would provide a nice get away from the usual camp grounds. I don't recall exactly how he came to know about the little dirt strip at Monache Meadows. Probably some flying buddy of his pointed it out. Anyway, it certainly turned out to be very remote.

Dad wanted this to be a "guy" thing so just my younger brother and I would be tagging along. I was 16 at the time and my brother was 9. Since this trip was to be just an over-nighter, we traveled light. The reality of the situation was the fact that the Tri-pacer wouldn't be very happy carrying a heavy load into and out of the high altitude strip. We packed three summer-weight sleeping bags, two tarps (no tent), some fishing poles, jackets, some dehydrated food and a few cooking utensils. That was about it.

I believe that the airstrip at Monache Meadows was originally built and used by the U.S. Forestry Service and, interestingly, it is no longer shown on aeronautical charts. If I remember correctly, it was located approximately 28 miles south of Mt. Whitney, deep in the high Sierra Mountains (I think that works out to about N36° 12´, W118° 11´) and it is about 8500 feet ASL. Getting there is not exactly for the faint-of-heart as it requires flying over some very desolate looking forests, valleys and a few high ridges. The final approach to the strip is made from over the meadow area, which gives the pilot time to get properly lined up. This is vitally important as it is virtually impossible to make a go-around once established on final approach. A few pieces of aluminum decorating the hillside immediately beyond the end of the airstrip reminded us of this fact.

Dad did a masterful job of getting the Tri-pacer safely onto the strip and stopped. We taxied back to about mid-field and then pushed the airplane off to the side where is would be close to our little camp site. Soon enough, we found some sticks suitable for making our lean-to as well as a nice camp fire. We had a great time fishing the little stream that ran along side the airstrip. Remarkably, we pulled in a few trout that nicely supplemented our dehydrated soup. There were some neat bull-frogs along the banks of the small stream as well. My brother and I had fun antagonizing a few of them with our fishing-flies. Even though we snagged a couple, we chose to let them go rather than try a frog-leg dinner.

What stands out in my mind the most about Monache Meadows is how dark it was at night and how many stars we could see. It was very spectacular. We even saw some terrific shooting-star displays. There were no artificial lights visible in any direction which added to the feeling of really being alone. Well, except for the coyotes. At least, I guess it was coyotes I heard howling in the distance.

All too soon it was time to pack up and leave. In order to take advantage of the performance-enhancing cool morning air, we broke camp early and loaded everything into the Tri-pacer for our flight home. Dad managed to maneuver the airplane to the extreme end of the strip, the last of which was considerably uphill. We got into the air with relative ease and headed out over the beautiful meadow in a gentle climb. After a circle or two we were high enough to head west, towards home. Sometimes it is difficult to believe how beautiful the mountains are until you've actually spent a little time there. I'm glad we did it.

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