Little Bear Lake Last Summer

A quick flight in a Comanche

I spent the weekend at Little Bear Lake last summer in mid-July.  The airstrip there is rather narrow, surround by trees and sand dunes, has a big hill in the middle, and is exposed to a constant cross wind off the lake.  But for all that it is a nice and quiet place to spend a weekend.

We flew VFR and the weather was challenging.  We had to dodge a few well developed thundershowers near Prince Albert.  No turbulence to speak of though.  We had an excellent view of the leading edge of the storm with the little scud clouds preceding the main body.  P.A. Radio was very concerned that we knew the storm was there as we flew by and I do appreciate the warnings.  But it could hardly be missed and we cleared it by a wide margin.

The weather remained cold and rainy all weekend and we spent it largely in the cabin watching old movies, bbq between rain showers, and playing cards.  For all that it was time well spent.

The departure looked very similar to the arrival.  Relatively low ceilings (1,500) and scattered rain showers.  But the cool air made for an easy takeoff to the north - the strip is only 1,600 feet long - and once we were up in the air it is a quick ride home.