[Jonathan]

I've found all kind of stuff but I would have to say that a plane crash was the most interesting. One valley over from Sulphur Mtn. I stumbled across a propeller blade and then another until I found the Pratt and Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp engine. I did some reshearch to fine out what it was and the best guess is the plane was a PBY. I'm still not a 100% sure as the body of the plane looked to small but the PBY did have foldable wings so there may have only been half of the wing there. I still think it could be a Grumman F4 Wildcat but can't find any info of crashes of that type in the area. If the other engine was to be found then for sure the PBY. We found lots of raido gear and a wheel, but a yellow rubberized bag/pack with yellow 'drinking water' cans in it was sure cool. I also found a raido frequence code book and I have some of the pages from it, that were starting to rust away. I did find a canister with a valve stamped 1943 on it but I'm not sure what the bottle was for.....oxygen perhaps. I have many great slides from the trip but I have no way to post them sorry.

[Sandy McKean]

[Dante]

Hmm. Airplane at the bottom of Otter with Backpacker Joe, crashed gyrocopter looking thingy at Chetwoot (gone the next year), steam donkey up by Bear Mountain, and a bunch of cool stuff on the Olympic coast. I lost a pair of sunglasses on the way to Rachel and Ramparts and found them two years later--not that interesting, but pretty cool Oh yea--and a few beers. I think the last ones were at the bottom of a little inlet to Laura or Lillian.

[Backpacker Joe]

Hey there, with all due respect. The Consolidated PBY Catalina was an observation flying boat. It had twin Pratt and Whitney R1830 twin wasp radial engines, high wing (span of 104') configuration. (didnt fold) the wing sponsons retracted into the wing for aerodynamics. It was a very large aircraft. It had a crew of 5, (pilot, co, raidio man and two waste gunners) and had a sustained flying time of over 24 hours. The Black Cat squadron spotted the Japanese ships at Midway and helped guide the U.S. aircraft from the Hornet, the Enterprise and the Yorktown in to distroy the Japanese fleet. If you found a single engined (radial) aricraft it could be almost anything. I have to say, that's the best find though.

[Backpacker Joe]

If we can meet sometime, and I can take alook at those slides, I'll tell you what it is.

[Backpacker Joe]

Here is a wonderful link for your CAT.PBY Catalina

[Jonathan]

I was told there was a version that had a folding wing that was used on carriers (to make more room) and that they were stationed a Whidbey for a short period of time. I also know from someone in Texas???? that there are three crashes within a possible expected range of the Lat and Long that I gave. One was a small Jet I think the other a recent Cessna (or the like) and the PBY -6A, since the engines match I assumed that was it, but the fuselage looked small. It was at the bottom on a large rock slide and has been crushed over and over by snow so there was not much left but bits of aluminum. I will try and bring the slides to the next HI-Laker meeting if you want a look.

[Backpacker Joe]

Well, Jimmy Doolittle took stripped down North American B-25 Mitchell's off the Hornet (barely). The PBY was a much bigger airplane. But I am willing to bet hard core that no PBY ever saw the wooden decks of any of our carriers. Even folded the wing's would be 50+' long. The fuselage is 60+'. Anyway I 'd love to see those slides. You win the coolest find award.

[C Dog]

Don't know how "interesting" it is, but we (unfortunately) stumbled upon a very large naked man at Ollalie Lake. Way to ruin the view, dude.

[-lol-]

[susan]

We saw either a dog's grave site or memorial site when hiking up the Longs Ridge trail in the Elwha. There was a cross and a short verse in memory of someone's best and faithful hiking partner.

[Jonathan]

Tom it is possible that the body of the plane I saw was from the other reported crash, I mean perhpas I saw two crashes in the same day. The Engine P&W was maybe 2 tenths a mile away. We thought it must have hit high and then been pushed down and scatered by the snow. Whom ever it was that I contacted in Texas that had reports on crash sites said there was a Cessena??? type plane in the area as well. I will have to go look at my slides and see. This would answer questions I've had about the fuselage seeming to small. I would go back and check it out if it weren't such a long trip.

[MtnGoat]

Memorials: There's a neat plaque on a rock up by Chikamin lake. There's another on a tree overlooking a eye busting, sweeping view of the Cascades from Entiat Ridge near Chumstick peak. If you're ever in the area bouncing around, the view from the ridgeline road on Entiat Ridge is really incredible. And while caving in Wyoming, in the depths of Horsethief cave, we found a memorial to a young woman who was apparently a really dedicated spelunker who died of leukemia. It was creepy, walking around in this mammoth room in the cave and find a picture with a note propped up on a piece of talus in the darkness.

[Hare Plain Freek]

Hey you should get the booklet that has coords of a bunch of airplane crashes. Ask your local FBO if they sell it. I think you can find it at Boeing Field, for instance. Over and out.

[reststep]

Backpacker Joe, here is a website that has some pictures of a B-17 that crashed near Tull Canyon in the Olympic Mountains in 1952. http://www.aerovintage.com/485746.htm