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In Part One, we flew to the greater Seattle area and toured the National Park Service (NPS) lands northeast and northwest of the Seattle metro area. That included North Cascades National Park (NCNP), Olympic National Park (ONP) and the various associated National Recreation Areas and NPS lands. In this section, we’ll continue our tour of NPS lands in the Pacific Northwest, south and southeast of Seattle.
A Hot Ticket
The Cascade mountain range in the Pacific Northwest is best known for its string of massive volcanoes, most of which are still considered active. From the most northern Mount Baker, just south of the Canadian border, to northern California’s Lassen Peak, the range is home to over a dozen stratovolcanoes. These steep- sided volcanoes are prominent landmarks during any flight in visual conditions and, on clear days, can often be seen from well over 100 miles away. None are considered even dormant, much less extinct, and all are monitored for seismic activity by multiple scientific organizations tasked with evaluating any hazards and issuing warnings to the surrounding population.
In the Seattle area, airports providing access to the most famous and accessible peaks are on the metro area’s southern reaches. Mount Rainier National Park (MRNP) and Mount Saint Helens National Volcanic Monument (MSHNVM) are southeast and south of Seattle, respectively. While access to those areas is certainly easy enough from the major airline hub of Seattle-Tacoma Int’l Airport (KSEA), it would seldom be the primary choice of King Air category aircraft. South of KSEA, several airports are far more likely to host corporate and charter traffic, in general, and King Air traffic, in particular. The closest of those is Tacoma Narrows Airport (KTIW), a Class D airport under the lateral limits of the Seattle Class Bravo. Tacoma offers two full-service FBOs, rental cars and multiple Instrument Approach Procedures (IAPs) at both ends of its single 5,000-foot x 100-foot paved runway. Located immediately adjacent to the famous Tacoma Narrows Bridge, pilots and passengers will have quick access across Puget Sound to the city of Tacoma and the NPS sites which lie beyond. Slightly further southwest is another Class D airport, Olympia Regional (KOLM). Olympia is Washington’s capital city and offers many reasons to visit for business or pleasure. But, as a regional airport, it is also well suited. It provides a 5,500-foot x 150-foot paved runway with IAPs to both ends and a 4,100-foot x 150-foot crosswind runway for those days when the winds are howling in from the Pacific coast. Two pilot-controlled fields are also adequate for King Air operators and positioned
within reasonable driving distance of both MRNP and MSHNVM: Chehalis-Centralia Airport (KCLS), located between its namesake cities and South Lewis Co. Airport (KTDO), just outside the town of Toleda, Washington. As always, use caution when planning, as both offer suitable runways and IAPs, but the latter lacks rental car services and Jet-A fuel.
A Decade Volcano
Mount Rainier (also referred to as Tahoma Mountain) is considered one of the most visually magnificent, yet approachable, mountains in the U.S. The darker side of it is the reality that it’s considered well overdue for a major eruption. This makes it a “decade volcano” (one
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FEBRUARY 2024
KING AIR MAGAZINE • 19