Helicopter airlifts seaplane near Gold Bar, WA

(note:  I originally reported that the helicopter in this video is a Chinook. Viewers have said it’s actually a CH-46 Sea Knight. Sorry for any confusion.)

(Gold Bar, WA) An autumnal hike in Washington’s high-country can deliver blazing colors and surprise encounters with wildlife; maybe even a killer sunset.

Thursday afternoon, a far less common site: A helicopter with a seaplane dangling beneath it, emerging from beyond a mountaintop.

The helicopter transported the seaplane to a gravel pit along Reiter Road near Gold Bar.

Not sure what the back story is here. The helicopter and plane came from a direction that would suggest they’d been at or near Lake Isabel.

I have no official confirmation that the plane had been at Lake Isabel (there are other lakes in that area, too).

This incident did prompt me to read-up on Lake Isabel. The Washington Trail Association’s website has some interesting reports concerning that lake, including the following lead paragraph from this page:

Lake Isabel is a charming little lake just northeast of Gold Bar off Highway 2. Trail guides report that float plane pilots are sometimes tempted to land and take off from this lake but a few who didn’t make it left the remains of their aircraft under the water.

We’ll have wait and see if we can learn what the actual story is regarding Thursday’s seaplane. Meantime, enjoy the video.