G and S Aviation

G and S Aviation is a backcountry air service based in Donnelly, Idaho, in the Long Valley north of Cascade. It says it has been flying Idaho's backcountry for more than 35 years. It flies a Britten Norman Islander, a rugged twin engine utility aircraft built for short, rough airstrips, which suits the steep mountain strips of central Idaho.

The company's main destination is the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, the largest contiguous wilderness area in the lower 48 states. The wilderness has no roads, so small aircraft landing on historic backcountry strips are one of the main ways to reach its lodges, trailheads and river put ins.

River trips are a speciality. The company says it flies travellers and their gear to the Middle Fork of the Salmon and the Main Salmon, two of the best known multi day whitewater rafting rivers in the United States. Flying in saves a long shuttle drive on mountain roads and lets rafters start or finish their trip deep in the wilderness.

The company also flies hikers, anglers and hunters into the Idaho backcountry, and it offers charters between cities. For visitors to McCall and the West Central Mountains, it is one of the local operators linking the valley with the wilderness to the east.