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| Cassiar Mountains |
289.6 miles- Downtown RV Park to Kinaskan Provincial Park- on the Cassiar Highway which runs between the Coast Mountains and the Cassiar
Mountains. What a great road! It’s definitely not what I would term a highway.
No shoulders, sometimes there’s a center line but rarely, lots of chip seal
road but sometimes nice and smooth pavement and, of course, gravel areas,
especially construction areas. There was a long area of wet gravel road that
then hit a steel grated bridge and curved to climb steeply up the other side. Always
the adventure of a road.
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| Porcupine cutie |
I hadn’t
gone too far down the highway when I saw something very dark cross at the edge
of the road and into the shrubbery. I sped up, stopped, grabbed my camera and
jumped out of the truck figuring I’d get bit by some wild thing. Turned out it
was a porcupine so I followed it. I've generally seen roadkilled porcupine in my travels (none on this trip) because
they just cross with no attention whatsoever to what’s around them. Anyway, I
spooked the poor little guy and he went for a tree. I took a couple of photos,
thanked him, and let him be. Pretty quiet road, only one vehicle passed in that time.
Not even one of the fast-moving semi-trucks.
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| The Cassiar Highway |
The speed
limit is 80km/hr. That’s not very fast but why go faster on such a picturesque
road? There are lakes and ponds, diverse forests, huge mountains, glaciers,
wildlife, and on and on. I rounded one corner and a car was stopped. An arm was
pointing to the side of the road. I slowed and there was a big ol’ black bear
gorging itself with grasses. Bears are in hyperphagia mode now so they have to
gorge on food to build up the fat reserves needed for the long cold winter (look out
Templeton!). I was able to take a few photos before moving on to let it gorge.
Templeton didn’t bark (amazing) he just observed the big black dog.
Stopped at
the Cassiar Mountain Jade Store. Apparently there is a Discovery channel
reality program filmed here called Jade Fever. The Americans came and wanted to create drama in the show and make them wear certain clothes; basically staged. They declined. Then the Canadian company came with a better offer and no staging, etc. so that's who is filming the family. This is in a remote area along
the road but apparently people come from all over to buy the jade. The store is
full of jade as well as other stones. Yes, I bought some items. LOL
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| More highway driving |
The Cassiar
Highway is supposed to be one of the most scenic highways in the province, unfortunately,
they put in huge transmission lines a couple of years ago that run for 200+ miles
and wiped out up to 1,000-foot swaths of forest. Not only has this blocked the
ability to photograph the scenery without giant powerlines in it, more
importantly, it’s wiped out wildlife habitat. It’s being constructed to bring
power to communities that currently rely on diesel generators. Too bad they didn't try other methods to provide electricity first. It does provide
for at least one raven nest.
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| View along the way |
Finally had
to back up the trailer at Kinaskan Lake Provincial Park. I am too tired for
perfection so I went with 'it's good enough,' besides it’s a spot on the lake. The
weather has not held out and the rains have arrived. The camp site did provide
for the haunting calls of loons in the evening and their cackling calls in the
morning. The soothing sound of wilderness to me.
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| Ahhh backing in |
Wildlife-
porcupine, black bear, pair of trumpeter swans, common loons
Lesson #17 The
wild may not be what it seems.
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