Day 18 Hyder Alaska and Stewart B.C.

Kinaskan Lake

229 miles (Kinaskan Provincial Park to Camp Run-a-Muck) including a 45 mile round trip to the largest glacier one can drive to- Salmon Glacier. Unfortunately, you can’t access it on foot. I suppose if you're super adventurous you could hike down to it. 

Cassiar Mountains, I think

Finally left at a reasonable time this morning. Continuing down the Cassiar Highway I successfully crossed several of my favorite grated bridge decks and maneuvered the first 10% grade I’ve seen on the trip. Most have been 6-8%. It was a short section so no problem.

The Cassiar Highway was much busier today. There seemed to be a caravan of monster rvs and many more big trucks. It was still less busy than most roads back home.

Cassiar Highway

The Autumn colors are muted yellows and golds of cottonwood, alder, and willow along the highway. I don’t think it gets as cold as some areas to bring on the near fluorescent colors or the soils are different. It’s Autumn here, the scent of it permeates the air. Advice- When one pulls off to look at the scenery and finds a fresh pile of bear poop and there’s so much shrubbery around one can’t see what’s around- it’s a good idea to call out “hey bear” and maybe clap one’s hands. I didn’t see anything but was watchful, nonetheless.

Cassiar Mountains?

The further south I travel the more the forest changes. Firs have become dominant instead of the stunted spruce.  

I would like to have known the Cassiar Highway before the transmission lines. It must have been even more beautiful with the thickness of spruce and pine and fir and birch, alder, cottonwood, willow, and so many varieties of berry bushes. The views would have been forever clear in the shadow of the glaciers.

Bear Glacier

Once I turn off the Cassiar, the highway to the Stewart-Hyder communities looks just like home, deep evergreen; plus it’s cloudy and rainy. This is my side trip to Stewart, B.C./Hyder, Alaska. Check out a map because they are right next to each other and in two different countries. They lie at the head of the Portland Canal which is saltwater and the fourth longest fjord in the world. Quite the unique little communities that once boasted 10,000 people in the 1920s. Not even close today; Stewart at 699 and Hyder at 100. There’s still mining occurring, plus logging, fishing, tourism, and construction of more transmission lines through the wilderness. 

The drive from the junction of the Cassiar Highway to Stewart-Hyder is 40 miles of fabulous scenery. Bear River canyon, Bear Glacier, steep-walled high-rise mountains with 72 avalanche paths between the highway junction and Stewart. Rugged remote breath-taking country.

The bus

After I set up camp I head back to Stewart for clothes soap and lunch. I stopped at the Stewart Info center to find a good place to eat. Go to the bus; huh? Yep, it’s the Seafood Express in a bus- now in its 18^th year! Back I go to Hyder, turn into a neighborhood to find the only fresh fish in town. I had a delightful grilled halibut burger with fries and a small apple fritter (she threw it in because she had just made them this morning using her apples before the bear got them). She showed me her door that the black bear busted and the nail-filled board to keep it out. I watched the ravens and eagles play on the wind above the ridge while she cooked my fresh food.  Yeah, when in Hyder, eat at the bus.

the mountains and estuary at head of Portland Canal

I left the trailer at the Camp Run-a-Muck RV park and drove up a terrible road to the Salmon Glacier. There’s no way a trailer should be towed up this road. I saw rental RVs and others and am amazed they made it. It was very rough, very steep and windy in sections with a drop off to certain death, plus somewhat slick from the rain. Fortunately, I have 4wd so not a big deal when not towing a trailer. I did try to save my poor brakes coming back down by using every gear but 4lo. The Salmon glacier is big and blue and white. The clouds had moved in so I couldn’t see all of the surrounding mountains but I got the gist of it- big! The road leads past the Fish Creek bear viewing platform which I will visit in the morning (10 minutes from my camp site). They haven’t been seeing any grizzly lately but that’s okay, I’m game for whatever comes along. The spawners are mostly pink salmon with some chum thrown in. It smells badly. I’m at the end of the season so I guess there’s not quite as much activity. I read that the Kermode bears can be seen here; a unique white form of black bear. Wolves have been known to show up to snatch a salmon also (my next adventure is to see that).

Salmon Glacier

Hell of a road!

I’m not real impressed with the RV Park. There was a medical emergency so I just pulled in and found a spot knowing they’d find me later. There’s no wifi or cell service. The laundry is pricey and 8 minute showers are $3. They even lock the restrooms up at night and open them whenever they get around to it in the morning. I now have something to compare it with and no others lock up the restrooms at night. Cheap at $28 but barely worth it with all the extra costs and lack of other services.

Amanita muscaria- found all over the RV park

Camp Run-a-Muck camp site

Seeing the destruction from the transmission lines has been deeply troubling. My MP3 player was playing the soundtrack from the documentary “How the West was Won” while I traveled through some pretty massive damage. I grieve for the scars we are leaving on the land and pray that future generations forgive us. It just seems like there’s a better way to provide services to communities without destroying the land. When do we stop? We are all a part of this. Am I being selfish or judgmental that these communities don’t deserve electricity? I don’t know, I do know that other communities all over the world have found alternative ways to become self-sufficient that don’t cause such destruction. Painful. 

Bald eagle munching on spawned salmon carcass

Spawning salmon

On to frivolous things. Six motion pictures have been filmed in Stewart- Bear Island (1979), The Thing (1982), Iceman (1984), Leaving Normal (1992), Insomnia (2002), and Eight Below (2005). Famous, albeit, remote place.

Salmon River

Oh- the Canadians have a checkpoint between Hyder and Stewart so I had to pass through it to go to the store and then again to leave. Just keeping track of my movements.

Wildlife- heard varied thrush, crows (first I’ve heard since starting the trip), common loons, red-tailed hawk, bald eagles, and mew gulls.

Lesson #18- Stop to feel the land, inhale its unique scent, listen to its music through raven, loon, wolf. Remember the places you visit. Remember your place.