Tag: Bear

22, 23 August 2018. Stewart BC/Hyder AK

22 -23 August 2018. Stewart, BC/Hyder, AK

Stewart BC (population 500) and Hyder AK (population 100) share a fjord inlet from the Pacific Ocean.  Don’t know all the history of how one side ended up being Canada and the other Alaska, but at one time there were 20,000 people here between them. Both sides, now, are struggling to stay viable.

Glacier along road to Stewart

The drive into the Stewart/Hyder area was wonderful.  The smoke on the Cassier was replaced by occasional light drizzle.  Saw a momma black bear and two cubs on the side of the road.  Bear Glacier was a grand site along the roadside.

Three bears along the road to Stewart
The Famous “Bear Glacier”, Famous for causing severe flooding down hill in Stewart (now that is has receded a bit, it doens’t do that anymore)
I guess when the ground is frozen, you pile rocks to keep the electric poles from falling over

We got into Stewart in time for lunch, picked a nice little restaurant that offered an hour of WIFI with your meal, so we got an email dump.

Grabbed our last groceries at the store (which did not take credit cards, BTW – which is just a little tough when you are trying to not get any more Canadian currency) and decided on the Run A Muk campground in Hyder to stay at and do a load of laundry.

Hyder is especially famous for its National Forest bear viewing along  a small stream where the Salmon spawn. (Fish Creek Wildlife Observation Site)  The actual bear viewing this year has been sparse, but we went to the viewing area and watched the Salmon spawn and die. There were hundreds of Salmon in the water, both Chum and Red. (Chum season just ending, Red just beginning)

Fish Creek – full of salmon spawning
Closer view of some of the salmon in fish creek

Then we took the 25 mile drive along the Salmon Glacier Road (back into Canada) and saw the magnificent Salmon Glacier, met the Bear Man, who hangs out up there (and bought his book).

Salmon Glacier – this one is HUGE!
Chuck near Salmon Glacier
Toe of Salmon Glacier

We wandered back down the mountain, did one last try at the bear viewing area, and then headed back through the border crossing to Stewart and up that gorgeous drive.  We spent the night at another Provincial park campground,  Meziaden Lake Provincial Park.

Camped at Meziaden Provincial Park

2 July 2018. From Haines to Tok AK

Haines Highway

2 July 2018. Driving from Haines AK to Tok AK

Monday was back on the road.  We had to leave our camping spot northwest of Haines, drive back down through Haines, and up to Tok AK.  This required driving back into Canada, through a corner of British Columbia and then the Yukon, for a total goal of around 450 miles.  

The drive just north of Haines, headed to the border were spectacular.  Lots of snow covered jagged mountain peaks and views of glaciers.

Haines Highway, near milepost 48
Haines Highway
Kathleen Lake, Yukon

Our second border crossing into Canada was much smoother than the first.  We had all the paperwork for “bear deterrent” filled out and stamped, so a quick check of serial numbers and we were on our way.

Even the worst parts of the day’s drive were pretty darn neat.  Lots of stretches of empty road, followed by the passing of a couple of RVs, then more empty road.  Cars were certainly in the minority.

We happened upon our first scary bear.  He (she?) wasn’t bothering anyone, just eating grass alongside the road.  But that didn’t make a bear that could eat you if it chose, less unnerving….     A quick picture, and we continued down the highway.

First Grizzly Bear!
First Grizzly Bear – couldn’t get him to pose, either…

We also got to experience “frost heaves”.  The building of roads in this part of the world is on ground that gets wet, expands as it freezes, and that mucks up the asphalt a bit.  A nice frost heave just feels like a whoop-d-doo, a not so nice frost heave results in a crap load of unavoidable pot holes.  Canada does a good job of putting out red flags where the bad road sections are, Alaska not so much….     There were a lot of places they fixed the road damage, but they did it by replacing the road with nice dirt and gravel.  The dirt/gravel was smooth, but you’d fling up a bunch of rocks if you hit it at 60+mph. 

Tok AK is at sort of a crossroads.  Major Alaska highways coming and going in several different directions.  We chose an RV park that had good reviews, but I don’t know how it got them…..   Another night of showing in our camper.  We’ll be hitting Tok again on our way home, I think we’ll try one of the other seven RV parks then…..

Still, a most excellent day for one that was just about getting some miles driven.