A Tale of Two Princes

---

I am now in Northern British Columbia.

Since I last managed to get internet access, I have travelled up from the northern tip of Vancouver Island (Port Hardy), via the Inside Passage to Prince Rupert (a 520km ferry journey), and then driven eastwards from Prince Rupert to Prince George (about 720km).

The Inside Passage is a 15 hour journey. Apart from the first two hours, when the boat crosses the Pacific Ocean (Queen Charlotte's Sound), the majority of the trip is between the islands up the west coast of BC. According to all the guidebooks, tourist info, marketing literature, etc. it is alleged to be THE most spectacular ferry trip in the world.

And to be fair, they do have a point!

Apart from having to get up at ridiculous o'clock (they insist on loading the ferry at 05:45 even though the boat doesn't depart until 07:30) , the scenery was fantastic. I saw a couple of pods of humpback whales, a couple of dolphins, and something that remains unidentified, but I think was a killer whale.

Well that was Friday. Saturday, I had a bit of a lazy day, and just pottered around the town of Prince Rupert. It seems to be designed to appeal to the cruise-ships that call in on their way from Vancouver to Alaska: which is fine, if you like that kind of thing.

Sunday I headed off on my four-day journey towards Prince George. Leaving Prince Rupert, I stopped at the Butze Rapids: a narrow passage between the sea and a salt-water lake, where the water rushes in as the tide comes in (and creates a set of white-water rapids), and rushes out when the tide goes out (and creates a set of white-water rapids in the opposite direction).

I carried on towards Terrace, following the course of the mighty Skeena River. Now I wouldn't normally describe a river as "mighty", but given that the Skeena makes the Thames look like a little stream, I'm making an exception! I spent Sunday night at a lakeside park (Lakelse Lake - silly name, but what can you do?) and saw a pretty amazing sunset.

Monday I headed further east, following the mighty(!) Skeena River, up through the Coast Mountains and out into the hills on the far side. A few quick sightseeing stops along the way (rivers, canyons, rapids, etc) until I go to just north of the town of Smithers, where I decided (foolishly as it turns out) to walk up to the Kathlyn Glacier and the Twin Falls at its base.

OK, guess who forgot that it was mosquito season? And that it was a hot sunny day after two days of rain? And that I was wearing shorts, a t-shirt and no mosquito repellent? To say that I'm covered in bites would be an understatement! I do at least have a bit of colour to my usual pasty-white complexion. Unfortunately, that colour is now in the form of red blotches all over my legs, arms and neck! I won't be making THAT mistake again!

I spent the night just south of Smithers in a place called Tyhee Lake, and then on Tuesday, I set off eastwards again. I took a quick detour to Babine Lake (at 177km long it is apparently the longest natural fresh-water lake in British Columbia). On the way there I saw a wolf (ran across the road in front of me), a bear and two cubs, an elk (ran across the road in front of me - is anyone noticing a theme here?), and another bear - which stayed by the roadside just long enough for me to take a photo of its behind!

Overnight at Fraser Lake, today I headed into Prince George. Prince George is built around the confluence (get me!) of the Nechako and Fraser Rivers, and the interchange of Highway 16 (Prince Rupert to Winnipeg - east/west) and Highway 97 (Alaska to Vancouver - north/south). From what I can make out, that's the most exciting thing about the town. It's pleasant enough, but you wouldn't want to spend too long here.

So tomorrow, I'm heading off again. I'll be spending a couple of days heading west again (back towards Smithers) before turning north and heading up towards the Yukon via the Stewart-Cassier highway. Arctic tundra, here I come...

---

Photos

Butze Rapids
Water going out...

Diana Lake
Near Prince Rupert

Lakelse Lake
...sunset

Lakelse Lake
...by day

Kathlyn Glacier - Twin Falls
...and yes, the patch of white on the right hand side is snow!