Blogs from Hyder, Alaska, United States, North America

8 Sep 2016: It is a little over 1500 miles from Skagway to Vancouver. O six day journey is condensed in this blog as we wanted to cover the distance as quickly as we could. Consequently we skipped over many remarkable places. We will have to go back and spend a summer in British Columbia some day. We left Skagway about mid morning today.taking Alaska route 2 North and up over the White Pass. On our right were the White Pass & Yukon railroad tracks which paralleled the Skagway River. Beyond these two features rose glacier covered mountains. As we rose in elevation, we were enveloped in fog. We crossed the White Pass (3292 ft) and shortly came to Frazier, where there was a railway terminal. Cruise passengers can choose to take the train out of ... read more

Day 41 - Monday August 26 Skagway to Teslin, YT 160 Miles As we left Skagway we knew we were on the homestretch of the trip. We got back on Highway 2, then took Hwy 8 over to the Alcan again to Teslin. We had stayed in the same RV park on day 5 now with so many adventures behind us. This time we went over to the George Johnson Museum. He was a remarkable First Nations man who lived during the building of the Alaskan Highway. He had purchased a car even before the highway was ever built and gave taxi rides for a $1. He also was a photographer who captured the life and times of his people. That evening we played a trick on the group and joined them in our shower robes ... read more

Saturday August 27, 2011 Salmon Glacier Road It rained last night; surprise, surprise. Everything was wet and overcast in the morning. I decided to ride up to Salmon Glacier today. As mentioned this is the 5th largest glacier and the largest accessible by vehicle. I got a good early start. The general store was closed for some reason which meant virtually no food for the day. I stopped by the bear viewing platforms. There were no bears and they charge $5 for a 1 day permit. I said I would keep moving on and stop by on my way back. The road is in pretty rough shape and all gravel. The gravel was quite compact so things were not muddy and my bike did not get very dirty at all. The first 10 km’s is flat; ... read more

Thursday August 25, 2011 Hyder, Alaska Yeah that’s right; Alaska. Bet no one figured I would be in Alaska but I am. I woke up late and then fell back asleep and didn’t wake up until 12 noon; oops. That is what happens when you don’t sleep the night before. I actually got up at 10 am for my morning pee. I heard a noise in the trees. I knew it was a bear. I watched silently waiting for him to appear and maybe come into camp. All I saw was 2 very quick brown flashes and the brown was a lot higher (or taller) than I expected. I can’t say for fact but if I had to bet money I would say a Grizzly Bear walked about 100 ft. from my camp. Nothing touched my ... read more

From Vanderhoof we drove west along the Yellowhead, through the lake region, passing numerous pretty lakes lined with pines and aspens. We drove alongside and crossed several rushing rivers with muddy brown water. At Kitwanga we turned onto Hwy 37, the Cassiar, after stopping for fuel and to see totem poles and an old church and belltower. As we headed north we kept seeing the beautiful, snow-covered Coast Mountains. At Meziadin Junction, we turned west on 37A towards Stewart. Another beautiful drive and we got to see our first blue ice and our first glacier, Bear Glacier. We saw dozens of waterfalls formed by the melting snows. At Stewart, the campground where we had intended to stay turned us away. Because of bears, they don’t allow tents or soft-sided campers. The manager told us he had ... read more

At the start of the Stewart-Cassier Highway there is a sign that says 'south to Alaska'. This just seems wrong you don't go south to Alaska, Alaska is north. However, its true there is a part of Alaska, inaccessible by road, that runs down the west coast of Canada. So here we are hopping between Stewart in Canada and Hyder in Alaska. We are staying in Stewart, a two horse town with, lots of historic wooden buildings and a toaster museum. However as Hyder, at the southern tip of Alaska is only a mile away, we nipped over to Alaska for lunch in the Halibut Bus. Hyder is a no-horse town, it was once a mining town but is now a ghost town. The reason for visiting it is to go to Fish Creek where grizzly ... read more