The Glacier Highway, Stewart & Hyder

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I arrived in Stewart having followed the Glacier Highway 37A down to its dead end. The 37A is only 65km long, but it is a stunning 65km, with seriously high mountains on all sides. You have to stretch your neck upwards to see where they meet the sky.

There is still a lot of snow on the top of the higher peaks, following an abnormally high snowfall that started in October 2006 and didn’t really stop until May 2007. I think Evan mentioned something in excess of 30 feet of snow fell during that period. It was actually still snowing on some mountains, as they mixed with the moisture in the air.

Everywhere you looked were streams of water cascading down the mountainsides, like veins they weaved in and out of the rock face, turning into beautiful waterfalls where they met too steep a path.

There were several glaciers higher up on these rock faces and although they are all now very much receding, they still looked spectacular. The best and most prominent of these was the Bear Glacier, which shimmered and glowed a sky blue colour. There will be more on the Bear Glacier in another diary entry.

The 37A follows the Bear River, which is formed by the melt water from the Bear Glacier and surrounding peaks, down to the Pacific Ocean. The temperature along this road dropped as I was cycling along the lower snow line.

As per usual, the weather was not that great, so the pictures all look a little dark and moody. It had started raining and I was fighting a strong head wind, which seemed to channel along the valley from the sea.

The little town of Stewart is nestled at the estuary of the Bear River and the Salmon River and sits at the end of a fjord that meets the Pacific Ocean circa. 65km further up. Apparently the fjord doesn’t freeze over during the winter, so when the 37A is blocked due to heavy snowfall or avalanches (which can be frequent), the sea can often be the only means in and out.

I immediately saw a sign for a B&B and headed down to see if they had a room. I was greeted by a young friendly couple, namely Sylvia & Evan. They didn’t seem to be put off by my shabby appearance and I ensured that they didn’t stand down wind of me; otherwise they probably would have declined, thinking me to be some vagrant.

I was shown to my room where I promptly showered. I peeled the clothes from my damp body and stuffed them into the washing machine. It was an industrial washing machine and I think it needed to be.

That shower was one of the best I have ever had. As I stood there the grime of the last few days disappeared from my aching limbs. All that was left afterwards to show what I had been through were the numerous mosquito bites that glowed red like mountain ranges of my own. Ah, bless those little blighters!

Having become human again I walked out onto the veranda at the rear of the house, only to be greeted by one of the strangest sights that I have ever seen (or likely to ever see for that matter).

There was Sylvia and Evan fixing a miniature bed to their dog, Jessie. I stopped in my tracks. Sylvia & Evan stopped. The dog looked up at me as if to say “They are both barking mad, please just help me will you”. Momentarily, time stood still.

I burst out laughing. “What on earth are you doing?” I inquired, unsure if this was some strange reality television show, where pets had furniture attached to them.

“Oh hi”, said Sylvia, “I know that this looks strange, but we aren’t mad”.

“I am going to be a knife and Sylvia is going to be a fork” interjected Evan with a Cheshire cat grin.

This was getting weirder. I had walked into a strange world where everyone became day-to-day household items. Perhaps staying here was not such a good idea after all. In a minute they would ask me what I would like to be - perhaps a whisk or a television. At worst I could become the toilet brush!

“Its Canada Day tomorrow and we are all in the procession. As we are a B&B we thought it would be funny”, Sylvia further explained.

I felt the blood drain back into my head. That was relief to hear, there was a plausible explanation after all. I could tell that Jessie didn’t agree with Sylvia and Evan though. She had a beautiful, friendly face and had eyebrows the seemed to rise in amazement each time the bed was placed on her back.

Sylvia & Evan were fantastic people and made me feel at home immediately. Nothing was too much trouble for them and you could tell that they genuinely loved their B&B and meeting new people.

Canada Day was wonderful. It seemed like the whole town was having fun. The procession started with 3 helicopters thundering down the main street, followed by all manner of floats & crafts, each put together by local businesses and groups.

I know that I am biased, but seeing Jessie waddling down the road with her bed on her back stole the show for me. She could only take short steps, bless her, but she struggled on valiantly to the end.

I instantly loved Stewart. Walking around there were numerous buildings that have been recreated in the style of the turn of the 19th century. At times you could imagine yourself as a prospector and magic yourself back to the gold rush days.

Behind the main street you could see the fjord bay in the distance. Before this was flat, marsh like tundra covered in dead trees of all shapes and sizes. These presumably had been left when the Bear River was in full flood and it gave the scene a modern artistic flavor.

Hyder in Alaska is like a sister town to Stewart. It is only a mile or two further along the bay, but you could not get a more different place.

It is billed as the friendliest ghost town in Alaska and I could see why. It is like going back in time, with corrugated iron houses and literally nobody around. The one road was gravel and it looked a bit mournful. No colours like Stewart just muted and functional buildings. If Stewart had won the lottery, then Hyder couldn’t even afford to buy a ticket!

I wanted to see the Salmon Glacier. To see it you had to make your may up through Hyder and follow a dirt track for 20km or so, as it wound its way up the mountainside.
It is Canada’s 4th largest glacier and it is meant to be spectacular.

I had only cycled up the track for a couple of minutes when someone came walking the other way. I said hello and explained that he was the first person I had seen in the whole of Hyder and he laughed.

“Ya can’t get to tha glacier I am afraid. There has been a landslide across the road. Ya could probably carry ya bike on ya back over it, but I’d be careful if was you, you are meals on wheels to them bears” he chuckled.

I laughed and then I stopped abruptly as the idea of being meals on wheels actually sunk in. Not wanting to be eaten today, I turned my bike around and headed back to the lifeless throng of Hyder.

To the rear of Hyder is a wonderful, long wooden dock that takes you right out into the middle of the bay. I sat with Diana for half an hour and enjoyed the blissful silence. That is but for the gentle breeze that caused the bay to gently lap against the side of the dock.

To my left were Canadian mountains and to my right were Alaskan and ahead of me was my first glimpse of the Pacific. A place to forget everything and just let nature envelop you.

I walked into the Glacier Inn expecting to find nobody, just a bar where you served yourself and chatted to imaginary people. However, there was a second inhabitant of Hyder. So they do exist, you just have to look really hard for them.

I got Hyderized. This basically means drinking a neat shot of 90% proof alcohol, which he then lights with a match on the bar. I am not too sure why he lights it on the bar, because you don’t need to see it burning to realize how strong it is. I came out of the Inn with a full head of hair. If only it was on the top of my head though.

Upon leaving Hyder you have to go through Canadian customs. A large, shorthaired man with a stern looking face came out to greet me.

“How long have ya been in Alaska?” he asked.

“About an hour and a half” I replied with a big smile on my face.

“Ya got any weapons, alcohol or illegal drugs that ya bought in Alaska on you?” His face was like those that you see around a professional poker table, no emotion or movement at all.

“From who? There is nobody in Hyder”.

He didn’t find this reply funny and to be honest his face had gotten worse. It now resembled one that expected me to pull out a sawn-off shotgun ready to defend my pannier full of cocaine.

“Erm, no officer, I haven’t got any of those items, I haven’t purchased anything”, I interjected quickly and more sensibly, seeing that he was not the sort of chap who find anything funny.

“Where ya from?”

“I am from England and I am touring around on Diana here”, I said pointing at my bike.

His face eased into an almost, but not quite, smile. Deep inside I could tell there was a comedian desperately trying to get out, but I wasn’t the man that was going to bring this out for him. It needed someone with much more time - say 10 years.

Lesson - never joke with any customs officials, they are devoid of all sense of humor and any humor demonstrated to them is seen as offending them and their country and you will probably end up with a bright light shining in your face in some back room.

I really like Stewart. It had a lot of charm and character about it. The people seemed real and everyone nodded or said hello (apart from the customs guy - he probably lives on his own in a hut half way up the mountain). It had enough to keep you happy, without having circumbed to over-commercialism.

The company at the B&B was great too. In addition to Sylvia, Evan and Jessie there was Joseph, Deirdre and Kerri. They were geologists working in the surrounding area.

I use the word ‘work’ in its most liberal form. I mean how hard can it be sitting looking at rocks all day? They would always tell you how hard they had been working, but they always appeared to be lazing around eating, sleeping or contemplating how they could get out of going into work.

I know that they will read this and I hope it makes them laugh, because they are a fabulous bunch of people and I really enjoyed their company.

I didn’t want to leave Stewart. I had 4 great days and I could have stayed longer, although I am sure Sylvia & Evan would have started to get a little worried that I would never leave.

It was now time to get back on Diana and head down the Cassiar Highway. Who knows what events that will bring, but whatever it throws at me I can always think back to Stewart and smile.

***CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE***
***IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE MY PREVIOUS DIARY ENTRIES, PLEASE CLICK ON THE ‘PREVIOUS JOURNALS’ ICON AT THE FOOT OF THIS BLOG***
***THERE ARE TWO PAGES OF PHOTOS. CLICK ON ‘2’ AT THE FOOT OF THIS BLOG TO SEE THE SECOND PAGE***
***PLEASE FEEL FREE TO FORWARD ME ANY EMAIL ADDRESSES THAT WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE MY DIARY AUTOMATICALLY***

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Comments

[Twinkle]

Stewart
What a grand place to stay - I could definitely live there. I like your do-er upper - cream and rose, I'm thinking. You'd suit that porch in a rocking chair - what do you reckon?? What would you dress your dog in???