2006 Sept 04 to 10

2006-09-04 Monday

Whitehorse

Finalized all computer stuff for JM.

Installed gotomypc, so I will be able to diagnose Jean-Marcs system and help from any place with Internet access.

Prepared myself and rig for tomorrows travel. Had a last cuppa-tea with Jean-Marc.

And then there was this last beautiful Whitehorse sunset.

2006-09-05 Tuesday

Whitehorse, YT to Mountain Shadow RV Park Iskut, B.C.   - 482 miles; 9 hours

Said good bye to my friend Jean-Marc and left Mountain Ridge at 08:15

Decided to go down to Carcross and come up the Tagish road to Jakes Corner, instead of going direct. I had never driven the Tagish road and it was worth the 25 miles detour. The hillsides were already in their fall colour and the road was interesting and in good shape.

Tagish River

I arrived at the Cassiar (37) intersection at 13:45 and refueled. Initially I had planned to stop here overnight, but it was a beautiful day and I was not tired, yet, so I decided to go on down the Cassiar till I got tired.

No, I had no rain. The road was wet, though, so the rig got dirty, again.

My decision was rewarded by beautiful vistas, no traffic and a very rolling ride. Another beautiful sight was the 17 degrees Celsius on my outside thermometer, the likes of which I had not seen for the last two weeks.

Everything worked perfect, very, very little traffic and at 17:20 I pulled into Mountain Shadow CG in Iskut, B.C.

My "Vortrekkers" had described the CG correctly, it is a very scenic setting and nicely laid out in the valley. The mountains, some still with snow on them, cast a big shadow. Early to bed.

2006-09-06 Wednesday

Iskut, B.C. to Hyder, AK        -    200 miles; 4:30 hours

Started @ 08:30 after a cold night in the valley. 0 degrees Celsius. Not enough to freeze the water lines, but nice layer of rime on the windshield.

The condition of the Cassiar improved markedly 10 miles south of Irkut and it became almost freeway-like. A safe 60 to 70 mph was possible most of the time, so the distance was shrinking rapidly. Almost no traffic, only once I had to pass a fully loaded logging truck crawling up a hill.

The 65 km of PH 37a down to Stewart is one of the most scenic roads I have driven in the north so far. A narrow valley going down to sea-level with snow-capped mountains and glaciers overlooking the road. Bear glacier is a must stop on the highway, but it was fogged in, so I hope to catch the view on my way back out.

Stewart, B.C. is a very orderly town, laid out on a grid and the main thoroughfare has all the attractions one expects from a Pop. 600 town at the end of a 65 km cul-de-sac.

Two hotels, a bank, a grocery store, a bakery, video rental, gas station and several souvenir and gift shops.

3 km down the road along the Portland Canal is the "Funky" Town of Hyder, AK.

There is no US border Station going into Hyder, but if you return to Stewart, B.C. there is a Canadian boarder guard asking you about fire-arms and Alcohol - sometimes - many times, when you tell them that you want to spend money in Stewart, they wave you just through.

At 13:00 I pulled into Camp-run-amuck RV park and got site 49, back in the woods for three days. Very quiet, and very shaded (dark), with a little creek gurgling right outside my door.

Every time I open the door I expect a bear to great me.

The weather was was only partially cloudy and the campground host would not guarantee tomorrow's weather would be better, so I decided to do the Salmon Glacier Road after un-hitching.

This was a good decision, because the sun came out at around 15:00 and I had the best view of all the scenery on the 30 mile (one way) trip up the small gravel road to the Granduc Mine.

Salmon Glacier Road photos

Back in the CG at about 17:00 and some house keeping and picture sorting/editing. There is no WiFi in the CG, but the Inn in town is supposed to have one.

At 18:30 I drove the 5 km to the Fish Creek bear viewing area, where the seagulls, eagles and bears eat the Salmon that spawn in the creek, and the tourist shoot them with picture taking machines ranging from pocket cameras to professional Nikons with 1000 mm and longer telephoto lenses.

Some of the photographers seem to be rooted in that place for days, judging from the mold growing on their tripods.

Fish Creek bear viewing photos

2006-09-07 Thursday

Camp-run-amuck Hyder, AK

Rain had started overnight and went on steadily all day. I drove around the pot-holed, wash-boarded, water-logged dirt roads of Hyder and took pictures. Sent postcards to Grandchildren in Germany and talked with the Postmaster. The mail-plane from Ketchikan comes twice weekly -  weather permitting. Today the weather did not.

Photos of Stewart and Town of Hyder.

Went back to Fish Creek Bear Viewing and was lucky, as were about another 80 tourists to watch a good size grizzly frolic in the lagoon and later on, take a stroll along the creek, chasing salmon. He was probably not very hungry, because his efforts were a bit lacking in vigor. It was more like playing.

Met up with the same German family I had met the day before. Sigmund, Evelyn and their eight year "old" son Michael are from Lahr. Sigmund owns a Electro Installation Company.

We had a very nice chat (Sigmund is interested in living in Canada/USA) and later I visited them in their CG in Stewart, where we shared some liquid refreshments.

Rained all day but temps are in the 11-13 Celsius range.

2006-09-08 Friday

Hyder, AK

The pitter-patter of rain was on my roof all night. Very soothing.

Happy Birthday Dagmar.

Checked out the Bear River CG in Stewart. It has WiFi via Sat and I may move there on Saturday. Looked over the logging operation in the harbour.

A small Explorer-type cruise ship ( Spirit of Endeavour from Cruise West Lines) is moored at the end of the Hyder dock.

Went to the Karaoke night at the Sealaska Inn. Had a good time meeting local women.

2006-09-09 Saturday

Hyder, AK

Went to the Fish Creek Bear viewing area again and later on to the Salmon Glacier overlook. Talked with Keith Scott "The Bear Man". He is parked at the overlook and sells his book and DVD out of his minivan.

Hyder gets its potholed thoroughfare repaired! The road grader is running along the streets repeatedly and is scraping off the pockmarks. The loose dirt, combined with the steady rain gives the vehicles a very nice patina.

In the evening went to the Glacier Inn for the live music. A three men band from the Kispiox Valley with fiddle, guitar and mandolin had a good repertoire of traditional folk and blues.

The room was packed with about fifty locals, I was the only one that could be identified as a non-local.

2006-09-10 Sunday

Stewart, B.C.

Moved the couple of Kilometers to the Bear River CG in Stewart. The owner is a fellow computer nerd and has installed WiFi fed by a Sat connection.

Had lunch at the bus again; fish 'n chips and a nice talk with Diane, the owner.

She has a nuisance black bear in the area and when we talked (outside), she had a can of bear spray on the table - very comforting to know, that any minute a bruin could come and ask for your lunch.

This is the first bear I heard of, that seems to prefer fried fish over the live, wiggling kind in the creek.

In order to discourage bears to roam too freely in town, the locals pelt (pun intended) them with rubber bullets shot out of shotguns. Diane told me that this bear does not mind and comes back for more.

Can't blame him, Diane's food smells (and tastes) fantastique.

Today I counted 10 minutes of sunshine with rain, 15 minutes without rain and the rest was just rain.

Growing mold between my toes. It is a "funky" town.

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