Highway 37 Adventure

Tuesday morning greeted us with blue skies and puffy clouds. It was a bit nippy at 40 degrees, but the air was clear. We pull out onto Highway 37 and head south. Early enough to possibly see the wildlife we didn’t see last night? Maybe. Most Alaskan and Canadian highways have a cut line about 20 feet on either side of the highway. This provides the driver with some visibility in the event wildlife darts across the road. Not on this road. There are two-foot plants right to the edge of the primitive asphalt. We’re only driving 40 miles per hour, so it is less of a worry. The largest wildlife we encounter is a red squirrel. Hmmmm, wonder if he has been to our bird feeder back home?

The first town we see is Good Hope Lake. Described as a population of 100, it is reported to have gasoline, groceries and other necessities. Not. The gas pumps were covered with immature writing that said, “no gas, no diesal”. Apparently “diesel” wasn’t on the spelling list this week. Despite the fact it was marked, there weren’t any groceries available either.

Twenty miles away was Jade City, population 12. This town’s claim to fame as the name implies is jade mining. In fact, 75-80% of the world’s jade is mined here. I always thought that jade came from some exotic land, not British Columbia. There were two competing stores, both offering free coffee and free RV parking. My suspicious mind wonders if the same individuals own them. You can stop in either one easily, as one is on the east and one is on the west.

We met an Iowan farm boy in the parking lot. He was traveling in a 15-foot travel trailer with his wife, two kids and dog. He was driving a truck with an extended cab and was also pulling a supply wagon. He was heading to Anchorage. Apparently he had acquired training in fiber optics and was going to work on some of the towers that adorn so many Alaskan summits. Being from the flat lands of Iowa, he was quite taken with the incredible mountain vistas.

The Cassiar Mountains are greeting us as we continue heading south. They are over 7,000 feet high and have a distinctive look to them. They almost look like Hershey kisses, with pointy tops. The only thing missing is the paper strip that streams from the silver wrapped candies.
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One thing about living out here, you'd better like your own company. We saw no evidence of electrical wires. Nor is there cable television, cell phones, Internet or the other things we view as vital. With a sparse population you would have considerable alone time.

We have noticed in the last day that the aspens and poplars are beginning to change colors. The tourist season is beginning to wind down as the colors change.
Suddenly, the asphalt we described became hardened dirt.

We see very few vehicles heading in either direction on this road. Within 80 miles we have seen exactly four vehicles. One generously threw stones on our windshield, leaving a lasting impression called a chip. We can add that to the other calamities our beautiful motor home has suffered. So far, we have lost two hubcaps, suffered two stone chips on the windshield, dragged and lost a bicycle lock, had the snappy soap dispenser we had safely affixed in our shower fall off and break into a million pieces, had interior ceiling light covers fall and almost lost the holding tank heater that was poorly attached to the underbelly of the tank. We brought out the trusty duct tape to take care of the problem.

The next settlement is called Dease Lake. Named for the lake on which it lies. It grew out of the gold rush days. The Hudson Bay Company originally settled it in 1838. It was later abandoned until the gold rush. Today, hikers enjoy the nearby mountains of Edziza and Spatsizi. They fly in or hike in to the remote locations. Surprisingly, there is also a small branch of Northern Lights College, a B.C. based educational institution. All of this in a town of 600.

The road continues, heading through 25 miles of intermittent construction, with one lane traffic. No one seems in a terrible hurry, so if you have a flight to catch you may very well miss it. The road is marked “sharp shoulders”. They are not kidding. Without exaggeration, there is an 18-24 inch drop from the road surface. If you decide you just want to “pull over”, you may literally be “over on your side”.

We pass the town of Tatogga Lake, travel through Kinaskan Provincial Park, and even passed Eastman Creek, named after George Eastman (founder of Eastman Kodak). Apparently, Eastman liked to big game hunt in this area before there was even a road.

The terrain begins to change, with much more vegetation and roadside wildflowers. We have also been told that this area boasts British Columbia’s largest huckleberry patch. We hope that the bears have been told the same and that we will find them feasting on the sweet and dark delights. When you want to see bear and other wildlife badly, you begin to have “stump bear”, “stone bear”, “bush bear” and “pine moose” sightings. You see a dark patch in the distance and fixate on it. As it becomes closer, you find that it is the remnant of an old tree or is a healthy fir tree. Kind of like a parched traveler in the desert. You are sure that you see a vision of water ahead. Ah, but an optical illusion.

We stopped for gas in Bell Lodge and traveled another sixty miles until we turned towards the towns of Stewart and Hyder. These are west of Highway 37. Stewart is in British Columbia and Hyder is in Alaska. They are located at the end of the Portland Canal, a ninety-mile saltwater fjord. Stewart is also Canada’s most northerly ice-free port. This climate of this area is similar to a U.S. Northwest climate with milder winters and rainy summers.

Since this is an international crossing, there is a Canadian customs booth open 24/7, but surprisingly no U.S. Customs. Please don’t pass this on to the illegal aliens piercing our borders daily. When we left Skagway, we thought that was our last stop in Alaska. Hyder, albeit small, will truly be our last touch with the 49th state.

The 38-mile road to Stewart-Hyder is reputedly more beautiful than anything we have seen thus far. It has two glaciers, Bear and Salmon and the Bear River. As the name suggests, the Bear River finds the furry critters in abundance. We hope they don’t know we’re coming, as we don’t have a good track record.

At last! We travel down the Stewart-Hyder Road and indeed, it is beautiful. Better yet, we spot a black bear! Bears are omnivores, meaning they will eat anything. This bear must have had his salmon meal earlier and was now feasting on some roadside flowers. Oblivious to us, he just kept chomping.

Next, we catch a glimpse of Bear River Glacier. It is enormous and so close, it is hard to believe. Again, this glacier has the icy blue cast to it and has strands of mud and dirt running through it. I hate to say this, but in some ways it reminds me of the dirty snow we see along the side of the road in the wintertime after the snowplows have done their job. This is much more graceful looking, to be sure.

We set up camp for the night, looking forward to Salmon Glacier tomorrow and lots of bear in the Salmon River. Our campground has a sign posted at the entrance, "No tents and no soft-sided trailers." Gulp, could this really mean we are in bear country?