Alaska-Canada Adventure Ride
Day 5 - Sunset Lake (near Topley), British Columbia to Stewart, British Columbia (and Hyder, Alaska)
(316
miles)
The ride out from Topley to the junction of the Cassiar/Stewart Highway (37) at Kitwanga becomes more scenic as you proceed further west.
Just across the Skeena River there is a unique wooden church at the Gitwangak reservation along with a large collection of authentic totem poles.
This location is definitely worth checking out. These
totem poles were created by the Gitksan and are considered the most well
documented on the Northwest coast, estimated to be constructed between 1840
and 1842.
Be sure to fuel up at Kitwanga, as the next facilities will be at Meziadin Lake junction 95 miles away. The forest is relatively dense on this section of the road, and thus scenery is more limited.
The next stop was the town of Stewart, at the end of the Portland Canal, also bordering the southeast corner of the Alaska panhandle and its quaint town of Hyder. Along the way be sure to stop at the Bear Glacier. We ended up camping at the Rainey Creek campground at the west side of Stewart. They have good facilities (showers, WiFi), reasonable rates, and are also within walking distance of town.
After setting up camp and making an early dinner, we then headed off over the border to Hyder, Alaska and checked out the Fish Creek Wildlife Observatory. This location is known to be a good viewing location for black and brown bears at dawn or dusk when the salmon start to run. Unfortunately we were early and there were no salmon to be seen. According to the docent they tend to typically show up by mid-July, so we decided to tentatively pass through the area again on the return route of our trip.
The next stop was the Salmon Glacier another 25 miles up a dirt mining road to the north from the bear observatory. Given how far north we were, the sun was not going down until after 11pm, so we still had more light to work with. We were told that the Salmon Glacier will put all others you have seen to shame. The tales were true. Reaching the main viewpoint was a mind-blowing experience. The glacier is vast in size, going off to the west as far as the eye can see. It made the Bear Glacier look miniscule in comparison. This would be on my short list of must see locations for any trip passing through the area. On the way back to camp at dusk there was plenty of wildlife spotted along the road, including a red fox, otters, and a black bear.
It is also interesting to note that the border crossing between Stewart, British Columbia and Hyder, Alaska only has a customs checkpoint on the return to Canada. This implies that you need to have your passport to get back across and clear customs. But there is no check going into the US from Canada. Then again, there is really nowhere else you can go from Hyder within the US as there are no other connecting roads (other than by boat). Even the ride up to the Salmon Glacier crosses back into Canada, and is similarly landlocked by the rugged terrain that surrounds you.
Images (click to select the larger view at bottom)
All content and images are property of Stephen Fischer Photography, copyright 2019 - 2020. Last updated: 1/27/2020