Wehner Alaska Highway Trip 2013: SEPTEMBER 3: STEWART to PRINCE GEORGE

This morning started early in an effort to be at Fish Creek during the peak bear viewing time. It is a short drive from Stewart, BC to Hyder, Alaska. Hyder is an isolated town of less than 100 people that can only be accessed from Canada. In fact, there is no customs checkpoint to get in to the US; however there is one to get back into Canada. At the Fish Creek Wildlife Observation Site in the Salmon River Valley of the Tongass National Forest, the salmon are spawning and are a feast for the local black and brown (grizzly) bears. It is supposed to be one of three premier bear viewing areas in North America and the only one you do not need to fly. They have a boardwalk with half-height walls and gates to deter the bears from walking on it but they could if they wanted. The road is now paved to the observation site so access was easy enough. Several professional and amateur photographers were set up there along with a few hacks such as myself. A gray wolf crossed the road in front of me but unfortunately I did not see a bear. I traveled further up the “road” along the river. The scenery was nice but I did not have any better luck looking for bears.

I headed back through Hyder, stopping to send a few postcards. The Glazier Inn in Hyder is known for serving a shot of 150 proof moonshine that is known as being “Hyderized”. Given it was 9 AM, I kept driving. Between Stewart and Meziadin Junction is Bear Glazier which I enjoyed seeing.

Once at Meziadin Junction, I was back on the Cassier Highway headed south toward civilization. The remainder of the Cassier was sparsely populated but the road was in good condition. The Cassier ends at Yellowhead Highway, a transcontinental highway from Prince Rupert on the west coast to Winnepeg, Manitoba. I would have loved to investigate westbound but I needed to go east. The Yellowhead to Prince George was scenic but paled in comparison to my last few days. The highway is in very good condition. While there are long stretches between towns, this is a much more populated and busy route with modern facilities along the way. It has been several days since I did not need to worry about running out of gas or finding a place to eat. I made stops in historic Old Hazelton, Smithers, Telkwa and Vanderhoof before arriving at this evenings final destination of Prince George. Prince George is a good size town but I did not see too much in the dark.

After checking in to a hotel downtown, I walked to Copper Pig BBQ and got some take-out. It was very good. Tomorrow I head for the Canadian Rockies for the final leg of my trip.