Our Life Behind Bars – Father & Son Doing Time in The Northern Frontier (Mile 1376 to Mile 1532)

Day 6 (July 4, 2013)

Stewart, B.C. and Hyder, Ak, are the extent of the Nisga’a people’s territory. They hid out here to escape other natives such as the Haida and Tlingit natives.

 Both Stewart and Hyder were developed as booming mining towns due to gold and silver deposits found here. Hyder is interesting in that it is the eastern most town in Alaska. Being in a temperate coastal rain forest, it rains a great deal in this area.  Would it rain on us, the weather forecast is iffy at best. However, we came a long way and we wanted to see the Salmon Glacier. The salmon glacier is one of hundreds that are found on the boundary mountains between British Columbia and Alaska. It is a scenic splendor, but only if the weather is willing to cooperate.

 We packed up our gear and were able to leave much of it behind at the King Edward Hotel in a temporary storage room. Off we went.

Johann looking good

The literally "tip" of the ice berg.. land locked of course

The only bear we would see up there.

Getting closer to the summit.

We’ve been here before… 3 other times in fact, but not on motorcycles. We were surprised to tha the road through Hyder had been recently paved all the way out to the bear viewing platforms. The bear fish there when the salmon are running and the view platforms provide a safe means to view the bears in their natural habitat. There was no salmon running today and this no feeding bears to see.

Made it.

GrizzLee's turn to make a pose

Priceless

Looking at a lake beginning to form at the base of the glacier

The road carved into the mountainside

Closer view of the newly forming glacial lake

The ice is moving... slowly, one can here is creaking and cracking

We proceed up past the mining areas to the top and back into Canada. From there the views became increasingly spectacular. We finally reached the summit and while there was not rain, it was somewhat socked in with clouds. However, we had time and were not in any hurry. Beyond the high point of the road we road about 5 miles further until it was closed.  The sun came out and the clouds burned off. SPECTACULAR.

Pondering the views

Another smaller glacier flows down the mountain like a river

An old train/mine tunnel?!?!

End of the road, we have to turn around

The terminus of the glacier once resided here.
It has since retreat farther up the mountain

The Salmon glacier cascades down into the valley like a waterfall

We leave Stewart and Hyder, stopping to have a
final look at the Bear Glacier before moving on

We are engulfed by high mountain walls.

The mountains are capped with glaciers

The views are scrumptious and awesome

Through this narrow pass lies Stewart and Hyder

Gretchen looking good

"Dak" looking good as well

We say goodbye and return to the Cassiar hwy

As we leave, we see two more bears

They look back at us to bid us goodbye and good riddance

We leave Stewart and Hyder on a natural high. We return to the Cassiar hwy with no plan where to camp.  As evening draws near, we end up camping at Bell II Lodge, complete with showers and a hot tub. YES!!!

Thanks for riding with us.

Until next time...