DAY 22: 6/14/02 SMITHERS to KITWANGA / 68mi / 2130' Elev gain / N55:6.8'W128:2.1'

We were the first ones up at Glacier View Campground this morning. We wanted to finish up our remaining 68 miles of the Yellowhead Hwy and turn up the Cassiar Hwy,#37, North to Alaska. The first 20 miles followed the wide Bulkley River until it funneled impressively through the narrow Morice Canyon. The second 20 took us to the base of Mt. Rocher De Boule into the Hazeltons, named after hazel bushes. There are 3 Hazeltons; New Hazelton, Old Hazelton, and South Hazelton. New Hazelton, along the highway is the sight of commerce. Old Hazelton has been the home of the Gitksan and Wet'su-wet'en peoples where Native culture is being preserved. South Hazelton is mostly a residential area. We stopped at the Visitor Center in New Hazelton to inquire about a back road through Old Hazelton into Kitwanga. Kelsey, a Gitksan guide, told us the area of the confluence of the Bulkley and Skeena Rivers had washed out the back road, so we wandered through the visitor center museum and continued on Highway 16 to Junction 37 at Gitwangak. This native village has several standing totem poles next to St. Paul's Anglican 1910 church and bell tower. Today as we followed the Skeena River, we dropped to 900 feet of elevation. The drop in elevation along with a week of hot weather brought out an array of wild flowers. Rita, the worlds worst gardener, tried to identify Indian Paintbrush, Shooting Stars, Daisies, Red and White Clover, Cinquefoil, Wild Roses, and lots of others. The days just keep getting longer and longer. It's still daylight at 11:00 PM. Ken, being the world's most famous power napper, has no trouble sleeping whether it's light or dark. Goods and services along the next 500 miles of the Cassiar Hwy to Watson Lake will be more limited and we probably won't be getting hot showers every night like we have been on the Yellowhead. We've been told to beware of the bears, mosquitoes, and gravel sections on the road. We've also been told this is a spectacular stretch of scenery.

DAY 23: 6/15/02 KITWANGA to BONUS LAKE / 49mi / 1900' Elev gain / N55:36.6' W 128:37.1'

After we left the campground we went on a candy bar mission. Usually we alternate a Snickers Bar with a Power Bar for energy snacks while riding, but Snickers are harder to find and more expensive than "Big Boys" and "Sweet Maries". Chocolate with nuts is really the only requirement. How else would Rita remain so cheerful day after day? We took the back road out of town to see the Historic Fort Kitwanga and Battle Hill. The Gitksan people protected their "grease trail" by creating a fort on a large nob hill by the river. The "grease" was candlefish oil the coast Indians traded with the natives of the interior. The Cassiar Hwy is narrower, but much quieter than the Yellowhead; and there are no services for 2 days until we reach Meziadin Junction. We climbed over a watershed divide to the Cranberry River drainage. We said good-bye the the last hazy view of the Seven Sisters Mountains. Last night at the campground a gentleman from Nebraska told how he had seen 4 black bears and 2 grizzly bears on the Cassiar, so we were busy making noise as we coasted down a long hill. Bears don't like to be surprised. At the bottom of the hill, in a meadow, stood a large lone black bear eating dandelions. She just looked at us, put her head down and kept eating. Lucky for us we don't look too appetizing. We continued to enjoy the ride with the Skeena Mountains on our right and the Coast Range on our left. After 49 miles we arrived at Bonus Lake. The lily pad-covered lake was warm enough to use for washing up. We are the only ones camped here. The mosquitoes are too troublesome for everyone else.

DAY 24: 6/16/02 BONUS LAKE to MEZIADIN LAKE / 49mi / 1360' Elev gain / N56:5.2' W129:18.4'

Well, we found out what the bonus was at Bonus Lake Campground. We had mosquitoes so thick we drank them in our cocoa this morning. Last winter when Rita was busy stitching the mosquito proof headnets, Ken was laughing and wondering why she went to so much trouble. Today Ken was gladly wearing his. Mosquitoes are very good motivators. We broke camp, ate breakfast and were on the road in record time. We beat our old time by an hour. We watched the Cambrian Icefield come into view and the Nass River hurry on its way to the Pacific as we peadaled to Meziadin Junction. On the way we saw 2 black bears, 1 moose and a wolf. At the junction cafe we ate a most delicious tomato and lettuce sandwich for lunch but we figured the proprietor didn't cotton much to bicyclists as there was a sign on the door that said "We don't fill water bottles." Then when we asked if their RV parking was extended to tenters, she curtly replied, "No, we got bears here; go down to the park." Consequently, we rode to the Meziadin Lake Provincial Park which was a better deal anyway. We enjoyed the beauty of the lake and company of the other campers. During our lazy afternoon, we stopped in at the visitor information center and talked to Al, the host. He provided much useful information for the next few days of our trip, but he really got his dander up when he started talking about US/Canadian trade relations and politics. We all got a laugh when he said if he could vote in the next US election, his vote would be for Hillary.

DAY 25: 6/17/02 MEZIADIN LAKE BC to STEWART BC/HYDER AK / 46 mi / 1780' Elev gain / N55:56.2' W129:59.8'

The weather Gods were with us. The forecasted rain came in the middle of the night and we woke up to beautiful blue skies. That was excellent as we tackled the 8% grade to climb up to Bear Glacier and broke though the Coast Mountains. This side trip off the Cassiar Hwy took us to Stewart BC and Hyder AK at the head of the Portland Canal, a narrow saltwater fjord approximately 90 miles long. The fjord forms the southern most boundary between Alaska and Canada. Stewart's harbor is Canada's most northerly ice free harbor. Big ships come up this canal to take out ore and timber. The scenery was eye popping for the entire 46 mile ride. So spectacular that it has attracted Hollywood. The most recent movie to be filmed here was Insomnia with Robin Williams, Al Pacino and Hillary Swank. Last summer the film crew actually built a house on Bear Lake adjacent to the Glacier. We were having one last Power Bar break at a rest area before arriving in Stewart when a motor home pulled up. Wayne And Bev Million from North Pole AK climbed out and gave us some exquisite bottled Glacier Blue water from Hyder. Then Bev offered us a couple oranges which we couldn't refuse. We laughed when they said they raised 5 Million kids and congratulated them on their recently celebrated 50th wedding anniversary. Bev figured we'd been cycling for quite a long time for as white as Ken's beard is. After using up a roll of film taking photos of scenery that can't be captured in a picture we rolled into the Rainy Creek Campground, set up the tent, and pedaled 2 miles down the road to Alaska. We were back in the good ol' USA. At Hyder we picked up a package of stuff (mostly more film, Power Bars, and Ziploc Bags) we mailed to ourselves. Then we stopped at the Alaska Express "The Bus" where we split a huge order of fish and chips. Diana had a picture of the 100 lb. halibut her husband caught just yesterday, which we were now eating. Hyder promotes itself as the friendliest ghost town in Alaska, so we went to the Glacier Inn so Rita could be "Hyderized" (with a shot of Everclear). After the ceremony we cautiously pedaled back to Stewart, were Ken found the bakery and finally got his birthday brownie plus a penalty brownie for being late. On our way back to the campground, we passed the museum. The sign on the door said, "Closed" but Mary stuck her head out the door and asked if we wanted to come in. Since it was kind of late, we were hesitant to pay the entrance fee. Then, Mary, who just wanted someone to talk to said we didn't have to pay the fee and asked us to please come in. So we went in, paid the fee and let her give us the guided tour and a wealth of information about the history of the mining in the area. Mary's tour was a real bargain. We are taking a day off tomorrow so we can spend more time exploring and celebrating the fact that we have successfully bicycled across the entire Province of British Columbia.

DAY 26: 6/18/02 REST DAY IN STEWART/HYDER / 15mi around town

Fog and clouds shrouded the peaks when we crawled out of the tent this morning, but that didn't cloud our attitude. We had the day off! We started with a lazy breakfast of pastries and fruit. Rita always appreciates a break from oatmeal. At the laundromat a couple from Michigan shared their detergent and provided travel tips for our journey north. We needed to make another trip across the border to Hyder, not to get Re-Hyderized, but to go to the US Post Office. Yesterday the postmaster seemed kind of grumpy, but today he actually smiled as he talked about his impending retirement. The mail is flown in and out of Hyder to Ketchikan only on Mondays and Thursdays. Since yesterday was Monday, he must have had a busy day. When we stepped out of the grocery store Rita spotted a man wearing a Minnesota Vikings sweatshirt. It turned out to be Don and Carolyn Garber from Dent, Minnesota. Rita's best friend, Karen, taught their children. What a small world!
In July and August during the annual migration of spawning salmon, Grizzly and black bears come to feed on them at the Fish Creek Wildlife Observation Site in the Tongass National Forest. Our 5 kilometer pedal up to the newly constructed walkways was too early in the season to see this phenomenon, but we met Steve and Linda from Tennessee. Linda was busy as a bee snapping photo after photo. They are in the process of reinventing their careers and Linda is getting her photography business off the ground. They invited us to stop by their motorhome at the campground to see their digital equipment, so after dinner we went a-knockin'. Linda had photos up on her computer screen of every site in Stewart and Hyder from every angle. We said our farewells and headed back to our tent for a good night's sleep before our climb back to the Cassiar Highway.

DAY 27: 6/19/02 STEWART BC back to MEZIADIN LAKE BC / 41mi / 2150' Elev gain / N56:5.2' W129:18.4'

We were up and on the road by 7 o'clock this morning. Rita said goodbye to all the sights in Stewart as we pedaled down main street. Thankfully it was cool and cloudy with a tail wind for the chug up the hill back to Bear Glacier. The scenery didn't change except maybe it was more spectacular even though we couldn't see the tops of the mountains. We stopped near a huge avalanche runout area to snap a photo even though the sign said "no stopping between signs". We put the camera back in its case and just after we pedaled past the warning sign, we heard "ka-whumph, rumble, rumble, rumble". We didn't get to see how the avalanche runout had shifted, but the sound made us realize that we should heed the signs. It didn't seem to take long before we reached the top at Bear Lake for a cold coast down the east side of the Coast Mountains. Just before we reached the junction we happened across a black bear on the edge of the road. We stopped and Ken hollered, blew his whistle, and clapped, but it would not budge. We eased closer to it continuing to make noise and finally it ambled off into the bush unaware that we wanted it to move. We reached Meziadan Junction, stopped at the Information Center to say hi to Al when a motorhome with Washington license plates pulled up. It was Gene and Theresa from Hillyard. Small world all over again. The Meziadin Cafe was serving rhubarb custard dessert, so we ate up before we headed to the Provincial Park for the night. Tomorrow we proceed north and will encounter our first stretches of gravel. We've been told that it's not bad. We've also heard, "don't try it."

DAY 28: 6/20/02 MEZIADIN LAKE to BELL-IRVING RIVER / 60mi / 3600' Elev gain / N56:44.6' W129:47.5'

There was no warm-up for today's ride. We began climbing as we left Meziadin Lake at 900 ft of elevation. Up, up, up, very slowly, to 2200ft then, a 1000 ft coast back down. Ken is beginning to hate downhills, because he always has to give them back. Sure enough, up and down over and over until we topped out again at 2800 feet. Rita tried to enjoy the scenery, but most of the snow capped peaks were behind the clouds and bark beetle infestations resulted in large clear-cut areas of timber along the road. Most of this land has been replanted showing once again that forests can be a renewable resource. After our initial big climb we crossed into the Bell-Irving River drainage. We crossed this river twice, hence, Bell I and Bell II. We have asked several people, "Who were Bell and Irving or was Bell-Irving one person?" No one seems to know or even care. Rita wishes she would have asked Mary at the Stewart Museum. Mary knew just about everything. The Bell II Crossing Lodge is the home of Last Frontier Heli-Skiing in the winter. Most of the clients are from Europe. They fly to Vancouver, are shuttled on a small plane to the local, "Bob Quinn" airstrip, then driven 40 miles to Bell II Lodge to ski in the Skeena Mountains. The lodge advertises that the log chalets have rustic, luxurious rooms. Hey, that's just like our tent. It is very luxurious when we are inside and don't have to swat mosquitoes or black flies. We encountered our first gravel stretches of road today. We've learned there are two kinds of gravel. First, there is your ordinary gravel road on which we have had plenty of riding experience. Second, there is gravel that is preparation for seal coating. Preparing the road bed for seal coating involves laying down lots of baseball size river rock and then putting down 6-8 inches of smaller rocks on top. Ken compared this to trying to ride a bike on a bed of ball bearings. After 8 miles we were both pretty disheartened, but tomorrow we hope to see only the regular old gravel road and for that, we are thankful.


 

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