Mile Since Portland: 2,142
Total Miles: 6,591
June 6th
I had to stop a moment and take it in. It’s been a wet and busy last couple of days driving. Once I was determined to go north, I made it my mission to get here as quickly as possible. I sped up Interstate 5, meeting the Canadian border at the intersection of Washington state highway 539 and Canadian highway 13 at British Columbia.
It began to rain not long after my entry into Canada. And it has not paused to let the sunlight through. On the 5th I hurried up Route 1 as quickly as I could, only stopping at a rest area when my eyes could no longer take being open. I got back on the road today after four brief and chilly hours of sleep in the car. I could waste no time if I was to do what I had hoped.
The rain has created a flooding of rivers that locals here have not seen for 35 years. Despite that, I sped onward luckily skirting the roads now closed because of flooding. But now I need gas. There are no gas stations within 40 miles, and the closest one requires a change of my plans, and it is closed for the evening.
So I am stuck here at a campground for the evening sleeping among the Black and Grizzly bears (a couple just spotted several outside the campground). My tent is setup under a picnic shelter to keep it dry. It will be a very cold night, and I didn’t think to bring a jacket on the trip.
But I am standing, staring out upon Lake Meziadin, just 40 miles from the Alaskan border. The sun has just peeked out and behind me the clouds have cleared just enough that I can see the majestic snow-covered mountains of the Babine Range. I have a feeling tomorrow will be a wonderful day.
June 7th
I fell asleep last night not knowing what I was to do the next day. But when I awoke, I knew just where I wanted to go.
During the trip, I had been fighting with time and my desire to do one last goal for this trip. That was to drive the Alaska Highway all the way to U.S. border. But, I also need to be in [secret city] by June 14th for a friends wedding.
I had been hurriedly driving north through British Columbia through what I thought was a shortcut, being highway 37. But as of last night, I still wasn’t sure if I could make it all the to the Alaska Highway and have time to head west 500 miles to the border. However this morning I was determined to make a best effort and continue north.
First I needed gas, and that was 40 miles east in Stewart, British Columbia. Several also said that part of the drive was the most beautiful in the region, and they were very right. It’s a great way to start your day, driving past mountains that seem to scrap the sky, piles of avalanched snow creeping up to the highway, and millions of years worth of ice amassed in the magnificent Bear Glacier. Even in Stewart, a portrait of the mountains hangs in the background, to be seen from anywhere in town.
Stewart also borders Hyder, Alaska, which I believe to be the only town in the U.S. who’s sole road leads only to Canada. I walked up to Hyder, but I did not cross. There was no customs agent or border guard. But there was commitment to my significant other whom I affectionately refer to as “Sweetie.” She was a bit disappointed at the possibility that I would be traveling to Alaska for the first time, and it would not be together. So in my days of driving well over a thousand miles just to reach the border of Alaska, I will not cross. For you, Sweetie.
I made my way north on Route 37, a road I thought to be a shortcut to the Alaska Highway. All was well during the first 100 miles or so. Then the lane markers disappeared. Giant unmarked potholes began to appear. Then only a thin layer of asphalt was left, and then none at all. The road would tease me, thinking the pavement was back, but then I would be surprised at 80 MPH when a section of it was no longer present and I had no warning. Then construction began. No road at all, soft shoulder, rocks from trucks flying at the Mustang, and mud soaked dirt all added to the adventure. It also added hours to my estimated driving time on Route 37.
It was already 7 PM by the time I reached the intersection of Route 37 and Route 1, the Alaska Highway. It was a critical juncture, if you’ll excuse the pun. I had to decide whether to drive 500 miles east to the border for another day of driving to complete my dream of driving the entire Alaska highway, or go east on Route 1 and make progress toward [secret city].
I considered both options, and thought about what I had desired to accomplish on this drive here. In a sense, I had already completed all three of my goals. I had desired to meet the border of Alaska, as I had at Hyder, to experience the wilderness and sometimes hairy driving of a backcountry highway leading there, as I had well-accomplished on Route 37. And I wanted to drive along the Alaska Highway which I would be doing now. Though it would not come together how I anticipated, it nonetheless happened how I had dreamed. That’s the beauty of free travel. Life lets you know where to go and it all comes together just as it should.
Be sure to have a look at the photo gallery. Though challenging, the drive was magnificently beautiful in a way I cannot describe through words.
June 8th
It was a splendid beginning to the morning. The sky was blue; I started a small fire and made a little coffee. Then I visited the park’s main attraction, Liard Hot Springs. The government left the springs as natural as was practical. My dip in the hot water was very enjoyable, and also served as my first bath in three days. The water begins at one end unbearably hot, and then flows to the other side where the temperature is merely warm.
I’m making my way east. I left the Rocky Mountains behind in the afternoon and rain clouds greeted my entrance into the flatter lands of East British Columbia. I stopped for the night in Fort St. John, apparently at the center of a big oil drilling operation.
Eastward ho!
View June 5th’s Photo Gallery
View June 6th’s Photo Gallery
View June 7th’s Photo Gallery
View June 8th’s Photo Gallery
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Posted by: The Big Cheese