The Cassiar Highway through BC

Saturday morning was the end of our Alaska adventure (almost). We left Skagway and headed back up White Pass into Canada. It was as foggy on the way out as it was on the way in, a week earlier. Less than 100 foot visibility and sheer drop-offs on one side or the other. Maybe it’s just as well we couldn’t see; it might have made us even more nervous. Anyway, we got back through Canadian customs, and this time, we were ready for them. When asked about alcoholic beverages, we told them we had lots, but that we’d purchased it all in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. This made them happy, ‘cause they didn’t ask any more questions, like about fruit, vegetables or pets.

We spent a night outside the town of Teslin, YT, in an RV Park called Dawson Peaks. The park and its owners were featured as characters in Sue Henry’s novel, ‘Dead North’ a few years ago. It is a nice park and we had a good dinner in their little restaurant. The next day we headed east on the Alaska Highway almost to Watson Lake, then turned south on the Cassiar Highway. The Cassiar is the 500 mile western route through northern British Columbia to and from Alaska. It is much less traveled than the Alaska Highway, and the scenery is spectacular! The problem is that it doesn’t get the same level of maintenance as the Alaska Highway, so it’s in much worse condition; at least the first 40 miles or so. Pot holes, gravel and mud make up most of the northern section of the highway.

We stopped at a BC Provincial Park, Boya Lake, for three nights. We enjoyed warm sunshine for two of those days, and great kayaking. Then on the last day, our rain returned, dampening everything but our spirits. Boya Lake was, in our opinion, the most beautiful park we’ve seen yet. It is a large lake with numerous wooded islands on it. There is beaver activity everywhere, and while we didn’t actually see a beaver, their handiwork was very evident.

We traveled another 170 miles to another BC Park, Kinaskan Lake. We had campsites right at the water’s edge as we have had in most parks, but it rained at Kinaskan, too, so we didn’t do much except sit around a campfire.
We stayed in a few BC Parks on the way to Alaska, and they are all really nice! No hookups, but large campsites with beautiful scenery. Most of them are at lakes with boating and fishing, so there is activity around.

On Thursday, we hopped another 130 miles to Meziadin Lake Provincial Park for a few days stay. It’s right at the junction of the Cassiar and the Stewart/Hyder highways. It’s about 60 miles from here to Stewart, BC, and its neighboring town, Hyder, Alaska (Really our last stop in Alaska!) We plan to travel in our cars to the two towns on Friday or Saturday before heading on down the road. Meanwhile, we’re at another beautiful lake, and this afternoon, LaVan went trolling in his kayak and caught a 2 to 3 pound grayling, which is a relative to a trout. There are also kokanee salmon in the lake, heading upstream to spawn. We understand the salmon spawn has drawn a number of bears to the area to feed. There were some in camp last night, so maybe we’ll see them while we’re here.

We’ll tell you all about Stewart and Hyder in a day or so. Meanwhile, we send our best to you all.