7/3/19 - Day 5 - Stewart-Hyder Highway

We woke up to overcast skies and mid 60's as we travel north. Our goal today is to head up Highway 37A to Stewart, Canada & Hyder, USA. We were surprised that the town of Smithers is larger than New Hazelton. It looked like the reverse on our maps, however the gas at New Hazelton
cost less, so that worked out ok.

     There were a few stops on Highway 16 between Telkwa and our turn onto the Cassiar Highway,
37, which we'd like to visit on our return trip... or not, if we are like horses heading to the barn! We made a short stop just as you turn on to the Cassiar that was very interesting. The tiny village of Gitwangak (native spelling, Git-Gyeetsw) has some totem poles that date back to the 1800's, as one of the tribal members told us. In addition, there was an Anglican Church bell tower that was built in 1864. Each culture's  woodwork had its own kind of artistry.
Not far up the Cassiar we saw a black bear on the side of the embankment. The dark black fur sure stands out against the bright green grass. Its paw was lifted, so it looked like it was waving at us. Periodically on the roads there have been warning signs... deer, bear, moose, caribou, and even people. Yep, those pesky  tourists who run across the road looking for the perfect picture are definitely a road hazard!

At Mezdiadin Lake we turned west onto the Stewart-Hyder road. I am not sure what I expected, but it wasn't this. There are steep cliffs as you wind up the Bear Creek valley. Even on a cloudy day we would turn a corner and spot a high snowy peak, and then you start seeing glaciers and silt laden rushing rivers. Bear Glacier is a large one which you can see from the road. The water gushing from its terminus was impressive. We also drove through Stewart and past Hyder about 16 miles to see the much larger Salmon Glacier. Tricky driving, I'm glad Pat is comfortable with steep, one-lane gravel roads that have precipitous drop offs.
Salmon Glacier















One other piece of interest from today's trek is that Hyder is actually in Alaska, but can only be reached by road through Stewart in Canada or by water. It is a town from a time gone past, sometimes referred to as a "living" ghost town.
You don't have to go through American Customs to go in,
but you have to go through Canadian Customs to leave!

Tomorrow we get back on the Cassiar headed north, however I am not sure when this will get posted because we haven't seen a place with wi-fi since Highway 16.

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