Tag 15: Stewart/Hyder - Grizzlies & (k)ein Salmon Glacier

27.7.2024

The first glance out of the window shows: it's sunny! However, the weather forecast predicts rain, but maybe we will have luck again!!!

My son and husband play another round of horseshoe throwing in the bright sunshine, then we leave the campground.

Many campers are already gone around us - early birds 🤷🏻‍♀️

Today we want to drive to Stewart/Hyder. The highlight aside from the bear viewing platform is supposed to be the Salmon Glacier. For weeks, I have been fighting through forums, Facebook groups, and the internet to find out if the road is passable with a 24ft RV. In the end, I wasn't any wiser, as the answers about the road were 50/50 for a pro/con.

There were vacationers who drove up with a 28ft RV, while others did not dare with the truck camper.

I'm more of the 'chicken' type, so at some point, the offer of a (sadly very expensive) shuttle bus caught my eye.

This seems to leave daily at 1 PM from the Visitor Center to Salmon Glacier. Hm... Okay, something to keep in mind.

Whitecap to Icecap Adventures Tour Bus

~ Please note the departure time has changed from 2 PM to 1 PM daily. ~

Join the Whitecap to Icecap Adventures tour bus for a round trip up to see Salmon Glacier. Daily departures at 1 PM by the Visitor Centre. $100 per person (17 years old or under - FREE!). Wheelchair accessible. Availability on a first-come, first-serve basis.

We will definitely stop at the Visitor Center and get advice.

The only problem is the weather forecast. It predicts rain today and tomorrow. Damn!

The last alternative would be Monday, as we could not book a fixed campground - we would be flexible - but we don't know at this point.

One decision stands, however: we will NOT take the 80 km detour to Hazelton and instead drive directly towards Stewart/Hyder.

On the way, we want to stop at the Gitanyow Totem Poles and Kitwankul National Historic Site.

Of course, we promptly miss the exit. No matter, according to Google Maps, there is still an exit (never trust Google Maps!).

We turn left at the next exit and want to simply 'drive back' on the other road for the 3 km stretch. Unfortunately, after a few meters, we find ourselves on a gravel road. Hm... it's only about 3 km. It will be fine.

It does - until unfortunately shortly before the destination, an untrustworthy wooden bridge comes 🙈

Damn! So about 15 turns to turn around (not much room on the narrow forest road) and back.

On the second attempt, we find the impressive totem poles.

Unfortunately, the 'surroundings' here are a bit creepy. Everywhere are littered and dilapidated front yards, and hardly a person to be seen. It has a ghost town vibe here. Together with the somewhat creepy totem pole faces, it's quite unsettling.

We drive further north on the Stuart Cassiar Highway. The clouds are increasing, but the predicted rain has not yet come.

Again and again, we see warning signs for bears and other 'wildlife' along the roadside. Unfortunately, we see (still) nothing at all.

The closer we get to Stewart, the cloudier it gets. We decide to stop at the viewpoint of the Bear Glacier and take a lunch break.

The Bear Glacier is just below the cloud cover. A few years ago, it jutted down into the lake. Now it has retreated very far, and the glacier's meltwater flows into the lake in the form of several waterfalls and streams.

We cook pasta for lunch and think about how we want to plan the rest of the day. It's now 12:30. We wouldn't catch the shuttle bus to the glacier anyway, so we decide to first drive to the campground and check in there, then visit the Visitor Center in Stewart.

We drive to Rainey Creek CG, where I have reserved a site for today. There is no one at the reception, just a note that you should call a phone number to check in. But we don't have a phone card - only a 'data SIM card'. Hm, there is also a note for late check-in. I walk over to the information board across the street, where our site is already marked as 'reserved' on the plan. Okay, we will come back later.

Next, we go to the Visitor Center (free Wi-Fi!).

We ask the three ladies (two ladies around 20 years old and a spry elderly woman who is in charge here) how to get to Salmon Glacier best.

The spry elderly lady explains to us that large RVs should not drive up, looks out the window at our 'Adventurer', asks about the length, and says:

'Oh, that's a small one. No problem. Lots of cars and mobile homes drive up every day. Today, a lot of mobile homes have started. Drive slowly and it won't be a problem!'

Both of the younger ladies also confirm that it is no problem to drive on the Salmon Glacier Road with our 24ft RV.

Damn - I honestly didn't expect that. My husband feels confirmed in not wanting to spend money on a shuttle (which, by the way, is mentioned nowhere here and we don't see any signs for it).

We are given a loaner Salmon Glacier Auto Tour map, which I already downloaded on my tablet from Germany. We have 37 km to Salmon Glacier, of which 27 km are gravel road. This could be something...

We also receive the information that we need to buy tickets for the bear platform in Hyder (Fish Creek Observation Deck) online at recreation.gov AND that a grizzly bear with cubs was sighted just 10 minutes ago next to the road at the end of the boardwalk in Stewart!

Then we can go! Hopefully, we still see the grizzly!

We drive out of Stewart towards Hyder and soon see several cars parked in front of and behind the bridge, parked across from the boardwalk. Aha, it must be here.

We also park behind the bridge and walk back a bit.

Sensational! In the reed grass sits a huge grizzly bear with two cubs -- one is brown, and the other is black!

Incredible!!! How cool is this???

Our first 'real' bear sighting! Hooray!!!!

The bears eat reed grass... another thing learned. We have never seen this or even knew about it.

I could have stayed much longer, but my husband is urging! It’s already 3 PM and we still want to go up to Salmon Glacier (and that will probably take a while...).

With a heavy heart, I separate from the bear and her two cubs, and we drive on.

Shortly after, we pass Hyder/Alaska. A tiny little town (calls itself 'friendliest ghost town in Alaska'). Upon entering the USA, there are no border controls or posts here, but there are when returning to Canada. We will be surprised tonight.

We drive through Hyder, past the bear watching platform and whoosh - find ourselves on the gravel Salmon Glacier Road.

However, the view on my phone confuses me. The GPS says 3:30 PM, my phone says 2:30 PM....!?

Ahhhhh, we are in Alaska - a one-hour time difference!?

At a snail's pace, we make good progress, the road is by far not as bad as feared.

As the potholes multiply, visibility worsens. We seem to be driving further into the clouds. So far, we've made good progress.

We hesitate briefly about whether to drive the last 8 km to the viewpoint from the glacier tongue, as the road gets steeper and it is unclear whether we can drive it with the RV.

We stop a passing VW van - Germans from Gießen - who reassure us and say the road is not a problem. However, fog is slowly rolling in, so we should drive straight to the viewpoint.

Oh no... fog??? Okay, then let's hurry on.

At a snail’s pace, we swerve around the potholes, of which there are indeed quite a few from now on. So far, the route has really been harmless.

Several RVs, truck campers, and cars pass us, and there is (strangely) no one driving up behind us.

The cars that just were behind us have turned at the viewpoint of the glacier tongue. Hm....

About 2 m before the viewpoint, we can hardly see anything. Neither in the distance nor directly in front of us on the road.

It comes as it had to come.... using Google Maps, I direct us to the parking lot at the Salmon Glacier Summit Viewpoint, because: you can't see it!

...and THIS is the reality today: 😭

As you can see - you see NOTHING!

We can only guess where the glacier is.

Frustration! Okay, now we have genuinely encountered our first 'bad weather luck.' We park the camper overlooking the bench and wait. There are still a handful of other cars and minibuses up here.

By the way, mosquitoes are having a field day outside! For the first time on this vacation, we encounter biting mosquitoes.

After a coffee break with muffins, unfortunately, the view has not improved. On the contrary, it starts to rain 😱

Theoretically, we could spend the night up here - at one of the coolest boondocking spots ever! The idea of spending the night up here is tempting, and we briefly consider whether we should do that...

But no, reason prevails. If nice weather were predicted for tomorrow, we would have stayed here, but tomorrow the weather is expected to be significantly worse than today. Damn....

So there is no more chance to see the Salmon Glacier. Too bad...

We slowly creep down the next 3 km at a snail's pace. Through the fog and rain, we can hardly see the potholes anymore. Fortunately, we are alone and can swerve generously around the potholes.

Back at the glacier tongue viewpoint (8 km), we are back below the cloud cover.

Well, we are still looking forward to the bears at the Fish Creek Observation Deck. That comforts us a bit over the non-existent view of the glacier.

It takes us about an hour from the glacier tongue to get down to the bear platform, which we reach at 6:30 PM.

All in all, we were on the Salmon Glacier Road for 4 hours.

Upon arriving at the platform parking lot, we encounter a true caterpillar invasion! Here, hundreds of funny-looking caterpillars with tufts on their backs are crawling and slithering around (caterpillar of the Blackthorn Tussock Moth). Before we know it, we have the bugs crawling on the hood, jacket, and even shoes 😯

The two parking lots are connected by a boardwalk along the creek. A ranger is walking around on the boardwalk giving information and tips about bear watching. He asks us if we come from Stewart and if we have seen the bear with the two-colored cubs. He has heard multiple stories from tourists about it today but hasn’t seen the said bear himself yet.

When asked how many bears have been here today, he says:

'One - around 1 PM'.

Oh.... only one? And then at an atypical time around noon? It is usually said that bear sightings are best from 6 AM to 10 AM and 6 PM to 10 PM.

Well, we do fit into the second time window!

Excitedly, we walk to the platform. In front, our online tickets are checked at the information booth, and we get a ticket printed for the next 3 days. I do not know if tickets can actually be bought here....

The platform is lively. Especially the multitude of photographers with professional 'mega lenses' makes me tremble in awe. Wow, what equipment!! I feel very small with my 'little DSLR and standard zoom'...

Well, but what good is the best megazoom if there is nothing to 'zoom in' on??? 🤨

We walk around the platform for 4 hours - we see hundreds of caterpillars of various kinds, salmon fighting their way up the creek, and swimming around in the picturesque pond.

Find the salmon: where is the salmon?

Ducks and herons are also on the go.

Additionally - our highlight on the platform - beavers! We count 4 adult beavers and one young one, who deliver us a great show for the next few hours. From dam building to duck hunting, grooming, swimming, and diving. They are really adorable!

But: NO BEAR!!!

We benefit from the late sunset - at 9:30 PM it is still quite bright - and try our luck at seeing a bear until just before the platform closes at 10 PM. It has become really cool, and for the first time, I am glad to be wearing a thick fleece jacket AND an all-weather jacket (and I envy my husband - he is wearing gloves....😂). But hey, I won't sink that low: it's summer vacation! 😜

Sentence with 'X' -- that was probably nothing.

Well, at least we saw beavers.....

At the border post in Hyder, we must stop, our license plate is noted, and we are asked if we have alcohol or cannabis with us.

Our half bottle of whiskey is unproblematic, we do not have cannabis. A quick passport check and back to Canada.

And whoosh - the phone clock jumps forward again in the campground Wi-Fi to 11:30 PM.

We now have to look for our site 27 in the dark. With the help of the phone flashlight, I can guide my husband backward, and then we quickly go to bed. It was another long day today.

Weather forecast for tomorrow: 100% rain...🙈🌧️

For the statistics:

Campground: Rainey Creek Campground

37 CAD (~25 €); Site 27

Distance driven: 310 km

Distance walked: 5 km

Photos taken: 500

Weather: cloudy 13-15 degrees (Salmon Glacier: fog & rain)