Stewart CAN, Hyder AK, Purdon Lake and Smithers 2.0

The next morning we continue driving on the Stewart-Cassiar Hwy. Very beautiful scenery, but where are the animals? August and September are hunting season, maybe that's why they are so well 'hidden'?

After being advised by the lady at the Visitors Centre in Watson Lake to inquire about the forest fires at Meziadin Junction, we stop there and look for an information center... good luck with that! There is a gas station and a motel with camping and some very strange people. No one knows anything current about the fires. Well, in Stewart there might be network, so we'll ask Google again!

The next 70 km in the canyon to Stewart were extremely beautiful, steep high cliffs on both sides, the Beaver Glacier with its glacier tongue reaching down to the valley floor, and a river next to our road, wow! When we arrive in Stewart, a very friendly, cheerful campground owner welcomes us, as usual, and we park Verny for two nights, a little break in the rush southward. Although Nina has been asking for a break for a while, we drive a few more kilometers. The Fish Creek in Hyder lures with possible bear sightings and apparently they serve excellent food at the Seafood Bus. So why waste time and cook, not to mention washing up. So off to Hyder, 'back to USA', Black and Brown Bears, Eagles, get ready, here we come!

There is a sign hanging on the Seafood Bus: 'done for season' 😫. At least an Alaskan can recommend the Silverado in Stewart, the other place supposedly serves rather mediocre food.

Before you see the creek, you can smell it, the scent of death wafts over the ecosystem at Fish Creek. After paying the obligatory fee, we enter the observation platform. Fish carcasses are lying in and around the creek, hence the smell. Birds, insects of all kinds, worms, maggots, and other protein-rich creatures feed on the buffet of dead salmon. Over time, all the remaining nutrients go back into the water and into the perpetual cycle of nature. Silvers and Coho 🐟🐟 spawn here. It's fascinating to watch the salmon find their way to the right spot, swimming over small gravel bars, often being chased away by males in the deeper pools. The females lay themselves on their side in the water to spawn, with a male guarding it meticulously to fertilize the eggs. Besides potential rivals, they also have to defend the fry from predators. The fry feed on the eggs until they start their long journey to the Pacific and back to the spawning grounds to die. What a contrast, the splashing, splattering, and wrestling salmon fill the air with the sound of life, while in the water, new life begins and at the same time, carcasses and salmon on the verge of death float down the creek, getting caught on branches or gravel bars. The spectacle of the salmon is impressive, they have fought their way up here (Hyder lies on the same Tongass Rainforest as Ketchikan in the Inside Passage), over waterfalls, past sea lions, fishermen, and eagles, to fulfill their destiny. But where are the bears? On the whiteboard, we see that none have been observed in the last two days. 'Tomorrow is another day', so we drive back to Canada to the Silverado for a late ok dinner. At 04:26 a.m., there was a huge bang, rocks and stones thundered into the valley. We thought half the mountain had collapsed, the rocks rolled down the hill for a long time. At sunrise, there was the sound of helicopters, but according to the locals, that's 'normal', it often happens. Here, too, no one knows if the roads on our way through BC and Alberta are open.

The next day, we have a leisurely coffee in the sun in Stewart, then we try our luck at Fish Creek in Hyder again. Unfortunately, no bears show up. We drive up to the Salmon Glacier, the drive is extremely bumpy, and the glacier, well, it's a glacier. We've seen quite a few already (Alaska has 800 with names and another equally many without names).

On the way back, we make a short, hopeful stop at Fish Creek again, still nothing.

We refuel on the way back, return to the campsite, plan, relax, wash, cook, in short, a lot of stress.

The next morning, we set off towards Smithers. In the light of the sun, the narrow valley offers a different perspective, rock walls, glaciers, and watercourses shine and sparkle in competition with each other. Back on the Stewart-Cassiar Hwy, we at least see the head of a black bear analyzing the situation on the road and disappearing before we get within 'shooting distance' for the camera.

In addition to the interesting message 'Tire Pressure Sensor Fault' that Verny has been blinking and beeping at us on every opportunity for some time now, he now also complains 'Change Oil soon'. According to the manual, the oil should be changed every 5,000 miles - a service at 45,000 miles is due. Smithers should be big enough to have a Ford dealer that can meet Verny's needs. When he then grumbles 'Change Oil now', we can reassure him that we're almost there. From Burns Lake onwards, we repeatedly cross areas covered in smoke from fires further south. On the roadside, we see a black bear grazing on grass (probably likes smoked herbs). He crouches down bravely, so a photo is not worth it, but we can still see his fur.

After our second visit to Paul's Bakery and dinner at the 'Alpenhorn', we continue the next morning. 'Nothing to write home about', as Alice would say. We spend the night at the beautiful Purdon Lake in Purdon PP (for the uninformed: Provincial Park). At the calm lake, we meet an elderly couple who are fishing here. They even give us two Kookanees 🐠🐠, which we fry in the pan right away. Fresh from the lake onto our plates - very nice! About 35 km further south, we visit the 'Ancient Rainforest'. Oh yeah, there was something about refueling... In Prince George, looking for a center (an industrial city without a center in our eyes), we, the driver, forgot to refuel. The co-driver quickly checks the mail and announces that there is a gas station at the Purden Lake Resort. All right so far. We enjoyed the fish and the next day we set off towards Jasper and want to refuel at the resort. Want to! Ah, when the resort closes on Labor Day, the gas station closes too! Nice! The driver announces that we won't return to Prince George or go further to McBride, we need gas NOW. We park Verny in front of the logs that were conveniently placed at the entrance so that nobody drives in, and walk around the house and down to the campsite. The first nice gentleman refers us to the next one, the next one to the next one - Paul - who then makes every effort and fetches the owner in her golf cart from her house by the lake. Everyone is extremely friendly and helpful. The lady came with a dog and a girl on a modified thing and first grumpily explained how far it is to the nearest gas station in both directions, then she told us to call Road Assistance - is she crazy? She has a gas station right in front of the house that has gas, and she wants us to... no, it's not going to happen that way. After a long back and forth, we got our gas for an outrageously high price of an extra 20 dollars, but who cares in such a situation!

In McBride, we refuel again, refill propane, and fill our bellies.

The next stop is in Jasper. More about that in the next entry.

P.S.: The service in Smithers cost USD 91.- including oil and oil filter change 😳.