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Date of Trip: Sept. 3, 4

Blog Written: Whitehorse, YK Sept. 7, 2007

The Stewart Cassiar Highway

As I described in my last blog, there are two ways to get to the Alaska Highway from Prince George.

One option is to take Highway 97 north to Dawson Creek which is Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway.

Another option is to drive west on the Yellowhead Highway No. 16 to Kitwanga Junction. Highway 37, the Stewart Cassiar Highway, leads north for 740 km north to the Alaska Highway. At this point the Yukon border has been crossed and the town of Watson Lake is 20 km to the east.

The Stewart Cassiar Highway is designated as a remote highway that crosses the spectacular scenery that is so typical of this province. Apart from the scenery, it is the sense of immense space and remoteness which sets it apart from other drives in BC.

Rich in mountains, valleys, glaciers, lakes and endless forests, it makes for a superb driving experience. The 15% of the drive that is on gravel road only adds a little bit of spice.

The highway gets its name from the two biggest towns on the route - Stewart in the south and Cassiar in the north.

Stewart is only 204 km from Kitwanga Junction and despite being a tremendous attraction in its own right, it is renowned as the entry point to Hyder, Alaska. (Excusions: Blogs No. 1-3)

Last year I drove the Stewart Cassiar Highway between Kitwanga Junction and Meziadin Junction, a distance of 156 km. Along that stretch of road I saw seven bears driving north and seven bears driving south. This caused me to dub the road - Bear Alley.

So how many bears did I see this year on Bear Alley.

Well, I saw - one!

I am not ready however to withdraw the moniker of "Bear Alley" from this route for four reasons.

Firstly, I drove the route a bit later in the day than last year - just before dusk which may have accounted for less bears.

Secondly, a good part of the road is being repaved which might discourage the bears.

Thirdly, just north of Meziadin Junction, my headlights picked up three black bears by the side of the road.

Fourthly, I have now driven about 1,400 km to reach Whitehorse, Yukon and during that time I have not seen any bears or other wildlife except on this short stretch of the Stewart Cassiar Highway and slightly beyond.

I have decided to make this edition of ON THE ROAD AGAIN - ALASKA more of a photo blog and less of a written blog.

I left Prince George around 10:00 on Tuesday and drove till about 21:00 when in the middle of nowhere I unexpectedly came upon Bell II Heliski.

Considering the isolation, it was like finding Shangri-La. The full beauty of the place however did not become evident till the next morning.

On Wednesday morning, I hit the road around 10:00 and again drove until about 21:00 when I arrived at the junction of the Stewart Cassiar and Alaska Highways.

At this point I elected to drive east for 20 km to the town of Watson Lake to find a place to sleep.

The Stewart Cassiar was a beautiful part of getting to Alaska.

I have opted to show the photos in a full screen format at:

www.slideshare.net/lobo2007

(if the link does not work, copy and past, or type the web address in the URL line of your browser)

On the Road Again

Alaska: Getting There

Part 2

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YOU TUBE - http://www.youtube.com/user/TravelsWithLobo

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