Hyder, Alaska, United StatesHYDER
Snow up at the Salmon Glacier
- the Salmon Glacier is in BC, but the road leading up to it is in Alaska
- this is Canada's largest glacier accessible by road - and the 5th largest glacier in N-America
Time to head to Alaska: ok crossing over is no deal as there is no
border – we then started to drive through the nearly empty houses of Hyder and
by now the blue sky is slowly coming out – the paved road ends and the gravel
starts: we follow along the river and have amazing views on the mountains and
the glaciers and slowly we head up, soon we see some snowpads near the road. Paul
was a bit disappointed when the sign said “no blasting today”. Some waterfalls
alongside the road, we decided to drive up to the top as far as we can and then
hit the viewpoints on the way down. At some spots a tree was across the road
and it got cut and we could sneak by, and then came a snow patch in the middle
of the road and some motorcycles parked before it. We stopped and walked toward
the snow to check if we maybe should drive over or not?? As we are
investigating we saw the guys from the motorcycles and they told us, that right
around the corner the road is totally blocked with snow and impassable. We
turned around on the narrow pad and parked – sprayed ourselves with Mosquito
repellent and then went to walk a bit further up: we had some amazing views on
the toe of the glacier and were standing in the snow – walking over the snow –
it was super cool.
The best view for coffee
On the way up we saw a little spot on
the side with a bench and said we will stop here on the way down, and we did,
only it was not that private as there were two German vans already – ok we said
how about 50 m down on that outcrop and we did had the very best spot: sitting
on the outcrop looking down the valley and across to the super cool mountains
and glaciers and the waterfalls. Hot sunshine – it was so super amazing – we
spend quiet a bit of time here but did decide not to stay overnight, but rather
drive back down. As we already new the road is not the best and so we went
slowly downhill – perfect for Gine to enjoy more and see more – we stopped at
some waterfalls, a few viewpoints, a super cool looking lake took once the
wrong turn and ended up with the big trucks in the mine!!! But got told that we
are in the wrong spot and then found the correct way down. We also did see the
cut line from the old tram line which run for 3 km and was an aerial tramline in 1951 to
transport the core to the other side of the valleyIt was an absolute beautiful
drive along the river.
Let’s not forget we did stop at the
Border Crossing BC/Alaska along the road called Silver heights:
- The official boundary was officially designated in 1903 and was called Silver Heights
- From the 1920s to 1950s mienrs going to work and residents of Premier Mine Camp had to stop and it is marked by asmall silver colored cairn on the esast side
- Every ten years the entire length of the boundary from Hyder north is cleared
- The small ponds below are depressions known as kettles and are formed by the melting of buried iceblocks which are stranded on the outwash plain after the glacier recedes: the color is caused by the fine material suspended in the water (it looks super cool)
At the end of the road in Hyder
Back at the bottom we drove to the end
of the road in Hyder until we were at the pier and it didn’t go further: here
it was super windy (we are at Eagle Point)– but the view was super amazing.
There was even a Chapel motorhome – we never saw something like that. We did
decide to have coffee here, as it is past coffee time and then headed back
through the little ghosttown like Hyder to the border. There we got asked if we
filled out the ArriveCanada app – no we didn’t and then after showing our vaccination
proof and got told that the next time when we leave Canada for even 5 Min we
have to fill out the form!!!! Oh and also it is very important if we bought
anything in Hyder (is there even a store) or did we bring any weapons etc
back??? And then because she was nice she gave us the permission to go back in
even we didn’t fill out the form. Really did we get the COVID from the snow???
By the way they say there are some old
gold-rush saloons – I guess those are those empty historic old buildings along
the road
The friendliest ghost town: Hyder
- In 1896 Captain Gaillard explored the canal for the US and he built 4 stone structures and called it Portland city - two years later came the first prospectors
- Later they renamed it after the Canadian mining engineer Frederich Hyder: because the US told the residence that there are already too many Portlands
- Today the population of Hyder is 50 and they call it Alaska’s friendliest ghost town
- It only has access via water or from Steward in Canada – they use Canadian currency as well as Canadian Law Enforcement
- It is said that during the prohibition Alaska residents walked the Smugglers trail to BC do drink and then return home
Steward has a car wash
After all this gravelroad driving Paul
told me that his pressure valve is going up with having such a dirty truck and
camper and that washing only with a cloth is not enough anymore it is too dirty
and he needs a pressure wash – we did ask at the Petro Canada and you wouldn’t
believe it, but Steward has a car wash and it is with soap and hot water!!! So
after 6 Dollars less in the pocket we have a sparkly clean truck and camper.
And now we can do some shopping because they have here 2 supermarkets!!! Then a
scenic drive along the river and we leave this cute little heritage town – by
the way the main street is super cute.
The little town of Steward:
- The First Nations came here to hunt, but did not have a permanent settlement
- This Bordertown is Canada’s most northern ice-free port
- During the goldrush over 10.000 people lived in Stewart and Hyder (most of them living in tents), WWI brought a massive exodus – today Steward has 500 residence.
- It is at the head of the Portland Canal which is a 145 km long narrow salt water fjord and forms a natural border between Canada and the US – and is by the way the 4th longest fjord in the world
- The first Prospectors came in 1898looking for placer gold – which rumors said equals the Klonidke rush
- The Steward brothers came in 1902 and in 1905 Robert Steward was the first post master and the town got named after him
- The famous silbeck Premier gold mine got here discovered in 1916 and used until the 1950s, in 1921 the mine shipped already 6000 tons of ore with gold valued of 1.5 Mill$ at that time (I think that the mine is were the sign says “no trespassing”
- Until the 1970s the only access was via water or via air
Sun at Clement Lake Rec Site
Tonight we decided to spend at the
Clement Lake Rec Site and get a super nice spot at the lake: it is super nice
and hot and sunny and an amazing view. Paul brings the chair out and relaxes at
the lake – Gine walks a bit along the lake to see a bit more – then we have
supper on the picnic table right on the lake. Tonight we also had an early
sunset because the mountain is so high and then after meeting another couple
from Germany – already the 2nd today, we did some more talking. It
is amazing on how many people we meet here who travel north.
2025-05-22