The ride from Tok to Whitehorse was cold and a bit drizzly but could have been worse. All day the skies were dark and threatening to the westerly direction I was headed and I was sure I would get wet. I think I timed it right as it seemed the roads were wet from recent rain but had stopped just a short time before. When I arrived in Whitehorse it was a bit cloudy but warm and dry. The B&B was located a bit outside the downtown areas – but was a walkable 20-30 minutes. I don’t mind a good walk after being on the bike all day. Whenever possible, I try not to get back on the bike after arriving to my destination to intentionally get some needed movement in the legs. The B&B is self service in that the owner isn’t there and the guest self manage. Door code to get in…self service coffee, tea, milk, cold breakfast items, etc…a washer/dryer you could use but only between 4-8pm. I was able to get all my camping gear out on the deck to dry, dirty clothes washed and all electronics charged during my short stay. I met Bjorn, also staying at the B&B, a fellow motorcyclist from Vancouver riding up Tuk on a Super Tenere. We shared riding stories and had some good kitchen table conversation over cold beers. There was also a couple from Alberta traveling by car and a couple from Calgary who had flown in for the weekend. The house had 6 rooms, 2 bathrooms, laundry room, kitchen, living room, dining room and a large back deck. Not a bad stay and one of the cheapest options in Whitehorse at $95 CAD.
The next morning it was a chilly 45 degrees when I left Whitehorse. I plugged in the liner and broke out the winter gloves. It was sunny so by noon or so it had warmed up into the high 60’s. I only stopped once (for gas) the whole ride to Watson Lake. Stopped by the signpost forest to snap a few pics and add the Colorado plate off my long gone Subaru to the collection. The sign post forest is a collection of street signs, town signs, license plates, homemade plaques, etc. donated by travelers passing through on the road. Before the Cassiar was completed all traffic coming north had to come through Watson Lake. It was started by a US soldier who was injured and staying in Watson Lake while working on the Alaska Highway project in 1942. His commanding officer assigned him to repair and erect directional signposts, and while completing the job added a sign that indicated the direction and milage to his hometown in Illinois. Others followed suit, the trend caught on and today there are over 77,000 signs in the forest.
I gassed up, filled my water bottles and headed down the Cassiar to camp and Indian Creek. It’s a free campground with pit toilets and sites with fire rings and picnic tables. I camped there on the way up and down the Cassiar last year so very familiar with the spot. There were a couple of RV’s there but I was the only tent camper. The overnight temps are getting colder and that night/early morning was in the low 40’s and beginning to test the limits of my camping gear for cold temps. I’m probably good down into the low to mid 30’s but not much colder than that. It should get warmer as I head south.
The next morning I packed up camp and made my way down the Cassiar. I’ve decided that overall I like the Cassiar a bit more over the Alcan. The Alcan has some good good scenery between Fort Nelson and Watson Lake but is relative straight. The Cassiar is much more interesting in terms of twist and turns and ups and downs. The roadway is also much more narrow on the Cassiar with no shoulder. The brush comes right up to the road in many sections so wildlife awareness takes priority. I made a stop at Jade City for the free coffee and have a look around the gift shop. Jade City is not actually a city but a roadside stop on the Cassiar. They have a jade mine up in the hills and do all the cutting and polishing down in Jade City. The place actually has a reality TV show on the Discovery Channel called Jade Fever that is filmed there. I saw a bunch of hipster looking people walking through the compound to cabins with professional looking cameras so assume they were part of the film crew.
Again it warmed up into the mid 60’s and was sunny and nice when I arrive to Dease Lake. Last year I camped at Dease but this year decide to grab a room at the Northway Motor Inn, the only hotel option in town. Since it was such a nice day and early, I pulled the gear and boxes off the bike and made a run up the dirt road to Telegraph Creek. I ran the road all the way to the town of Telegraph Creek last year but this time only wanted to run out about 3/4 of way to get to the viewpoint over the creek as it runs through a small canyon. The road was dry and mostly in great shape outside a few short sections. It was about 40 miles out to the overlook, I snapped a pic (featured pic on this post) and rode back to Dease Lake. There was lots of bear scat on the road but didn’t see single bear – or any other wildlife for that matter. Back at the hotel there were 6 other bikers who had arrived and we all ended up standing around in the parking lot talking motorcycles and drinking beer until dark.
Clouds to the south backed weather forecasts that called for rain all along my route south on the Cassiar. I hadn’t decided if I was going to to run down the 37A to Stewart/Hyder or just skip it as I made it down to Bell II around mid-day. It had been sprinkling on and off all morning but so far nothing big. Coming out out of Bell II, I saw one bear in the road off into the distance that disappeared in the bush before I arrived to the spot and another that was just off the road as I rode by. I arrived at Meziadin Junction to fuel up around 2pm and looking down 37A it looked dark and stormy in the direction of Stewart. I chatted with some folks at the store that had been to the Hyder ranger station earlier that day and they said no bears that far up the creek yet. Rats! That was going to be a good chance to see a grizzly. The salmon come upstream to spawn and the bears have a feast every season with prime viewing from a ranger station and boardwalk above the river. Last year I came through for the second time a couple of weeks earlier in the season and there were lots of salmon, but no bears. I was hoping the timing worked out this year but appears again I am too early to see the bears. I decided to continue on down south and get to see 3 more black bears immediately after pulling out from the gas station. I think I was able to get them recorded on my helmet cam. Then, less than 10 minutes later, it happened! A grizzly just off the road popped its head up and then rose up on its hind legs from the low brush just 20 feet or so off the road as I was driving by. So excited to have finally experienced a grizzly in the wild from a close but safe range! Hope to never encounter one on foot in the wild. It was huge!
I grabbed a room for the night at a motel in New Hazelton – a place I had stayed twice last year. Nothing much to look at from the outside but really nice updated rooms and a friendly owner. The rain had held off for most of the day until I rolled into the town it started up. As I was unloading gear at the motel it started to rain pretty hard. It ended up raining most of the night so glad I didn’t even attempt to camp. I took my time the this morning as it was still raining. Glad I waited because I had wet roads but no rain falling from the sky almost the whole ride to Prince George. It started to sprinkle coming into town and then started pouring as I made my way across town in rush hour traffic. I grabbed a room at the North Star Inn – one of the seeder looking hotels in PG from the outside with fairly decent remodeled rooms on the inside. It’s right across the street from a large grocery store so I can reload on camping food supplies. Tomorrow I’ll see what route has better weather. My choices are to turn south down 97 towards Vancouver or continue southeast on 16 towards Jasper and Banff. Choices, choices…