Boya Lake and Hyder
September 1, 2023
On Saturday, August 26, we were one of the first cars to cross the border back into Canada. We drove 360 miles from Skagway to Boya Lake, with a lunch stop on the Rancheria River for Larry to try a bit of gold panning.
At the start of the Cassiar Highway, we had to wait over an hour to follow a pilot car through an area of fires very close to the road.
We made it to Boya Lake but learned later that the Cassiar was closed overnight. Our campsite at Boya Lake was one of our best!
Boya Lake is a beautiful Caribbean blue, and we could park with our big passenger windows facing the lake.
Even though there were no empty campsites, it was peaceful and quiet, with just the sound of the loons calling.
We hiked along the lakeshore trail and rented a kayak to explore some of the lakes and islands—you could get lost without a GPS!
A very protective beaver emerged from a lodge we thought was abandoned and slapped his tail on the water several times to warn us away as he swam around us. We took the hint and paddled off.
After two idyllic days, we reluctantly departed on Monday and drove the remainder of the Cassiar to Stewart. The northern part of the Cassiar is a two-lane, scenic byway without even lines to mark the pavement. We stopped at Jade City and met the owner, whose show has seven seasons on the Discovery Channel.
He said winter could come anytime now but would likely be late this year as there was no snow on a nearby mountain that usually marks the two-week warning to winter. We made it to Rainey Creek Municipal Campground in Stewart and were assigned an excellent site backing up to a creek complete with pink salmon!
The following day was foggy and drizzly, so we toured the museum and visitor center, walked through town, and strolled the boardwalk over the marsh.
The weather didn’t improve, so we got up early on Wednesday and crossed into Hyder, Alaska (no customs here) to the Fish Creek Wildlife Observation Site. In late summer, bears feed on pink and chum salmon just below the platforms at the observation station, closely monitored by park rangers armed with bear spray. A 5-year-old grizzly was chasing salmon, with a preference for the larger chums, and we watched him for almost 2 hours.
This is us trying to leave from the parking lot while a bear strolled by!
Look at those claws (on an exhibit at the Observation Site, not on a live bear)
Midmorning, we drove up the slick gravel and marl road towards the Salmon Glacier through the thick fog (plus bears) and were rewarded for our perseverance with a clear view of the glacier.
We spent the day there as others came and went, took pictures, walked to different viewpoints up and down the road, and flew the drone.
Camping is allowed here, and we considered it, but as the fog rolled back in, we decided to return to the campground for the night. We stopped again at Fish Creek and watched bears awhile—the male we had watched before was there, and it was a little eery how he would look sideways over his back up at the viewing platform, almost as if he was sizing us up.
To get to our campground, we had to cross back into Canada, this time with a Border Patrol agent.
And with that crossing, we left Alaska for the last time on this adventure 😭 Thursday was a driving day, but we started by finding a place to wash the grime off the rig from the drive up to the Salmon Glacier. We finished the Cassiar Highway, stopping at the Land of Totems and the Gitgawink Battle Site to learn some history and stretch our legs.
The smoke from the prevalent fires this year in Canada got thicker as we headed toward Prince George. At Witset RV Park and Campground, where we stayed for the night, we could see the helicopters working to put out the fires in the nearby mountains.
Although no one was fishing during our stay, Witset Canyon is a First Nations fishing spot
Friday was September 1st and the beginning of the Labor Day holiday, so the traffic increased as we drove toward Prince George. Smithers is a cute alpine-themed town, and we stopped at Bugwood Coffee for a pumpkin spice latte and gluten-free berry muffin.
In Prince George, we shopped, fueled, washed the rig (again), and boondocked at the WalMart overnight. Prince George is where we “crossed our wake” on our Alaska trip, closing the Loop we started on the way to Dawson Creek and Mile 0 of the Alcan back in early June. We have several boating friends who have completed “The Loop” of the Great Lakes, Mississippi River, and Intracoastal Waterway for whom “crossing their wake” is the celebrated end of the great adventure. We’ve crossed our wake but aren’t finished with this adventure yet!
And about that Loop—we’d need a boat….one we could pull behind the truck….Larry was pretty excited about this setup he saw in the Yukon……
Fifty or so years ago, my paternal grandparents took their sailboat up the inside or outside passage to Alaska every summer well into their eighties. There was always a spectacular slide show when they visited us and stories of their adventures, including a rogue wave in the Pacific that rolled their 40-foot boat. So, it can be done when we’re older (maybe minus the rogue wave….)