Cassiar hwy, July 2011

[Devils Paw 80]

A few words and photos on my recent trip. The plan was to sleep in the back of the Cruiser, avoiding campgrounds if possible. It started with a 6hr. ferry ride from home to Skagway, AK. I regret not having the camera out for this portion because several humpback whales were seen at fairly close range, putting on a nice show. Also, one lone Orca was spotted. I had a late, 11PM arrival but there was still enough light to find a recommended spot just outside town, with picnic tables and toilets. No one else was there for the duration of my stay.
At 5AM I started up the foggy Klondike hwy to the Canadian border.
It's a very steep run, and-Christ!-my AT oil temp light came on right at the top of the pass. It had never done that in the 8 yrs I've owned it. I shut it off for a couple minutes before proceeding. It seemed to be fine. Shortly thereafter, the border agent admired my 62, saying you don't see many in good shape anymore. Turns out he owns a JDM diesel 60 series, but I was unable to get a look at it. Here's a photo a bit further into Canada on the Klondike:

 

[Devils Paw 80]

Other than the customs agent, this is the only live body I saw on the Hwy before Carcross.

 

[Devils Paw 80]

I picked up the Alaska Hwy out of Carcross, in order to access the Cassiar. The turn to the Cassiar off the Alcan is a few miles before Watson Lake. During this stretch, I encountered an 80 series heading in the opposite direction. Here's the turnoff:

 

[Devils Paw 80]

The North half of the Cassiar is a somewhat rough road, with many hills and valleys. I don't believe it'd make for a fun bicycle trip. There was much evidence of recent forest fire activity here in the first 20 miles or so. True to form, the colorfully flowered fireweed plant can be seen sprouting to life on the burned forest floor.

 

[Devils Paw 80]

I stopped at Dease Lake for fuel and a meal. I had also fueled at the turnoff spot. BTW, gas ran about 1.45/liter on the Cassiar, which is about $6/gallon. Just past the townsite, I ran across a sad sight at the local junkyard (See below). I camped by a lake near Gnat Pass, at 4000 ft. the highest point on the Hwy. It should be named Mosquito pass, because the mosquitoes were extremely agressive at finding their way into the cruiser. I had to cover all vents, as they just kept coming. Nevertheless, this was a beautiful spot that I once again had to myself.

Edit: Found a photo of Gnat Lake, at the pass. This was really a great spot for waking up to start a new day. The mosquitoes weren't present in the early AM, possibly due to cooler temps.

 

[NQCruiser]

I stopped at Dease Lake for fuel and a meal. I had also fueled at the turnoff spot. BTW, gas ran about 1.45/liter on the Cassiar, which is about $6/gallon.

Nice photo's and trip report so far!!

I feel your pain - just paid 149.9c/L to fill up on diesel at home here today - been like that for months now. I haven't been in a tearing rush to put my long range tank in yet....

 

[landcruiserjunky]

Awesome trip!

 

[Devils Paw 80]

For those not versed on this highway, the Cassiar is an alternative to the Alcan as a N/S route between Alaska, Canada and the lower US. It's the shorter, more scenic and less traveled of the two, intersecting with the Yellowhead highway about 200 miles east of Prince Rupert. There were a handful of brief road work delays, nothing more than 10-15 minutes. I talked with another Alaskan later on in Cache Creek, BC who regretted taking the Alcan south. He encountered 6 hour delays, plural, on his trip!
Dease lake is about half way through. From here south, the road is nice, and more scenic. Here's a shot somewhere along the way.

 

[Devils Paw 80]

I saw two of these guys on the road, heading north. On the Yellowhead, I talked with the driver of this identically loaded truck at a rest stop. He was in a group of 200 of them, heading to Mayo, YT with their load of pipe for a hydro electric project.

 

[Devils Paw 80]

I should have counted the cars seen on the Cassiar. Not many! I did count the bears-ten-and the moose-two. Still in day two, I stopped at Bell 2 for gas before turning off for Stewart/Hyder. Bell 2 features the world's slowest gas pump. They turned off the second pump because it made pump 1 even slower. Glad I did gas here though, as there no longer is a station at the Glacier Hwy. intersection. Yet another bear:

 

[MANUCHAO]

Cassiar Hwy it a great drive..
SUPER scenic and full of wild life.. !!!

I think I saw more wild life per mile on the cassiar hwy than I did in AK.
Thanks for posting... it sure bring memories from when we drove it !!!

We saw two riders pulling a Ibex trailer behind their bikes at the top/ north section of the hwy !!!
That must of been one hell of an adventure !!!

 

[Devils Paw 80]

The positive comments are appreciated. Although the previous photos may give the impression my driving was mostly in rain, it wasn't actually very rainy. A few brief showers were welcome, as they kept the dust and dead bug build up down.
One of my goals on this trip was to make the 64 mile side trip to Stewart/Hyder, along the "Glacier Highway". I was fortunate to have a beautiful, partly cloudy and high 60's F day for this leg. If you're interested in spectacular glacier and mountain scenery, this route is a "must see". The Icefields Parkway between Banff and Jasper isn't as impressive, IMO. There are about 10 hanging glaciers along this route, and two glaciers that come right down close to the road.

 

[Devils Paw 80]

Here's the Bear glacier. Some of you may recognize it from the movie "Insomnia". John Carpenter's "The Thing" was also filmed in this area.

 

[Devils Paw 80]

Stewart, B.C. is a beautiful little community at the end of the Portland canal, which is one of the longest ocean canals in the world. They get abundant rain and snow, holding BC's record snowfall in one year at over 900 inches. That's pretty impressive for a sea level location. I parked on the "main drag", then jogged around town to get a little exercise and check out the neighborhoods. There was a nice, white 62 with New Mexico plates parked by a house. It looked somewhat like my 62's double, with the same rear bumper, extended shackles and clean. This is the canal side of Stewart, on the way to Hyder.

 

[Devils Paw 80]

Although less than 2 miles away, Hyder, AK is not as attractive as Stewart. I did see a nice looking 40 parked along the road, so stopped to take a look. The owner came out of his shop, where he was working at rebuilding a window regulator, and talked Cruisers with me for awhile. Here's Dan and his pretty clean '74 40.

 

[Devils Paw 80]

The next stop on the itinerary was the Salmon Glacier, which is not only impressive for it's size but also it's access, as one can practically drive right up to it. There's an excellent bear viewing area early on this road, but the salmon hadn't come in yet so I didn't stop there. The road to the Salmon is 23 miles out of Hyder, which doesn't sound too bad. Unfortunately, the recent dry spell here made this gravel road extremely dusty. Also, there seemed to be more cars on this route than the entire Cassiar, with even a couple motor homes going for it. Not only was it dusty, it was rough and steep. It wasn't fun getting stuck behind a car gonig 10 MPH, nor was it fun meeting a truck going 40. After about half way, when I got a view of the glacier's toe, I decided to head back. I was looking forward to a delicious, fresh king salmon lunch waiting for me back at " The Bus" restaurant in Hyder. Here's the Salmon from above:

 

[Devils Paw 80]

I finished a long day by driving back to the Cassiar, then 98 miles to the Yellowhead highway and finally to New Hazelton for the night. Eventually, I would meet my family in Seattle and go on with the 62 to Banff and Jasper for sightseeing and hiking, before returning to the Yellowhead for the drive to Prince Rupert, where we picked up the Alaska Ferry back home. In all, the Cruiser logged 3300+ miles. The AT oil light came on one more time, right out of Radium Hot Springs on the steep section of Hwy 93. This shouldn't be happening and is an issue that will need to be explored/dealt with. On the other hand, I don't believe the 3FE burned or leaked a drop of oil over the entire trip.
The Canadian Rockies are fantastic, but the highlight of my extended road trip was the Cassiar, with Stewart/Hyder, because they're so remote and beautiful. I also greatly enjoyed the small communities in BC we visited on the return trip, and discovered the best hard cider I've yet tried in Prince Rupert. Rupert, BTW, is really cool. It reminds me of Juneau, AK about 30-40 years ago. The cider is Okanagan (sp?), a delicious, local product. Here's the Athabasca glacier in Alberta, just to prove the cruiser was there. The Icefields Parkway has a few high summits to climb, but no AT light there.

I saw a 40 and 60 series near Smithers, BC, a couple 100's in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho and one 80 on the Alcan, but that was it for Cruiser road spottings in the 3300 miles. I also saw two 80's parked along roadways for sale, and one 40 for sale.

Cruiser comments, other than the customs agent already mentioned: A lady at Lake Louise said "nice truck". A guy in Jasper, who owns 2nd gen Toyota 4x4 pickup, said the 62 was his "dream truck".

 

[northwest60]

I just returned from the Cassiar and points north in my HJ60 also camping in the back.counted 14 bears on the Cassiar going north 16 south.I was able to rescue many parts from that bj60 in Dease Lake on the way back after having been all the way up the Dempster Hwy to Inuvik and over to AK on the Top Of the World Hwy
I will post the Dempster trip separately as you have covered the Cassiar quite nicely

 

[ForealBoreal]

Its a shame that you didn't stop by and say hi in Rupert!

 

[Devils Paw 80]

Yup. Next time!