Cassier Highway to Stewart BC/Hyder AK and BEARS

It was just over a week ago that we went from the Yukon Territory into British Columbia via the Cassier Highway--another one of those "highways" that are no more than country roads. We were heading for Stewart, BC/Hyder, AK to see the grizzly bears up close as they feed on salmon in Fish Creek!






Fireweed is a beautiful wildflower that grows along roadsides throughout Canada and Alaska. It gets its name because it is one of the first plants that grows after a fire. Here is a perfect example of that.










They say that there are lots of opportunities to see wildlife along here, so we had our eyes glued to the sides of the road. We spotted a few black bears and two foxes.

Fox with its kill

This fox was so close that my telephoto could only get a portrait! I had gotten out of the truck to get a picture when I came face to face with it. It followed me all around  the truck. I kept walking backwards and jumped up onto the trailer hitch between the truck and the trailer and stayed there until it finally walked away. It was a bit scary since I didn't know how the fox would react! But I got a shot!





By sheer coincidence and incredible timing, we ran into some RV friends from Colorado that we had met at a campground way back in early June. They were heading in the same direction, so we decided to travel together for a couple of days. We stopped for the night at Boya Lake Provincial Park just off the highway. It was a beautiful campground and our campsite was right on the lake.

Lee and Sam hanging out at the campsite

Picnic by the river

Continuing down the highway the next day, we stopped for a picnic lunch along the river. Here we are with our new friends, Deb and Sam.

Sam fishing

We made the turn-off onto the Stewart-Hyder Access Road. It's a 40-mile drive through mountains, glaciers, and canyons to the very small town of Stewart, BC and the even smaller town of Hyder, AK just beyond it.

Welcome to Hyder, Alaska

Main Street

Great breakfast after early morning bear watching

the yacht club!

 THE BEARS The main reason that tourists come to this out of the way place is to observe the bears, both black and brown (grizzly) as they fish for salmon in the shallow waters of the creek. Fish Creek Wildlife Observation Area, operated by the US Forest Service, provides a boardwalk with a low wooden fence along a section of the river for viewing. Forest Rangers are there to make sure no one gets too close. They warn that the fence is just a deterrent and that a bear could get over it if it wanted to. They keep bear spray handy just in case. The bears also come out of the creek and walk down the road, so you have to be observant when returning to your car in the parking area.

The best times for bear viewing are early morning and evening, so we drove over on our first evening. When we got there, we were told that there had been a flood the day before that pushed the salmon back to the ocean. They said it would take a few days for them to swim back. No fish means less chance of bears appearing! We hung around for three hours and gave up.

The next morning we got there early only to learn that a big male grizzly had come right after we left the night before! But we were lucky this morning. A female (sow) showed up!

She came out of the creek and ran down the road, then disappeared into the woods.











We discovered that bear viewing takes lots of patience. You can't control nature, so you just have to put in the time. We didn't see anymore bears until the next morning. The same sow showed up and spent a long time searching for fish. She almost got one, but it got away, so she ate grass instead.

S 

As the sow wandered down the creek, a male grizzly (boar) showed up and started walking up the creek. As soon as the sow saw him, she bolted into the woods.

While I waited for bears to show up, I looked for birds to photograph. Here are the ones I saw.

Bald Eagle

Wilson's Warbler

Dipper (They dip their head into the water to catch insects.)

Yellow-rumped Warbler

The other reason tourists visit this area is to view Salmon Glacier. To get there, you have to drive another 21 miles on a narrow, winding, steep gravel road. But it is one of the best views of a glacier that I've seen.

Close-up of blue ice tunnels. The river flows through them.

View from the summit

A marmot along the road

We arrived in Washington today. Alaska and Canada were wonderful, but it's good to be back in the lower 48. After a visit with Laura and Chris, we'll drive down to Oregon and then start heading back east, route to be determined!