Northbound- The Long Road to Alaska
The road to Alaska is a long one, we never thought it would be a short trip by any stretch of the imagination but it still ended up taking longer than anticipated. Plans on this trip seem to change daily and our route to Alaska was not immune to our ‘whichever way the wind blows’ travel planning technique. Originally we planned to travel through the Canadian Rockies to the Alaskan Highway and northward, however somehow we found ourselves in the Washington Cascades and needed to do some alternative route finding. At the risk of sounding a little cheesy we opened up our Milepost, which would turn out to be an indispensable resource for this trip, and started route finding. There are surprisingly quite a few route options and variations one can take to get to Alaska and each offers some unique scenery. After much deliberation we settled what was to be the more scenic and remote route. Our route would take us up the Sea to Sky Highway, portions of the Yellowhead Highway, the Cassiar Highway and finally joining into the Alaskan highway in the Yukon.
The Sea to Sky Highway was the first portion of the trip and is a particularly scenic drive from Vancouver to Whistler and on to Lillooet, BC. Driving was somewhat slow and arduous but the mountain terrain was spectacular, the weather however, did not seem to want to cooperate. For the first time since leaving Maine, fog and rain began to be the dominant weather pattern and a pattern that has plagued us ever since.
Camping along Sea to Sky Highway
We then traversed the Yellowhead Highway from Prince George to the junction with the Cassiar Highway. The Cassiar is 450 plus miles of sometimes narrow two lane road with some gravel thrown in for fun. It covers some of the more remote parts of British Columbia and passes through some rugged mountain country. We spent two days on the Cassiar Highway- most of it spent in rain and fog.
Nass River | Cassiar Highway
Gitwangak, BC
After a side trip down the Stewart/Hyder Road, also known as the valley of tears for all the waterfalls hanging from the surrounding mountain and our first glacier sighting of the trip, we finally got to Kinaskan Lake for the night. A rather nice lakeside campground but unfortunately the scenery has been marred by an obnoxious new power line running to the East.
Stewart-Hyder Road, BC
The rain kept following us northward despite our best attempts to outrun it, even passing up scenic campsites such a Boya Lake in the process. The next morning we were rewarded with blue skies and sunshine in the Yukon. With the weather looking good for a few days we decided to take a side trip down to Atlin, BC to do some hiking. Atlin is and eclectic little lake town surrounded by some spectacular mountains that leaves you wondering how it came to be out here in the middle of nowhere. Situated on the 90 mile long Atlin Lake the largest natural lake in BC, it is home to an annual arts and music festival, which we missed by just a week, and boasts a wood fired coffee roaster. We hiked the local Monarch Mountain overlooking Atlin Lake and then retired to their interesting little town campground called Pine Creek for the evening. The next day we stocked up on coffee, and as luck would have it fresh caught salmon at the TaKu Salmon Company and were on our way.
Monarch Mountain Hike Overlooking Atlin Lake | Atlin, BC
Pine Creek Campground | Atlin, BC
Our last evening in the Yukon was spent at Kusawa Lake enjoying fresh salmon and some of the delicious beer we picked up at the Yukon’s only brewery in Whitehorse. The brewery had a surprisingly large variety of beer styles, definitely a something for everyone type of place. We went with their interesting birch sap ale and their white IPA. After several nights at different Yukon Provincial campgrounds they have easily become some of our favorites of the trip for both value and scenery. They are clean, well kept, and come with complimentary dry firewood all for just $12 Canadian/night- what a bargain.
Camp Cooking- Fresh local wild salmon from TaKu Salmon outside Atlin, BC
Info:
Resources/Maps: Milepost- Alaskan Travel Planner
Entrance Fees: None for this part of the trip
Camping: British Columbia has nice Provincial Parks and State Recreation Areas ranging from free to $20. Atlin, BC Pine Creek municipal campground was $10 payable at any local retailer. Yukon Government Campgrounds were excellent and appear to all be $12 and include firewood!!! *** All prices are in Canadian Dollars
Pets: Pets are welcome at all the parks and trails we visited
Tips: The Milepost is an indispensable resource- be sure to have one. Cell phone coverage isspotty and limited. Watch your fuel on the Cassiar- there are only two rather expensive gas stations along the road. Atlin, BC is definitely worth the 60 mile side trip, be sure to pick up some locally roasted coffee. Be sure to have Canadian currency and plenty of small bills - the campgrounds are cash only self service. Remember this is bear country- don’t forget to carry bear spray at all times.
