Salmon Glacier — Local services in Stewart

Driving home to North Pole on the good ol Synthesizer hwy (Casio hwy...Cassiar...get it? rofl...my lil brother made that up in like 82, we were both under 10. ) We regularly (2-3x per year+) made the approximately 4000 mile trip from Fairbanks to the Ozarks to Gran and GPAs house, with mom...(and sometimes dad + fattylardash, our older adult brother) and usually Nona and or Nancy, mom's crew.

Sounds nice? Oh did I forget to mention lil b and me had to ride in the bed of the truck? Oh I didn't say it was a pickup truck, and we traveled in all seasons? Oic...now dont freak out, we didn't die, we had a topper, but not a camper or anything...just a simple white fiberglass roof and leaky windows, allowing us to not die along the alcan...many sleeping bags kept us warm, but it was the loud, loud monster below that eventually drove us mad.

Oh right, I forget...truck was also veddy veddy nice, with 429 Interceptor lifted and maybe lifted twice, with 41s (dads hwy tires...the 44s swapped out before we left home...lil b and I dreaded exiting the great white canadoodlian north, reaching the lower 48, as that meant 100% pavement until we arrived on the farm.

Oh, yeah, last one, the tires were not hwy, fyi, they had ginormous tread like a tractor road grater...under the topper lid, wrapped in pickup bed sheet metal, trying not to freeze or be crushed by cargo the tires tried to fly! Not really but, ever been in a helicopter? Imagine you had to eat that helicopter while in a helicopter, and it was an eating contest with 4000 helicopters you had to eat.

The metal bed amplified it so bad we feared the brown tone, and we refused to eat south of Banff. our almost deaf cousin once said it was the first sound she had heard in 20 years. Summers were worse, think hotbox pow torture...add +25 to ambient temp...over 90F outside equaled possibly cooking my brain in there. Anyway Cassiar = Casio hwy...

So, driving home to AK, my passenger was on her first trip north of the Northgate mall ever, and had only experienced dirt roads growing up on a farm.

Silently one morning...turned left instead of right, got passported, explained Canada was not 'all done, so quick' as she looked puzzled at the local signage.  We said a quick hello to an old bear friend who stays on the west side, then dropped some paper communications at the usps and checked road conditions as it was still Spring.

...much Love to my 4runner, no issues, but did need 4low w diff lox due to runoff all over.  ....and had to firmly reassure my passenger this was the CORRECT hwy through Canada to Alaska!   Horrible of me but it was hilarious...told her the road, or trail as she called it,  was gonna just get worse for a few more days.

Stopped at glacier, set up videocam (this was prior to cell phones) as she checked out the view.  It was the mindblowingly gorgeous average day up top at Salmon Glacier, sun beaming gleaming and streaming.  the best part was that it had been overcast, drizzly,  and fog/misty the whole drive up...then eventually you get high enough to be above the weather and ...BANG, welcome to sunny Califo, i mean sunny Canada!

i joined her but faced her with Sal to my back...she tried to turn me round, not understanding the impending hystrionics she would soon fall into...kneeling, i removed the ring i had been worriedly hiding, but god forbid not misplacing, since we had embarked.  Never has that ring shone like it did there atop the world, the rays bouncing off the Salmon somehow seemed even brighter than those from overhead.

Simply, i asked for her cute little hand, there, on one knee...just us and my old friend Sal cheering me on in deafening silence, classic Sal...proclamations of yes rang out for a good 800 minutes or so.

she was also happy to learn this wasnt the HWY to Alaska.

love you onefromchicken.

...........Moral of our story kids? Always propose marriage many miles up the side of a mountain in the middle of nowhere, with the only car keys firmly in YOUR pocket.

...she wont say...

Plan on taking the entire day when you drive this route. From Stewart BC and across the border into Alaska (there's no US border crossing other than a sign) and through to the Fish Creek Wildlife Observation site it's paved. After that it's a gravel road maintained by the mining companies in the area, and it's really rough and keep in mind how high it is, so expect snow on the road in May and probably even into June. We took our little Yamaha 250CC through there but we saw quite a variety of vehicles, except motorhomes. You eventually cross back into Canada (with a nice welcome sign) and then you get to the observation point, with benches and bathrooms. There are many viewing opportunities on the entire road, and you can continue on from the observation point to the foot of the glacier itself. We ran across one couple in a truck camper that stayed overnight at that spot. I'm guessing lots of folks do that.

It's really beautiful.

If you can swing it, go in August or September when the grizzly bears are feeding, spend the $10 or so to go into the Fish Creek site, and watch the bears feed. It's crazy!

While in Hyder, eat at the Bus Fish and Chips shop (no longer in a bus, but still amazing fish and chips), stop for some fudge, and get Hyderized at the Glacier Inn.

On the way back, prepare for the Canadian Border Services folks to grill you on what you did and what you bought. I found it quite funny as the only thing to do is to view the glacier and the only thing to buy that you can bring back is the fudge! Just doing their...

The glacier is absolutely spectacular due to its sheer magnitude. I doubt anyone could adequately express it in words. This location is indeed breathtaking , however there are active mines nearby, and I find it terrible that the government has permitted such activity so close to a glacier when everyone knows that our glaciers are receding at a worrying rate. Helicopters and drilling equipment were visible. I suppose the mining firms maintain the road. As this unpaved road brings you to an elevation of 4000 feet, you must drive very carefully on it as it is entirely made of gravel. Additionally, because so many other identified and unnamed glaciers surround the road, it is particularly vulnerable to avalanches. Don’t forget to look around and up as you’ll be able to see other glaciers too. Don’t forget to pack some snacks as you wouldn’t want to leave that...