After waking up at the mosquito hell hole, I started getting ready to continue north. The lady camping next to me at Mezidian Lake was packing up at the same time as me, and I struck up conversation with her. She is from Homer, AK and thinks I should take the 5 hr round trip drive to Homer when I’m in Anchorage. Hmmm maybe? Sounds like a lot. She starts showing me pics of awesome hiking trails there and gorgeous vistas from mountain tops. Ok, I’m sold, how do I get there? What’s the trail name? Oh, you have to get on a ferry which is $70 a person to go across the bay to this tiny peninsula. I suppose the only reason these areas are still so nice and wild is lack of access…
As I say my farewells to my new friend and start my drive, I finally realize that I cannot be hiking here alone. The trails are seldom used, and bears are literally everywhere. As I was having this deep, reflective thought, I see what I think is a moose ahead of me on the road shoulder! I’ve never seen a moose! As I slow down and peer harder, the animal turns its head and… It’s a god damn grizzly. Hollllyyy shit it’s huge. And skinny… It looks pretty sad actually, like a gangly teen that has shot up in height but hasn’t quite filled out yet. It’s shaggy, brown fun looks like a matted faux fur rug you’d find in a shitty place like TJ Maxx (PS I love TJ Maxx, but they would not have a real fur rug).
Alright. I need to stop being sad about not hiking in Canada, and just wait until I get Cas up here. At least she can call for help on the GPS while I’m getting mauled.
For today, I’ve got my sights set on a recreations site just north of Iskut, and south of Dease Lake along the Cassiar Hwy. Everything I’ve read about this road in my Milepost Bible says gas is infrequent, there’s no cell service, and the road is shit. Truth be told, it wasn’t that bad. Gas stations are found about every 100 miles, so as long as you top off at each one, you’re totally fine. There was no cell service or even a radio station to listen to, so I just put my audio book on my portable speaker. It’s my second time listening to “A Walk in the Woods” by Bill Bryson, but I don’t mind. That reminds me, I need to buy another audio book… As far as the road condition, sure there were no lines or stripes, and about 1/3 was gravel, but overall I though it was quite nice. I wouldn’t want to be driving a super nice RV on it, but it was a breeze with the Tundra. No complaints. Wait I have a complaint. Why in the hell did my CD player decide to die?? I brought alllll these old school CD’s from my youth back from Pensacola with me, and now you shit the bed? Not cool….
As for the recreation site, Canada does this thing where they offer loads of free recreation. Want to go to a Provincial Park? Free entry. Want to camp for free? Here’s 40 free sites scattered across the state, at great intervals for travelers. All with access to all size vehicles. Want to camp along a beautiful lake and have full hook ups? 22$. Don’t want people littering? Have bear proof trash cans at every stop and camping location. I could go on, but seriously. Canada has it figured out. The people here may be weird, but they have figured out how to accommodate the tourism and travel industry. At least British Columbia has.
After my uneventful drive, I pull up at the recreation site I’m planning on staying at, and pick a nice spot somewhat near a privy, and away from the lake. I don’t want a re-run of last night. Nothing too eventful happened here. It was definite bear habitat, so I stayed near the truck. Read a bit, organized the truck, made some tea, and worked on the bug dilemma. The mosquitoes were not as bad here, but still had a presence. How in the hell are they still getting in? Then, it hit me. There’s road dirt near where the tailgate attaches to the truck body. Dust has found it’s way up to my pull out shelves and even onto the sleeping bag near the tailgate. I overlooked this before, but it’s a clue. If dust and small rocks are getting in from under the truck, that’s gotta be where the mosquitoes are coming in from too. As I get on the ground and get under the truck, I can see straight up into my living space. I’m such an idiot…. This is a huge canal for insect…
So, I shove my mosquito net in this linear space. That was it. No more mosquitoes in the cab. Plus I haven’t totally shut off my air flow by having the mesh there. Win win.
I slept hard and long that night, as I didn’t sleep much at all the previous night. As I venture more and more north, the days are getting incredibly long. Sunset happens around midnight now, and it never actually goes completely dark. Just twilight for a few hours until the sun is right back up at 4:30 am. It’s nice to be able to go out for a pee without a headlamp.
The next day, I make it to the Alaskan Highway and start heading West. I was sure that this major highway was going to have cell service, which was very exciting after multiple days without it. I wanted to talk to Cas, and tell my dad I was still alive and well. But, as I rounded the turn and drove for some time, there was no service to be found. The next big town was hours away, and I finally realized I was in for another cell-less night. It’s not a big deal really, but I do like to check in every few days. And this is the longest I had been without being able to do that.
While being upset about the lack of phone service, I missed a gas station. Shit. I look at my milepost and see the next one is 250 miles. Double shit. With my gas on its last quarter tank, I pull into a recreation site to spend the night, and drop 5 gallons in from my roof stash. I knew this would come in handy at some point! As I’m getting ready for the night, a dad and 2 kids pull up and start making dinner for themselves. They have a coon hound named Fritter wandering around, and I made quick pup friends. Eventually the guy wanders over and we start chatting. He’s from Anchorage and headed to the lower 48 for vacation. Huh, the ol’ switcharoo eh? Funny to think of Alaskans wanting to come south, but it makes sense. He and his kids tell me about multiple hiking trails in Anchorage, and tell me to hike after running clubs go through an area in the morning. They flush out the wildlife… Great idea!
As they pack up to continue driving after dinner, I say goodbye and give Fritter one last rub down. It seems everyone here has a dog…. I’m jealous. The next day brings me to Whitehorse, the capital of the Yukon Territory and the promise of cell service and beer. I am very excited for this….