As you can see from the feature photo, we were finally were able to watch bears interact and chomp on Salmon. Yay! More on that a bit later.
We left Continental Divide RV Park, with a quick stop for fuel in Watson Lake, and headed south on the Stewart-Cassiar Highway. The 450-mile Cassiar is a scenic, two-lane road driving through mountains and following along rivers and lakes. This is only the second road which connects British Columbia to Alaska. It started in 1959 where roadways for mining, logging, and communities were connected and by 1975 the entire route was completed and named Highway 37, the northwesternmost highway in British Columbia.
Our first stop along the Cassiar was Jade City. British Columbia has 90% of the world’s nephrite Jade, which is the most valuable type of jade with its dark “spinach” green color. As we strolled through the store admiring so many different pieces, jewelry, etc. carved from the jade excavated, we were surprised how expensive it was, confirming its rarity. Jade is culturally significant for the Chinese, where it is believed to have spiritual and healing properties.
The owners of the store in Jade City have been mining jade in the area for over 35 years. They also had a Discovery Channel reality TV series, “Jade Fever,” which aired season 7 in 2021.
In speaking to one of the workers in the store, we learned about a ban in mining jade, so I did a bit more research. I hope you don’t mind, but I found it quite interesting and wanted to share. It seems that the Tahltan Central Government (Native Americans whose land the mining is on) has publicly objected to jade mining on its territories. In 2020, the province of British Columbia implemented a temporary ban on jade placer mining. After the last season of Jade Fever aired, the Tahltan government demanded an end to the reality TV show also stating that the government had not gone far enough with its ban. A few months thereafter, the ban was extended to include hard rock jade mining noting that the remote locations of the mines make permitting, compliance, and enforcement difficult.
Then, in 2024, the British Columbia government officially banned all new jade mining enterprises in the northwest and gave a 5-year “wind-down” period for existing mining with “enhanced regulatory requirements”. Government officials said they have been working closely with First Nations (Native Americans) to address concerns about the effects of jade mining on the sensitive alpine environments and are working with the current jade mining companies about incoming regulations.
The owners of the two primary jade mining companies in the area were stunned. They thought the government was going to announce a reform of the province’s jade mining industry in the northwest – not a total shutdown. In response, the two companies have filed lawsuits against the British Columbia government.
In speaking to the worker, she believed a lot of it had to do with the two Native American groups in the area, rather than environmental issues, as gold and silver mining were not affected. I bet this dispute will be going on for a long time.
As we continued down the scenic Cassiar Highway, we stopped overnight at Kinaskan Lake Park, a Candaian Provincial Park. It was gorgeous! Dave did an excellent job of picking this stop. Our campsites were right on the lake, so Murphy had a great day of swimming and hiking on a lakeside trail.
We took the opportunity to have a campfire at this gorgeous spot, so guess what that means? Yep, another S’mores variation. I had found “Frank struts his stuff” Tutti Fruitti marshmallows in a Canadian grocery store. I thought this variation needed something else, so I bought Starburst gummies. All 3 of us that tried this variation gave it a thumbs up and Dave enjoyed a traditional S’mores as well.
Before leaving the next morning, Greg drove us to a nearby trail which led to the top of Cascade Falls. Ms. Eagle Eyes Helen spotted many blueberries along with way which she and I enjoyed the sweet treat. Murphy ate a few as well. The view from the top was great but we wish we could see the falls from the bottom. We found another trail which leads to the bottom, but you must hike a canoe in to the lake, paddle across the lake, and then hike down another trail. If only we had a canoe. The picture shown below from the bottom of the falls is from the campground’s website.
Our last stop for this blog is in Stewart, BC which right next to Hyder, AK. Hyder is the southernmost city of Alaska that can be reached by car and the Alaska’s most easternmost town. By car, you can only get to Hyder through Stewart. As of 2022, Hyder had a population of 16 (2022). After setting up camp, we drove across the border to Hyder to eat at “The Bus,” which we heard had great Fish ‘n Chips. Unfortunately, the actual bus was closed due to COVID, so now it is “The Cabin” with the same fresh Halibut Fish ‘n chips. The owner’s husband is a commercial halibut fisherman who we also had the pleasure of meeting. When we placed our orders, she said this fish was “wiggling” this morning. It was scrumptious and most definitely very fresh fish.
Saving the best part of this week for last, Dave and I were finally able to see bears catching salmon. If you remember, Greg and Helen were able to see this on Kodiak Island. Every other place we had gone we were either too early or too late, or just missed the bears (like in Haines, AK). After our yummy Fish ‘n chips dinner in Hyder, we headed over to the Wildlife Viewing Platform along Fish Creek, where bears have been seen as the creek is full of salmon heading to spawn.
When at the “The Cabin”, a Forest Service Officer we met shared that a brown bear (grizzly) they have named Runner was there around 2 p.m. He also said there is an older bear often seen there named “Tufts,” which chases Runner away, hence his name. Tufts got his name due to two tufts on each side of his head. Off we go to hopefully see bears!
After hanging out on the viewing platform for about an hour with no bear sightings, we decided to head back. We were staying several days in Stewart, so we could return. As we were buying 3-day passes, one of the ranger’s radioed and said Runner was heading toward the bridge (which crosses Fish creek). I ran and got Dave from the truck and we went back in.
Success! Runner was walking under the bridge and heading downstream for his dinner. I took pictures of Runner chasing down his salmon dinner (and discarding several as they were not females), and eating the roe and skin on the shore.
And then Tufts showed up quite a bit downstream. At first, I do not think they saw each other as Runner continued downstream toward Tufts. But then, Runner smelled or heard Tufts and stood up. Yep, Tufts was there so what did Runner do? He turned around a ran upstream, true to his name. Tufts stood up and watched Runner run (I missed getting that picture). Runner then stopped and just stood in the middle of the creek and watched Tufts.
From then on, it was quite interesting watching Runner. As Tufts was getting nearer to Runner, he headed up the side of the hill onto the highway that parallels the creek. We watched him walked down the highway and re-enter the creek now downstream of Tufts. Tufts was keeping an eye on Runner, but was more interested in catching his dinner. One time as they got closer again, Runner went back up to the road and re-entered the creek, this time upstream of Tufts. I do not understand why Runner did not just head further upstream, near the bridge and farther away from Tufts. But bears will be bears.
Early the next morning, Greg & Helen headed back to the viewing platform, this time Helen had her monster camera lens. Unfortunately, they just missed a sow (female adult bear) and a younger male. But they did see Runner again, right as he was headed back toward the bridge back into the mountains.
We hope to make several more stops at the viewing platform before we leave in a few days. We shall see if we have more bear pictures for you in the next blog.
So excited to see the bears Brenda, Bears! Dave, and can’t we go back to the campsite on the lake Murphy.
Bears being bears! Gorgeous scenery pics. But the euphoric sensations upon viewing Runner and Tufts was palpable. Thanks for sharing. Great job, you guys, great job.
Happy Birthday Brenda! What a great place to celebrate your day! Wishing you a beautiful day, more bear adventures and safe travels as you continue your journey southbound! The blogs are amazing and I see a book in the making!
Happy Birthday with much Love and hugs to all!
Annie