Glaciers

In willingly facing the unknown, we offer trust in a greater purpose to life.

Meziadin Junction –> Bell II (177.5 Miles)

I was woken up early by some dogs barking near by. Apparently, a wolf had wandered into the campsite. There’s a ranger on patrol all the time and she scared it away by firing off some blanks. I was kind of thankful that wolf showed up because it gave me an excuse to get an early start to the day. I was heading towards Hyder, AK where I heard you could watch bears fish in the creeks.

The only way to Hyder by road is through Canada. You have to take 37A into Stewart and cross the border. This was by far one of, if not, the best rides I’ve had all trip. The temperature was perfect and the entire time I was surrounded by snowcapped mountains.  Any time I crossed over a bridge I’d feel the temperature drop 10 degrees from the glacial waters I was riding along. The highway was lined with purple flowers.

On the way I stopped by Bear glacier. It’s sad to think that it’s only a a shadow of it’s former self.

When I got to Stewart, I asked the guy at the gas station where I could get some breakfast and his immediate response was the Glacier Inn. I passed into Hyder, but the Glacier Inn didn’t look open and the town seemed empty. I was there kind of early so I continued down the road not knowing where it ended. Turns out it ends at Tongass National Forest.

Right before the pavement ends there’s a wildlife observatory. It’s really just a long boardwalk that let’s you look over the creek to watch the bears fish. Unfortunately, the fish weren’t spawning yet and the bears were no where to be seen.

I spent some time speaking with the rangers to find out what else there was to do and where I could get some food. Their response was the same, the Glacier Inn. Coincidentally, while we were talking, the owner of the Glacier Inn rode up on her bicycle on her way to Salmon Glacier. Turns out, they were closed. The rangers recommended I go visit the“yacht club”, which really is a boat ramp overlooking the waterway. I sat there for about an hour reading  Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and watching the eagles fly around.

As I was leaving a guy from Idaho started talking to me. He said if I was comfortable riding on gravel, which I wasn’t, I needed to take a trip up to Salmon Glacier. While trying to kill time before lunch, I stopped by a general store to see if i could find some wifi. I was looking at some of the postcards and found one of Salmon Glacier. I knew I needed to ride up to see it.

There’s a saying that it’s about the journey not the destination. This ride was totally about the destination. It took me an hour to ride 17 miles. I wasn’t too worried about slipping and falling, I just didn’t want anything to happen to my bike. With my luck I was bound to get a flat. I was fine for the first few miles but then there were potholes, everywhere. At about mile 13, I started to get a glimpse of the glacier and felt like I had gone far enough.

At that moment I remember a story Charles “Cheese” Cossel told me, originally form Lou Holtz, about two guys who swam halfway across a river, both panicked, one swam back and the other continued forward. The moral of the story, both swam the same distance but one made it to his destination. I figured I had gone this far and didn’t have my postcard photo so I continued on. The rest of the ride wasn’t too bad and I was rewarded at the end.

It felt like the ride back down was faster and easier than going up. I’m not sure if there were less potholes on the other side, my confidence was boosted, or both. It’s a good thing I didn’t worry about getting my bike cleaned before leaving because I would have been disappointed after this ride.

By the time I got back to the wildlife observation area I was starving. The rangers recommended I go to “The Bus” for an Alaskan seafood lunch. I’m not much of a seafood fan but I was so hungry I didn’t really care.

I was going to get the hamburger but the lady insisted I get the Halibut. It was caught fresh that day. I ended up getting the halibut fish and chips with a battered hotdog just in case. I wish I would’ve just gotten two orders of the halibut. The meat was whiter than snow and it was like eating the most tender chicken in the world.

When I entered Hyder I had expected to meet border control, but I just strolled right in. On the way out it was a different story. I pretty much played 20 questions with the Canadian border police. Do you have any weapons? No. Do you have any firearms? Ummm, I said I have no weapons . . .

The ride out was just as beautiful and fun as the ride in. I never did get to see any bears, only their droppings on the side of the road. Nonetheless, I had such a great day and didn’t want to mar it with a long and monotonous ride north so I called it an early night at the Bells II Lodge.