The original plan for the day was to start at the Fish Creek Wildlife Observation Site. As we approached we could see through the trees that there was no action in Fish Creek or crowds on the boardwalk. Which told us no bears were present. It was raining so we moved on.
Salmon Glacier was next. Although located in British Columbia, to access the Salmon Glacier you have to drive through Hyder, Alaska. This breathtaking glacier is the largest glacier in North America that you can access by road.
To get there the unpaved gravel dirt Granduc Road climbs steadily up the valley. This valley has been created by the withdrawal and runoff of the Salmon Glacier, the 5th largest glacier in Canada. The drive has some pretty incredible scenery. There were many beautiful waterfalls along the way. The road is washboarded and where it’s not there’s plenty of pot holes! The rain and low clouds were not allowing for a full view of Salmon Glacier but it was still spectacular what we could see. We were thankful for the viewing area above the glacier, as after the 23 miles one way on that road, you need a break. Our speed was between 5 to 12 mph the entire way! The anticipated one hour drive up took us two hours.
Premier Gold Project is located in this area. Granduc Mine is up here as well. It was an active copper mine between 1964 and 1984. During Granduc Mine’s heyday in the 1970s, workers were transported daily by bus from Stewart up the Granduc Road, but in winter the heavy snows at this point made the road unsafe, so the mining company built a mile-long tunnel through the mountain. Our highest elevation today was 3,710 feet compared to just 40’ in Hyder.
A few miles further from the Salmon Glacier viewpoint we found the south entrance to this tunnel and it was our turning around point. Interesting place. I figured it would have been completely blocked off from entry. Our return was probably a bit faster since it was downhill all the way.
Fish Creek Wildlife Observation Site was on our radar to stop at on our return. As we arrived we were told a brown bear was out in the creek eating! Yesterday it was a black bear. This massive brown bear was another interesting observation of a bear eating salmon. Notice I didn’t say catching. This guy was very big and so slow. He couldn’t catch a live fish so he smelt around the water looking for the freshest of the dead.
Finally after we watched him eat three Chum Salmon and some berries along the edge of the creek he wandered off into the bushes to probably nap. We departed and as we were heading out on the road, in the truck, this bear now crosses the road in front of us. Jett doesn’t like bears. She saw him and barked. He stopped and looked our way. We did our best to quiet her. He eventually finished crossing the road and went on his way.
Once back in town I had to do a drive by The Bus. Since we are departing Hyder tomorrow I needed to double check that she was definitely closed. I really wanted some Fish and Chips. And she was closed.
Sunset:7:50 pm
Sunrise: 5:34 am
Wildlife viewings:
Chum Salmon
Brown Bear
Seagulls
*Note: The last 12 pictures were taken on my Nikon camera.
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