August 4, 2007 - 2 Chicks, 2 Wheels - Gravel, Grizzlies, & Glaciers! (Dease Lake, BC to Hyder, AK) - Part 3



Continued From Part 2 - Click Here To Go Back


  While at Fish Creek watching monster size salmon elude the massive claws of hungry bears, we were advised going up the road to Salmon Glacier was not to be missed.  The couple that made the suggestion couldn't tell us exactly how far “up the road” and, strangely, neither could my GPS.  In fact, my GPS didn't even reflect the road existed.  Nonetheless, since the sun was still fairly high and it was simply perfect conditions (mid-70s, dry) we took off on the same road as Fish Creek heading away from Hyder.  Given we had just left the bears, Kobi and I both were in a sort of daze with the whole experience.  Well, we quickly found out the Salmon Glacier road was no place to process anything other than what immediately presented to the senses... WOW!  Here is our journey going up to the summit of Salmon Glacier, a bit beyond, and then coming back down

Gotta give the chick some credit.  For not being a fan of shall we say “non-paved” surfaces, she was a trooper.  In fact, when I questioned at this juncture if we should continue I got a “HECK YEAH!”:

Scenic, desolate, and where you can see for miles....

Salmon Glacier road is just a few miles northwest from the middle of Hyder... as in Hyder, AK of the United States.  I was quite confused when I came upon this sign and pointed it out to Kobi:

I was so hyper-focused on a Grizzly possibly wandering out in front of me that I wasn't expecting to see the little half-tan/half-black marmot that appeared beside the shoulder of the road.  It made me wonder what large predator (mountain lion, wolf, etc) might be next in the road wanting it for dinner.

Interesting “shoulder” of the road, eh?:

We came across on old mine though I don't know much about it other than the area where we ended up turning around several miles later was a deserted area called “Happy Valley”, so named according to one of the USFS folks I met at Fish Creek, “because when the mine was active it was the only area where the women were allowed.” 

After turning the bike around, I parked and walked over to the edge, taking a minute to just be thankful to be alive.. and of course, able to SEIZE THE JOURNEY!:

This is what I was looking at:

Another stop where Kobi and I basically just repeated the word “WOW!”:

Back on the road and ready to tackle the 25 miles back to Hyder (yes, 50 miles round trip):

The saying is in Alaska is “Everything is bigger here” and as far as potholes goes, I'd say they're right on: 

A side view of Salmon Glacier...

...and a front view:

How often do you see a glacier in your rear view mirror? 

On the back, someone else had made it up to the summit, so we stopped and asked if they'd take our photo:

We met Patrick from Manhattan, NY who was most intrigued with our “2 Chicks, 2 Wheels” adventure and was shocked we had “climbed this treacherous road on a motorcycle”.  We met him again in Hyder and he said he took a few photos with his camera of us riding down.  He also offered to email the photos to us (thanks, Patrick!  ).

After making it back down to sea level, we had to pass Fish Creek again to make it back to our hotel in Hyder.  Of course, we just had to stop again.    The viewing deck is open from 6a-10p, but since there are no gates on the road or even creekside you're free to just go wander around if you happen to be of the disrespectful persuasion or perhaps just suicidal.

Back to the bears... I must say that I didn't realize that Grizzlies were so unsuccessful fishing.  I have no idea what the official word is on the fishing skills of Grizzly Bears, but I can say that of the countless attempts by several Grizzlies that I witnessed that their success rate was at best 10%, maybe even as low as 5%.  For some reason, I guess I believed if they wanted a fish they'd simply walk into a river and get it.  The river was not jammed packed with salmon like Kobi and I saw in Valdez (for those river photos, click: HERE) but there were certainly enough to feed even the most ravenous bear.

Photos from our second stop at Fish Creek:

  If all this wasn't cool enough, once the Grizzly was done eating the remaining carcass was had by a Bald Eagle:

At one point, there was a Bald Eagle about ten feet away from a Golden Eagle.  They were both enjoying a salmon dinner when a juvenile eaglet landed and perhaps thought kids should eat when they determine they're hungry.  If he had a tail, it would have been tucked as he flew away after the encounter with both birds!  I was unable to capture this exchange on camera but I won't be forgetting it!  We stayed at Fish Creek until both Kobi and I had reached sensory overload, not to mention a level of physical exhaustion. The day's final GPS reading...

...which certainly doesn't reflect the extent or intensity of today's journey, which we have named “Gravel, Grizzlies, & Glaciers!”

AGirl

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