| August 5, 2007 - 2 Chicks, 2 Wheels ... and a GRIZZLY! (Hyder, AK to Prince Rupert, BC) |
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After yesterday's epic “Grizzly Bears & Glaciers” day, Kobi and I got up this morning in Hyder, AK
knowing this would be the last day of “2 Chicks, 2 Wheels” riding.
Now, let me say that I've experienced a lot of things while riding my motorcycles far and wide, but
I have never had the, um, ah, “situation” that I experienced today. After taking the photo
above, Kobi and I rounded a turn and came upon this:
Yes, the bottom left corner is the windscreen of my motorcycle and just beyond that is a FREAKIN'
GRIZZLY BEAR!! A closer look:
(I wonder if the Matriarch and Kobi's Mom just passed out?)
If someone questions why I might be in the middle-to-left side of the road then here's why:
I can only describe his movements as being one that would reflect something that was on the top of
the food chain. He moved like he was absolutely fearless. Black bears seem very skittish
at times when I've watched them. The Grizzlies I have seen since being in Alaska meander like
they know they are the baddest of bad. If something is in the way, they go over or through it,
and might even gnaw on whatever it might be if they feel so inclined. I wasn't real interested
in being “it” today. After watching his very controlled and methodical movements and as the RV
we were now shadowing was inching closer to the grizzly, I told Kobi to put the camera on video setting
and to just hang on. I waited for him to look into the woods away from the road.... (check out
the claws on this creature!!)
... then I used every one of the 1000cc's of the Strom and zipped by him!! HOLY CRAP!!!
We made it into the US Forest Service parking area and though we didn't see any other bears while we were
there (truthfully, that experience filled my bear quota for the day!), I did take a few more photos of the
viewing area that I mentioned in yesterday's report that contained all the Grizzly photographs. Here's the deck:
Ok, so yesterday after arriving Hyder we discovered the “2 Chicks, 2 Wheels...Welcome to Hyder!” sign. It
seems my friends in Prince George conspired with a local to have the sign up when we arrived. We tracked
the local down, no less at the “Bear Festival” going on in Stewart, so we could personally thank her:
So, we never officially crossed back into our own country yesterday but leaving Hyder today we had to proceed
through Canadian Customs. No, we're not making any of this up. Here's the photo Kobi took as we
approached the modern and high tech Canadian Customs:
Just after customs you're reminded to, um, think differently again:
One more on-the-fly- photo of the roadside glacier leading into/from Stewart & Hyder...:
....and of 37A eastbound:
Yesterday at the junction of Highway 37/Cassiar (which ultimately intersects the Alaska Highway) and 37A
(leading to Stewart/Hyder) we neglected to stop for a photo, so we did today:
We were told before leaving Watson Lake on Friday that a “Wildlife Alert” had been issued for the entire
Cassiar Highway. The local informant said she did not know exactly what this meant, only that the
official British Columbia website pertaining to roads had
issued the warning. Unlike the Alaska Highway, where warning signs are posted in areas when increased
wildlife activity is present, Kobi and I did not see a single warning sign pertaining to this alert or any
other critter crossing yesterday or today. However, we'd have to agree with the warning since bears
were seemingly around every corner! We saw no less than 6 bears (all black) roadside during our ride
on the Cassiar today. When I say roadside, I mean they either had 1 paw on the white line or were in the
middle of the road!
The below are photos from the segment of road from Kitwanga to Prince Rupert:
A shot of “Seven Sisters Mountain”:
This might have been the saddest sign we saw over the last 10 days, since it marks the conclusion of the
“2 Chicks, 2 Wheels” journey:
AGirl & Kobi
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What we didn't know is that this journey was still full of surprises, namely of the four legged
kind. We decided to go back out to Fish Creek before leaving town and starting the trek to
Prince Rupert, BC. (If you missed yesterday's report on Fish Creek, click: 
The gravel road is about 4-5 miles from the center of town and offers wonderful views:
Well, I was trying to keep as much space as possible between us and the bear and also leave enough
of an escape route forward as possible, but Mr RV took over the right side. Furthermore, he
continued to slowly drive forward towards the bear. There was an RV behind him who saw what
was happening and was now in the middle of the road as well and moving along with him.
I knew these guys were inching up so they could get DIRECTLY beside the bear, which would have
essentially created a wall and forced the bear to go one of two directions: into the woods or
turn back towards us.
Honestly, it felt like everything was in slow motion. I could see him his head turning back
just as we were passing him on the opposite side of the road (I headed to the far right). Somehow
Kobi had enough presence to A)not scream and B)not only keep the camera on the bear but turn the camera
around over her shoulder as we passed! Yup, it's on video! (Someone pour the Matriarch a shot
of Jack please!). What's can't be seen in a photo or on the video but is something I'll never forget
is the behavior of the bonehead RV'er who forced the situation with his total lack of respect for not only
the bear but for two motorcyclists.
Passing a motorcycle on the right while a Grizzly bear is just ahead on the left simply so you can take
closeup photos... oh, wait... maybe these are the “Do moose lay eggs?” people!
Another example of how a wild animal is more predictable than a civilized human being.
I didn't mention in yesterday's Journey Report that when we crossed from Stewart, BC into Hyder, AK that
there was no US Customs Agent (or station) requesting to see our ID's and ask us questions like “Are you
carrying more than $10,000 in cash with you?” (By the way, I didn't want to clarify the question at the
last International Border crossing by asking “Would that be 10 large each or 20 c-notes combined?” since
I've heard anything beyond “Yes” and “No” can equate to lengthy delays while your bike and baggage
undergoes a detailed search.) Anyway, to our surprise there was no US Customs to enter Alaska at
Hyder. Our second surprise was that when our bill was brought to us after lunch in Hyder it was
requested we pay in Canadian dollars. Lastly, we thought since we were back in Alaska that we were
once again in the “Alaska Time Zone” since, well, we were in the state of Alaska. Nope, still on
Pacific Time. The most common explanation we heard as to why there was no US Customs/Border Agents
at the Hyder/Stewart, BC line was involved difficulty finding housing in Hyder for US agents and “they
don't want to have US federal employees living in Canada.” We were never clear if “they” were
Canadians or Americans, but either way, it sure didn't feel like we were in the United States while in
Hyder except for the seeing the green uniformed Forest Service people. (Where the heck do they live??)
Not many services at the junction, huh? There were none actually. Not one single business.
Kobi flies out of Prince Rupert tomorrow for Phoenix and I will be continuing on after holding up a day or
so to rest. The past 10 days have been nothing short of extraordinary. We will certainly be editing
the Journey Reports in the future to include details and stories that we didn't have time to include while on
the road. Kobi and I both wish to thank each and every person we met along the way, those who took the
time to send us emails and well-wishes, and those who cheered us on during our adventure... that support has
also been nothing short of extraordinary, as well as inspiring.
If you wish to receive direct emails from me whenever a new Journey Report has been posted than simply click:
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