RV ALASKA - The Cassiar Highway: Just How Remote Is It?

It was not without trepidation that we set out along the Cassiar Highway.  All the information I had read about it depicted it as one of the most remote highways in western Canada.  Honestly, I don’t think it was any more remote than sections of the Alaska Highway, and we did see other vehicles on the road, many of which were RVs.  Gas stations weren’t numerous, but they were available.  (Expensive, but available.)  We never felt that we were in danger of running out of gas.  But, again, we were driving off just the top half of our tank – and we had an extra 10 gallons with us.  That being said, there was an aspect of traveling the Cassiar Highway that was a bit disconcerting.

On two separate occasions, we saw trucks off the road with yellow caution tape strung up around them.  One of the wrecks was a pickup truck, but the other was a larger commercial truck with its back end barely off the road.  They looked like they had been there for quite some time. What caused the trucks to go off the road?  And why were they still there along that remote highway?  If we were involved in an accident, would we be able to contact 911?  And how long would it take for help to arrive?  THAT, my friends, is why we made sure the kids knew where we would be every day when we were traveling remote sections of western Canada and Alaska where cell service was a wish list item and help could be a long time in coming.

Date(s) – August 17th

Total Miles Traveled to Date – 14,043

Wildlife Sightings to Date – On our drive from Watson Lake to Kinaskan Lake Provincial Park, we saw 1 fox, 1 eagle, 1 osprey and 1 ptarmigan.  We were expecting to see more critters, especially considering the fact that the Cassiar is billed as a wildlife corridor, but we’ll take whatever we can get.

So our updated tally of wildlife sightings is: 1 fox; 4 feral horses; 1 ptarmigan; 1 osprey; 97 eagles (including 2 fledglings); 4 seagull chicks; 16 swans (including 2 fuzzy cygnets); 9 sea lions; 27 seals; 17 sea otters; 4 cow moose; 1 bull moose; 1 grizzly sow with 2 cubs; 1 back end of a grizzly bear; 7 black bears; 1 coyote; 1 snowshoe hare; 3 rabbits (including one very fast bunny that just managed to cross the road safely); several small herds of bison with at least 2 dozen young calves; 9 deer (2 of them bucks with their racks covered in velvet); 9 mountain goats (including 3 tiny and adorable kids); 23 bighorn sheep; 62 elk (including 7 calves that hadn’t yet lost their spots and a number of bull elk with full racks covered in velvet); several small herds of pronghorn antelope (including 2 mamas with 3 newborn fawns between them); 3 great blue herons; dozens of American white pelicans; at least a half dozen families of adult geese with goslings; and several dozen ducks (with lots of little ducklings).

Highlight(s) of the Day – The fact that we started our journey down the Cassiar Highway at all was a highlight!  In researching this trip last year, I learned that there is a wildfire somewhere along the Cassiar that burns underground year-round and periodically ignites above ground.  I had read of travelers whose trips were delayed because the Cassiar Highway was closed due to those wildfires.  We had been checking on the highway sporadically during our time in Alaska, keeping our fingers crossed that it would be open when it came time for us to head south through Canada.  The potential for wildlife viewing along the Cassiar is what made it our route of choice, and we would have been extremely disappointed if we had to retrace our steps on the Alaska Highway all the way back to its beginning at Dawson Creek.  As we rolled into Watson Lake the day before, we saw that the permanent roadside sign indicating the status of the Cassiar Highway read “Open” and not “Closed.”  Good news, for sure!

The amazing scenery.  (Yes, again.)  This is what we came for, and we enjoyed every lonely mile along the Cassiar Highway.  Aside from a section that had been damaged by a wildfire which is always sad to see, the changing views around every bend were of magnificent mountains, rivers and lakes.  We had made this trip to “see” the country; mile after mile, it truly was a sight to behold.

Kinaskan Lake Provincial Park.  Wow!  What a fabulous campground!  We continued to be impressed by the public parks in Canada.  (Here in British Columbia, they’re called provincial parks; in the Yukon Territory, they’re called government parks.)  The Kinaskan Lake campground offered a number of waterfront sites, and we were hoping to snag one of them.  We had learned that an early arrival greatly improved our chances of getting a prime site, and we were concentrating our efforts in that direction.  That strategy paid off at Kinaskan Lake, and we settled into a lovely waterfront site with enough time left in the afternoon to really enjoy it.  The campground host (or “campground operator” as they’re called in British Columbia) who came around to collect our payment was a friendly woman of retirement age, and we had a delightful chat about RVing.  She was a wonderful ambassador for British Columbia’s provincial parks.

Lowlight(s) of the Day – Wiiiiildlife!  Where arrrrre you?  The Cassiar Highway is known for its frequent bear sightings.  I have to admit that Alan and I were really disappointed that we didn’t see any.  We had one more travel day along the Cassiar – fingers crossed!

In the government parks in the Yukon Territory, we liked the way we could pick out our campsite, and simply drop our cash payment in the Iron Ranger provided at the entrance to the park.  In the provincial parks in British Columbia, you pick out your site and the campground operator comes to you to collect payment.  At Kinaskan Lake Provincial Park, the campground operator stopped by shortly after we had arrived, so that worked out fine.  It didn’t work out so well at our next stop.  (More on that in the next post.)  We’re not a fan of this system of payment at all.  As impressed as we were with the facilities and the natural beauty of the parks in Canada, I was really missing and appreciating ReserveAmerica at this point.

Campground(s) – Kinaskan Lake Provincial Park was an excellent stop!  We’ve been so impressed by the public campgrounds in Canada, that I rarely checked reviews on them before we pulled in – and that is so not like me.  In most cases, we were only staying for one night; even if one turned out to be a dud, it wouldn’t be a big deal.  No need to worry here.  Kinaskan Lake was gorgeous, and the campsites that weren’t on the water were really nice, too.  It wasn’t long before we had rolled in that we saw other RVers scouting for sites, so we patted ourselves on the back for arriving not too long after checkout time.  I guess other travelers learned the same lesson we did.  No hookups – and not even a dump station – but this gem was a bargain at $20.00 per night (Canadian dollars).  We’d stay here again in a heartbeat.

Observation(s) – So far, our careful calculation of how many Canadian dollars we would need for campgrounds was working.  We dropped a Canadian $20.00 bill in the Iron Ranger at Watson Lake, and handed over another one to the campground operator at Kinaskan Lake.  Meziadin Lake Provincial Park was up next, so we’d see if the plan continued to work.

Special Message(s) – Happy (September 24th) Anniversary to Kevin and Maddison!  We’re not sure how you’re going to find the time to celebrate, but we’re hoping that you do!  Enjoy your special day!

Pics(s) of the Day

Wildfire damage along the Cassiar

Camera?  Check!  Binoculars?  Check!  Caribou?  Uh, no.

Camera?  Check!  Binoculars?  Check.  Big horn sheep?  No, again.

That really pointy peak (how's that for a technical term?) was mesmerizing!

Simmons Lake

Are those hay bales out on Kinaskan Lake?

Yup, hay bales on a raft crossing Kinaskan Lake - makes you wonder, doesn't it?

Lucky site #13 at Kinaskan Lake Provincial Park

Sunrise over Kinaskan Lake

Up Next – In anticipation of driving down to Stewart, British Columbia, and crossing back into Alaska from there to visit a bear viewing facility in Hyder, we headed for Meziadin Lake Provincial Park.  The park would be our base camp for the visit to Hyder, so that we didn’t have to drag the trailer all the way down to Stewart and back – or, even worse, across the border into Hyder and back.  The park was gorgeous, but we had a bad experience there that left a bitter taste in our mouths.  Speaking of Hyder, I’ll bet you’re wondering if we would see bears there. So were we!