Mark and Nicola: Day 41 - Prince George

Today was a long day; we drove from Terrace all the way up to Hyder Alaska, then back to Highway 16 and East to Prince George, 12 hours of driving total. Hyder Alaska was definitely worth the detour. We had never originally planned to go but on our way to Terrace we spotted the sign and started thinking about it, so we fit it into the trip. I had gone to Hyder when I was 10 years old and got a chance to see the glaciers and the chance to say I’d been to Alaska. Hyder is on the very south tip of the Alaskan Pan Handle and is right across the border from Stewart, BC. On our way up there we saw a big black bear in the ditch who was calm enough to let us get some pictures from just a few feet away in the car. This time of year there is a place called Fish Creek that is 10 km past Hyder where you can go and see Grizzly Bears feed on the spawning Chum and Pink Salmon coming up the creek. Your chances are best between 6-10 in the morning and evening, however we showed up right around noon so we didn’t think we’d see anything. Sure enough, half and hour after we showed up a 600 pound male Grizzly came lumbering out of the woods for a snack. Apparently Grizzly Bears can have black hair and ours was one of them. At first he may appear to be a gigantic Black Bear but there are many features, including the large hump on his shoulders, which distinguish the bear as a Grizzly. You view the Grizzlies from a raised boardwalk that runs right beside the creek. This allows you the opportunity to be just 10 feet from the Bears when they come close. He killed about 4 Chum, picking them apart on the shore for a while before going for his prize catch. After about a half hour of messing around he caught a massive Chum Salmon and took off into the woods.

Some who have heard of Hyder Alaska may have heard about getting “Hyderized” a tradition for visitors to the town since 1956. You go to the Glacier Inn, a pub in town that has over $50,000 in signed money on the walls, left by tourists who want to leave their mark. We obviously had to tack a bill on the wall with our names and “Cross Canada Road Trip 2007” written on it. You are officially Hyderized when you take a mystery shot prepared by the Bartender. You are allowed no sniffing or tasting of any kind before doing the shot and we were sternly reminded of this a few times. No exceptions, just shoot and ask questions later…literally. It definitely burned the throat and I guessed that it was some kind of vodka/gin combination but it turns out its Everclear 151 Proof Grain Alcohol. So now we have our official certificates, photo, and souvenir shot glass to prove we’ve been Hyderized. On the way from Stewart back to Highway 16 I got a speeding ticket because I legitimately thought it was a 100 zone, turns out the 100 zone started 2 km up the road and there are only speed signs like every 100km, it’s ridiculous. Oh well, one ticket aint’t bad for the entire trip.