Today we are making a side trip to Hyder,
Alaska. The town is mainly known for
people who want to say that they’ve been to Alaska because it is located on the
most southeastern edge of the Alaska panhandle that you can get to by
automobile. There are no roads that
connect to anywhere else in Alaska after Hyder.
The town is famous for the Iron Butt Motorcycle Rally in which
motorcyclists attempt to ride to all lower 48 states plus Alaska in 10
days. That’s just pure insanity if you
ask me.
Bear Glacier marks the first glacier Amanda
and I have seen in the flesh. I wonder how it’s going to look like 20 years
from now.
The border town of Stewart, BC.
En route to Hyder
We made it!
If for some reason they deny us entry to Alaska at the Yukon border, at
least we can say we’ve been to Alaska…technically
Population is approx. 100. We walked into a gift shop and started
chatting with the owner. He said it
wasn’t unusual to see a grizzly bear walking up and down the main street during
the salmon run season.
I think the thought of Iron Butt riders
using these towels to dry off their bums after icing it to keep the swelling
down is the reason why Amanda has this look of disgust.
This is the infamous Glacier Inn where
people become “hyderized”. This involves
taking a shot of 150 proof Everclear which is 75% alcohol. You get a certificate if you manage to down
it in one go. If you don’t, you have to
buy everybody in the bar a drink. We
passed on getting hyderized knowing that we’ll be under the scrutiny of the
border guard when we cross back into Canada shortly.
We grabbed an early dinner at the local
grocery store back in Stewart and ate at this parkette. We also shared an ice cream cone for
dessert. I believe the movie “Insomnia” was filmed
here.
We camped at another recreation site not
too far from Stewart…
…made sure to find an ideal spot to set up
our bear hang…
…and watched the sun go down.
 |
| 141 km |
Of
ancient blue ice.
A
shortcut to Alaska.
Shot
of gasoline.
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