May 13, 2025
Meziadin Jct. to Bell 2 Lodge
One thing that sets apart the Cassiar Highway from the AlCan is its role as a conduit to northern projects. I’m learning about them as I go along. The former mining community of Cassiar—which is about seven miles from the highway—was an asbestos mine when I first passed through the area in 1980. It is a cradle-to-grave archetype of a resource extraction community (or camp) that B.C.’s economy depends upon. Today I passed the entrance to Newmont Brucejack, “… one of the highest-grade operating gold mines in the world.” If you’ve traveled to Butte, MT driven by (or flown over) the large mines near Salt Lake City, you have some idea of the scale of these operations. The B.C. mining operations (and natural gas) must be large to be profitable. Consequently, the amount of traffic on the Cassiar this time of year is more significant than I thought it would be. There are still some logging trucks going south, but for the most part, the heavy equipment being hauled north is astounding. The motorcoaches carrying crew northward number four or five coaches a day. All of this activity makes me think about our impact as consumers and how our buying needs rearrange these vast spaces. We have huge appetites for B.C. natural resources and I’m not sure it will ever change.
The flip side to the Cassiar conduit industrialization is the seasonal traffic consisting of folks either returning to or moving to or just traveling to Alaska. The number of cars with license plates from U.S. states makes up the majority of remaining vehicles on the road: U-haul trailers attached to pick-ups or SUVs, motor homes/coaches (one with a Harley attached to the back), trailered RVs, boats filled with gear, kayaks, you name it! It’s quite a sight. My favorite type of vehicles are the ones with gas cans attached to the roof rack or to the back hitch rack. I chuckle to myself because tourists used to carry fuel on their vehicles decades ago. Now there are 24/7 gas stations open and all you need is a credit card.
Time to move on to the reason you’re here! My ride today was one of the best bicycle rides I’ve ever completed. I don’t know exactly where to start, but here goes.
Before I left the cafeteria at Meziadin Junction, I met another bicyclist, Iain, who, like Nate the day before, was heading south, only he was going south so he could ride east through Canada. He started April 25 from Dawson City, YT and I happened to catch him a few weeks into his ride. I don’t remember exactly where in England he was from, but he talked about riding his bicycle in London and coming into close proximity to the lorries. We exchanged Strava invites and he headed off on his 94-mile ride to Kitwanga, a route that took me two days! I really need to bump into someone my own age so I can feel better about myself. (@Tom Harrison, he reminded me of you!)
Even though today’s ride required me to accumulate my second-highest elevation gain ever (behind Hurricane Ridge), it was blissful. The scenery, the birdsongs, the beaver dams threatening to flood the highway … all of it was amazing. Along the road, the willow catkins were emerging, dandelions spread out into a bright yellow splash of color on either side of the road. Twice I climbed to 2000 feet ASL which is also the altitude here at tonight’s accommodations, Bell 2 Lodge. The next two days I’ll push up to 4000 feet. I know that doesn’t sound very high, but at this latitude spring is still struggling to pull away from winter.
The best part of the day was just feeling so alive and grateful to be able to ride a bicycle in this part of the world. For someone like me with Raynauld’s syndrome, I can’t figure out how these snow covered mountains draw my gaze toward them. If yesterday’s heat and wind were stultifying, today freedom was unleashed. It also makes a difference when you’ve consumed 5000 calories, 3 liters of water, and the temperatures are in the 50s. Suffice to say, the conditions converged to make today a very memorable one.
Something I forgot to mention to Iain today. Because he started in Dawson City where it was technically still winter, I wanted to recommend a book to him (and you), Wheels on Ice, edited by Jessica Cherry, an Anchorage resident and NOAA Regional Climate Service Director. It is a collection of stories ranging from the history of the bicycle during the Klondike gold rush and more contemporary stories by Alaskans who are bicyclists. In fact, Lael Wilcox authored one of the stories in the collection. It’s a very entertaining book. Pick up a copy for yourself!
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3 weeks ago
Today's ride: 57 miles (92 km)
Total: 642 miles (1,033 km)
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1 month ago
2. I love the free=flowin' life-as-adventure element of your blog/adenture, but I like even more the research you blend in, the awareness of the world around you.
3. I wish there were a way to include more than just caloric/nutritional info on the stuff we consume. We desperately need a way to calculate and KNOW the costs of what we do/consume. Thanks for helping to make that resoundingly clear.
3 weeks ago