May 8, 2025
Prince Rupert to Kasiks “Resort”
When I awoke from my deep sleep around 6:15 am and looked out the ferry window, the landscape and weather appeared as I had imagined. Snow-covered mountains leading up into low clouds (thick) and rain. At that moment I wondered if reversing seasons was a good idea or not. Then I flushed the thought and found the cafe and coffee.
The last time I was in Prince Rupert was forty-five years ago, almost to the day. After our Stikine adventure, my friend Tom and I parted ways. He flew back to Seattle and I took the Alaska ferry to Ketchikan. From there I flew to Anchorage and returned to the newly named Denali National Park and Preserve for my second summer of seasonal work. What I remember most about my short stay in Prince Rupert was finding out about Mt. St. Helens exploding, meeting other young travelers in the campground, eating freshly caught and steamed clams, and drinking LaBatt beer. Not a whole lot of cares or worries then!
This time was different. I wanted to reach my camp here at Kasiks, a wall tent actually, before it got too late. That meant I wouldn’t be in Prince Rupert for too long. I stopped by the grocery store to resupply, conversed with a local First Nations gentleman holding a walking stick he carved from a piece of yew driftwood, and sorted my gear in the rain. The town reminded me of an old Bremerton, Washington (probably Seattle, too, if you looked back far enough). It’s a port city with consistent container ship traffic. There are seven cranes in the terminal and the Canadian National Railway heads east at least two to three times a day with 200 cars stacked two containers high. There is also a coal port and raw log port, both of those shipping to Asia. Otherwise, I’m not seeing much of a digital economy in these parts.
The best part of the ride to Kasiks was the relatively flat, wide shoulder on the Yellowhead Highway. The mountains rose up with clouds and snow switching places, and the wide, WIDE Sheena River immediately on my right. I finally had something to look at. These views didn’t disappoint.
Interesting side note … spring seems to be as far along here as in Port Hardy. The native plants are in the same stages of bloom likely due to the longer day lengths and similar temperature. Make no mistake, though. It’s still early spring with daffodils and tulips in the planters at Kasiks.
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Today's ride: 56 miles (90 km)
Total: 390 miles (628 km)
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2 months ago