I had a very enjoyable drive from Dease Lake to Smithers, BC today even though the 405 miles took seven hours and the weather was poor. The Cassiar Highway is far more interesting to drive than the Alaska Highway as it is narrower and has more bends and hills which requires active driving rather than using cruise control. Add in the reduced number of roadworks, less traffic and some great mountain scenery and the time passes much faster.

I left Dease Lake and traveled about 65 miles to Tatogga Lake before stopping for breakfast. The weather was very variable and required constant adjustment of the wipers but it also produced some fascinating lighting and atmospheric views. I made a short detour along the Stewart-Hyder spur road as far as Bear Glacier and this was particularly scenic even though it coincided with some of the worst rain.

Today’s road video represents the drive much better than the few photos I took and the map will be helpful. Both are here.

Despite the fact that the average black bear in the area has three square miles to roam about in, two of them crossed the road directly in front of me at different times today. One was a fair way ahead and did not show clearly in the video but the other was not in shadow and, although small, is visible. It is indicated by the green marker on the map.

This is Strohn Lake, containing the meltwater from Bear Glacier. The clouds were not so low as to block the view of the mountains but did create a pleasing effect. 

Bear Glacier is one of the few glaciers you can photograph easily sitting in your car. I could have rolled down my window to shoot this but, of course, I didn’t do that and got rain on the lens 🙁
The Nass River Gorge as seen from the Cassiar Highway..