Fraser River Hells Gate 475a1

NW Canada (June, 1994)

For some reason I've always had a fascination with the far North, particularly Alaska, the Canadian north, and the Arctic region. I think my fascination springs from my frequent dislike of 'society' in general, and a sense that an area with a very cold climate that keeps people away much of the year (just like the desert) is thus going to be more natural. The pictures in this set are from a m…  (read more)
Fraser River Hells Gate 475a1

Fraser River Hells Gate 475a1

01 Jun 1994 224
Fraser River Canyon. The rest of this narrative (below) is about the trip and not specific to this picture. Since the basic aim of the trip was to escape, my plan was to try to avoid the busiest highways and to camp every night. From San Francisco I took I-5 to Corning (first night's camping) and then on to Weed. From Weed I took US 97 through Klamath Falls, Ore, to Toppenish, Wash. From there, a short stretch on I-82 to Ellensberg, Wash., then US 97 and US 2 to Index, Wash. (second night camping). After Index, I headed back towards the coast and I-5, to Vancouver, BC. Even though Vancouver was more urban than I wanted to deal with, I went there to meet a contact who was going to give me directions for finding what sorts of gay communities existed in rural, northern, Canada. Unfortunately, he turned out to have no valuable information. From Vancouver I took the Trans-Canada highway to Hope, and then turned north on the Fraser Canyon Highway -- finally I felt like I was really starting my journey. From there on it was going to be two-lane highways at best, frequently narrower gravel and dirt roads. Unfortunately, the Fraser Canyon Highway turned out to have lots of truck traffic -- forestry and farming are big industries in that part of Canada. But, there were some interesting spots along the way (adjacent photos): From 1994 San Francisco - Arctic Ocean camping trip. Scan of an older picture. Best viewed as part of the NW Canada set.
Fraser River Hells Gate 469a1

Fraser River Hells Gate 469a1

01 Jun 1994 120
From 1994 San Francisco - Arctic Ocean camping trip. Scan of an older picture. Best viewed as part of the NW Canada set.
Fraser River Hells Gate 471a1

Fraser River Hells Gate 471a1

01 Jun 1994 2 140
From 1994 San Francisco - Arctic Ocean camping trip. Scan of an older picture. Best viewed as part of the NW Canada set.
Fraser River Hells Gate 470a1

Fraser River Hells Gate 470a1

01 Jun 1994 168
Leaving Fraser River area. The rest of this narrative (below) is about the trip and is not related to this photo. After leaving the Fraser River, I was headed to Prince George. I had learned that there was a gay bed & breakfast in Prince George that also allowed camping on the grounds, so that was my next destination. I was curious as to what a gay bed & breakfast would be like in the relatively remote north (626 miles from Vancouver), and also was hoping to get information on finding other gays as I continued to travel north. The bed & breakfast was quite nice and there was a gay dance in town the night I was there, all of which seemed somewhat amazing since being in Prince George was sort of like being in a small town in North Dakota! Unfortunately, I also quickly learned that my American, urban, expectations about gay life did not jive well with some north Canada gays. Even though I tried to not let my American attitudes show through, I seemed to be unable to avoid coming across wrong. Part of the problem was simply that I met a number of people who self-identified as gay but had never had a sexual experience with another man (I met no lesbians), or had very limited experience. Part of the problem also was that I carried the stigma of being from San Francisco, a place that many people consider too fast, too intense, too gay. I've no pictures of Saint George -- leaving there, I headed west on the Yellowhead Highway to Smithers (adjacent photo). From 1994 San Francisco - Arctic Ocean camping trip. Scan of an older picture. Best viewed as part of the NW Canada set.
Yellowhead Highway 492a1

Yellowhead Highway 492a1

01 Jun 1994 4 166
Yellowhead Highway to Smithers. It was a fairly gray and chilly day in late May, but there was very little traffic and the countryside was increasingly green and lush, with mountains in the distance. I camped near Smithers and ended up talking for several hours around a campfire with a Native American who was moving from Colorado to Alaska. After Smithers I visited various provincial parks along the highway as I headed west. From 1994 San Francisco - Arctic Ocean camping trip. Scan of an older picture. Best viewed as part of the NW Canada set.
Yellowhead Highway 494a1

Yellowhead Highway 494a1

01 Jun 1994 121
Provincial parks along the Yellowhead Highway. From 1994 San Francisco - Arctic Ocean camping trip. Scan of an older picture. Best viewed as part of the NW Canada set.
Yellowhead Highway 503a1

Yellowhead Highway 503a1

01 Jun 1994 118
Provincial parks along the Yellowhead Highway. The Yellowhead Highway intersects with the Cassiar highway, what was then a mixed gravel and paved two lane route through very rural British Columbia to Watson Lake. My plan was to drive this highway over about 4 days, with a couple of side trips. From 1994 San Francisco - Arctic Ocean camping trip. Scan of an older picture. Best viewed as part of the NW Canada set.
Bear Glacier BC 502a1

Bear Glacier BC 502a1

01 Jun 1994 144
The first side trip from the Cassiar Highway was out to Stewart, British Columbia. Getting to Stewart required passing a fairly small glacier (Bear glacier) that came down almost to the road (this picture). Stewart is on a fjord that leads to the Pacific and just west of Stewart is the very small town of Hyder, Alaska (adjacent pictures). The fjord, Hyder, and Stewart were quite interesting and I ended up spending two nights there. From 1994 San Francisco - Arctic Ocean camping trip. Scan of an older picture. Best viewed as part of the NW Canada set.
Bear Glacier BC 495a1

Bear Glacier BC 495a1

01 Jun 1994 127
From 1994 San Francisco - Arctic Ocean camping trip. Scan of an older picture. Best viewed as part of the NW Canada set.
Stewart 497a1

Stewart 497a1

01 Jun 1994 151
On the road to Stewart -- unfortunately, this bear seemed to be determined to walk the middle line....luckily a very noisy logging truck came by, which scared it off the road. From 1994 San Francisco - Arctic Ocean camping trip. Scan of an older picture. Best viewed as part of the NW Canada set.
bc_479a1

bc_479a1

01 Jun 1994 2 111
Hopefully someone will recognize this church. In my photos it is in the sequence to be in Stewart, but I did not label it. From 1994 San Francisco - Arctic Ocean camping trip. Scan of an older picture. Best viewed as part of the NW Canada set.
Portland Canal fjord 499a1

Portland Canal fjord 499a1

01 Jun 1994 2 3 230
Stewart is at the end of a fjord called Portland Canal (wikipedia explains why the fjord is called a canal ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Canal ) From 1994 San Francisco - Arctic Ocean camping trip. Scan of an older picture. Best viewed as part of the NW Canada set.
Portland Canal fjord 498a1

Portland Canal fjord 498a1

01 Jun 1994 222
The fjord (Portland Canal) does not freeze in the winter, and thus is used for freight service and ferry service to Ketchikan, Alaska. See map From 1994 San Francisco - Arctic Ocean camping trip. Scan of an older picture. Best viewed as part of the NW Canada set.
Hyder, Alaska 500a1

Hyder, Alaska 500a1

01 Jun 1994 253
Just west of Stewart is the very small town of Hyder, Alaska. The only way to get to Hyder is from Stewart -- in 1994, there was no border patrol service between the two. The fjord, Hyder, and Stewart were quite interesting and I ended up spending two nights there. On my first night I had stopped at a tavern in Hyder, and ended up talking late into the night with the bartender -- a woman from the states who had moved up there several years earlier and was, during the day, working an old gold claim up in the mountains (on her own). From 1994 San Francisco - Arctic Ocean camping trip. Scan of an older picture. Best viewed as part of the NW Canada set.
Hyder, Alaska 501a1

Hyder, Alaska 501a1

01 Jun 1994 147
Downtown Hyder. From 1994 San Francisco - Arctic Ocean camping trip. Scan of an older picture. Best viewed as part of the NW Canada set.
Cassiar Highway 505a1

Cassiar Highway 505a1

01 Jun 1994 128
The drive from Stewart north already made the trip feel like it was worth the effort. This was wilderness -- no housing or businesses for 100's of miles along the highway, stretches where you could drive for an hour without seeing another car, and woods that extended 200-300 miles deep on the east side of the highway and 100-200 miles to the Pacific on the west. The southern ends of the highway are almost rain forest, with marshes and streams along both sides -- and multiple beaver lodges and dams. From 1994 San Francisco - Arctic Ocean camping trip. Scan of an older picture. Best viewed as part of the NW Canada set.
Cassiar Highway 504a1

Cassiar Highway 504a1

01 Jun 1994 201
To prove how empty the road was, I had stopped to take a picture of a long and empty section of highway.... of course, someone came along to prove me wrong. From 1994 San Francisco - Arctic Ocean camping trip. Scan of an older picture. Best viewed as part of the NW Canada set.
Cassiar Highway 509a1

Cassiar Highway 509a1

01 Jun 1994 173
My next night of camping was to be in Iskut. When I got there, the campground there were no other campers and so I chose a choice site along a lake (this picture). I then went into 'town' -- which appeared to consist of one building that housed a small store, a restaurant (two tables), and living quarters. I try to eat dinner in local restaurants when camping, but the restaurant appeared to be closed even though the entrance had been open. I could hear noises in the back that sounded like a television, but didn't see anyone. After a few moments, a young woman came in from the back of the building, and I asked if any food was available. She motioned for me to sit at one of the tables (she either didn't speak much English, or just didn't like to speak), brought me lukewarm tea, and then disappeared. After a couple of minutes, she started bringing food, without my having ordered -- apparently I got what was available from the family dinner. As I was finishing, she motioned for me to come into the next room, which was apparently their living room. There were about 10 people in the room, watching (they had a satellite dish) the ice hockey finals between San Jose and a Canadian team! I signaled 'no thanks.' I'm not a sports fan in the first place, but then watching a California team in remote Canada just seemed too odd. From 1994 San Francisco - Arctic Ocean camping trip. Scan of an older picture. Best viewed as part of the NW Canada set.
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