Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/126959
f s s e h l When the U.S. Army surveyed the route for the highway, it hired many First Nations members as guides. These men often provided horses or sled dogs for transportation, as well as offering their intimate knowledge of the wilderness. Mile 497 Liard River Hot springs Provincial Park It's evening when we arrive at our campsite at Liard Hot Springs, but there's still enough daylight to take a soothing dip in Canada's second-largest hot springs. We traipse the wooden boardwalk wending through mosslaced forest, weighed with dangling camera lenses and damp towels. Then, nirvana: the steamy, turquoise-hued Alpha pool, 42 to 52 degrees Celsius year-round, is rimmed by a rich and unusual profusion of tropical flora including 14 species of orchids. Unlike most thermal springs in Canada, these do not flow directly into a nearby river or creek, but into a system of swamps. Due to the continual influx of warm water, the swamps never freeze, despite being ankle-deep-shallow at a latitude of nearly 60 degrees north. The mood is mellow post spa, with night closing in, marshmallows fragrantly roasting over an open fire. Mike reminisces about his days as a lineman with the Calgary Stampeders; Tasha, about a chaotic stint volunteering in the African boonies; Anne K., about the joys of opera; and Chantal, about hiring a witch for a psychic cleansing of her London townhouse, but mostly the regional news is dissected and debated. As the night deepens, April Moi, a community development officer with Northern BC Tourism, brings us up to speed about an ongoing effort to have the Alaska Highway declared a National Historic Site by 2017, to coincide with the 75th anniversary of its creation. The next day, the geography changes dramatically leaving the tropical Liard Valley, the RVs lumbering up a series of steep switchbacks into the swirling mists around Muncho Lake. Road-building here was a particular challenge for U.S. army engineers who had to cut their way through the lake's rocky banks and use horse-drawn "stone boats" to haul the debris away. Rimmed by the snow-capped peaks, the lake's 12-kilometre-long, jade-coloured expanse today is a haven for fishing, boating, whitewater rafting and, we've been told, wildlife viewing. And eureka! Just around a narrow bend we come upon a cluster of Stone Sheep gathered on the roadside slopes. Prized by trophy hunters for their curving amber-coloured horns, these majestic creatures can only be seen from the highway in spring, when they descend from higher elevations to lick road salt laid down over the winter. Shaggy coated gymnasts, the lot of them, they dance calmly over the narrow shale outcrops as semi-trailers roar past just metres away. "I'll never complain about high heels again," says Chantal. Stoked by our encounter with the Stone Sheep, we make a pit stop at Double G Services, which functions as a café, grocery store, Greyhound depot, gas station, motel and RV site. Back when the Alaska Highway was still a gravel road, stations like the Double G were the essence of life and travel along this long and lonely artery, and they still remain invaluable to the weary traveller today. Inside, several old-timers in plaid shirts are swapping stories about their road trips. Surrounding them on the (archival opposite) South Peace Historical Society, Kerry Banks p28-32-49_Alaska.indd 31 walls is a collection of humorous signs, including a 2008 Alaska license plate, affixed with Sarah Palin's photo, that bears the caption, "Where the air is cold and the governor is hot." Ole plunks himself down beneath a sign that reads "Old Fart," and within minutes the image is beaming across the Facebook universe. Mile 422 Toad river, Pop: 75 It is said that Toad River got its name because, before the bridge was built, the only way to get across the river was to be towed by Caterpillar tractor. (During the building of the Alaska Highway, the spelling somehow morphed into Toad River.) Today, the town's claim to fame is the diner at Toad River Lodge, or, more specifically, the latter's ceiling, festooned as it is with more than 8,000 ball caps. From here, the road winds skyward to Summit Lake, elevation 1,295 metres and the highest point on the route. The lake is still covered in ice, the wind bone-chilling. But in high summer the rugged contours of 25,691-hectare Stone Mountain National Park lure hikers with a series of backcountry alpine trails, thick with caribou, moose, elk, deer and bear and leading to some of the most spectacular scenery in the province – including the other worldly Wokkpash Valley and its towering parade of hoodoos. Forget I Spy and licence-plate bingo to pass the time when driving the Alaska Highway. Spotting the dazzling parade of northern wildlife, which includes moose, bison, bears, elk, woodland caribou and Stone Sheep, is far more entertaining. Mile 635 Testa River Regional Park A fire is built, a feast prepared and, as dusk descends, an eagle flies across the face of the full moon. Fittingly, this is considered one of the most beautiful campgrounds on the Alaska Highway, with a lodge, rustic cabins and restaurant – "Cinnamon Bun Centre of the Galactic Cluster" – maintained by the Andrews family. A taste test confirms it's all true; sadly, the trail rides, Westworld >> S u m m e r 2 0 1 3 31 13-04-18 1:32 PM