Roadtrip from Nevada to Alaska via Cassiar

After spending the winter in the southern hemisphere, it was time for me to pack my bags and head back north… to ALASKA!

With a cozy mattress topper and brand new fancy sleeping bag equipped in the back of my Subaru, I was ready to car camp my way there!

We stocked up the cooler with bananas and clif bars for breakfast, pbj for lunch, and all the goodies for veggie wraps for dinner. I’m not sure if it’s the atmosphere of when I’m typically eating the wraps, or the burst of flavor in this healthy dinner option, but it’s one of my favorite meals now!

We saw so much variety in wildlife, had some incredible sleeping spots, and even though it was the same route I took north last year- from Elko, through tri-cities, up the Cassiar, and finally meeting up with the AlCan around Watson Lake to make the final stretch to Anchorage, the 3,000 mile adventure was still unique.

We traveled up a month earlier than last year, so there was a lot more snow, and not as many bear and moose sightings!

I took notes throughout the days when big things happened, like animal sightings, or details on our camp spot:

Friday 12

Nevada, Idaho, Oregon all in one day… We slept by meadow and saw deer basking in the sun rays and a small rainbow behind us. We ended our first day with veggie wrap in hand, laying in the back with the hatch open, watching rain sprinkle down.

Saturday 13

We woke up to morning fog, made some coffee with my new Jetboil, and were on our way! We crossed the border into British Columbia and camped about 2 hours north.

We saw signs for a lake, but there was snow by the time we took the off roads in that direction. No one had been there in a while, so we found a dry spot and slept there- it was dead quiet. Another successful day!

Sunday 14

We drove by a HUGE copper mine, and saw our first bald eagle watching down into the pit of the mine. The rest of the day was primarily farmland, but we did get a sighting of a nice fox! We made our first resupply in Prince George, then slept down an old logging road- had to travel a little longer than we wanted to find a spot, so this place wasn’t perfect. But it worked, and we were tired and ready to be done driving for the day.

Monday 15

We officially got onto the Cassiar and within an hour saw our first black bear! He was close to the road and skittish. About half an hour later our first moose!! He was small and had very dark fur, and it felt so heartwarming to see the first of many moose I knew I’d be seeing over the next 6 months.

About an hour later a big grizzly bear was grazing in some grass near some laying logs! He looked hungry, as he strut his stuff along the road, not bothered by our vehicle.

Half an hour later a BLACK WOLF in the middle of a frozen lake - Mehan lake. Are you kidding? Life is so good. How magical.

In between all of our wildlife sightings we saw the remnants of a big car crash with car nose down at an exact 90 of what it should be. The top of the car pressed against the inner mountain side. It was clear it was an old crash, from when there was more snow and ice on the road during the winter.

When we got to our camp spot for the night it was by some power lines- only pull off place we could find that wasn’t covered in snow (close to tatoga resort). We made our veggie wraps, that were messy and broken from being the last of the pack the wraps broke easy. The snow capped mountains all around us were beautiful to watch alpine glow. We got cozy in our sleeping bags, and soon heard an owl, super close to us. We thought of him as our night protector. It was the coldest night so far, the indicator showing 16 degrees when we woke up.

This day was so fun, because we finally felt we were in remote landscape, with sweeping views of true mountains. Mountains that look like backdrops… fake, as if you could reach out and push it over. The kinds of mountains where the snow never melts, and they always tower high, no matter how many miles is between you. But, the car crash was a reminder that while the remoteness is beautiful, you also have to be careful.

Tuesday 16

We started the day with another early morning.

About 10 minutes into driving we saw a frozen lake- one of many we had seen along the road. The way the morning sun was hitting the lake, it glistened like crystals, and the mountains showed off their glory. So we stopped, and walked on the lake for a few minutes. The brisk breeze woke us up!

The further north we get, the earlier the sun rises and the later it stays up. When we have early mornings on roadtrips, I get excited because our wildlife sightings are usually higher. With my coffee in hand I eagerly watch out the window.

We saw movement in the middle of the road. Wolf? No… let’s get closer…

I couldn’t believe my eyes.

I made eye contact with a Canadian Lynx. He watched us for a moment, long enough for me to snap a blurry photo (I was busy watching with my eyes), before his large fluffy paws continued strolling on his morning walk, out of our view.

With that, we waved goodbye to British Columbia, and said hello to the Yukon!

We saw two moose later in the day- mama in the road and baby waiting patiently to see if it was safe to cross.

Then, a lone coyote strolling along the hillside.

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Let’s take a pause, to talk about GAS! This is a remote drive, and a lot of people worry about fueling up any chance you get (including myself). Let me be the first to say, that we carried spare fluid (oil, gas, coolant, windshield washer) as well as tools (jack, stand, etc.) in case we broke down in the middle of nowhere. You have to be prepared!

With all of this in mind, there are certainly more fuel stations now, for both the AlCan and the Cassiar, then there were 20 years ago. HOWEVER, that doesn’t mean you should let a gas station go unnoticed if you pass one, and still have what you would “normally” consider a decent amount to keep on going.

I say this, because you NEVER know. Even though Google Maps (which won’t load because you don’t have service during the Cassiar), or The Milepost map book, says there will be a gas station- there are too many possibilities. Maybe the gas station is still closed for the winter (like many were on my drive in mid April), maybe it’s closed down because the family is retiring and selling the place (yes, we really did pass a gas station with this circumstance), or, maybe the location is only accepting cash because their internet is down. This happened at Dease Lake, which is a primary fill up location for many.

Did I mention Dease Lake is in Canada? So, they require Canadian cash…

For me, I had some cash, so I used it here. But, I would’ve been fine without it. I still had enough in my tank to get me to the next location, and then some! We also still had the spare gas, and my Subaru does INCREDIBLE on mileage.

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Let’s get back to it…

We ended the day with a nice secluded camp spot hidden in the trees, had a delicious veggie wrap for dinner, then watched the sunset with some mint tea before getting some sleep.

Wednesday 17

We started off with some early morning elk. We saw several of them throughout the morning in the same spot we saw elk on our drive south!

Another perfect clear blue skies day (yesterday was too) so we had gorgeous views of Kluane National Park Range.

Other wildlife through the day

• Coyotes fighting

• Bald eagle welcoming us into Alaska… and the frost heave ridden road

• A pair of trumpeter swans nestled down

We found a spot to sleep that overlooked the Chugach Range, with a beautiful view of Tazlina glacier within the Chugach Range. A bald eagle soared above the snow covered meadow between us and the mountains, a true Alaska welcome.

Thursday 18

We finished our roadtrip, and unpacked the car into what will be our home for this next chapter. A unique, quirky, cabin home just outside of Anchorage with lots of character and charm. We have neighborhood squirrels watching in the window when I drink my morning coffee, nearby trails and lakes to enjoy during our time off, and maybe most importantly: a REAL bed, that’s really comfy!

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After an interlude of days unpacking and getting back to work setting up for the upcoming season, I’ve had time to settle in. The little apartment we’re staying in is PERFECT. With a quirky atmosphere, and lots of character, the place screams Alaska. Our landlord baked us fresh cookies today and invites us to her place for tea and chats. One of her three kitties likes to spy on us through the window, and I look forward to seeing the outline of his ears when I make my morning coffee. The serenity of the alpine glow natural light that rushes through our windows, with squirrels scurrying around, and the sweeping mountain view’s during my morning drive to work- these are my daily reminders of why I chose to come back to Alaska, and why this place will always hold such a dear place in my heart.

I’m embracing the newness as well as the familiarity that comes my way in the next months.

Cheers,

Tay