In the mountains above Stewart is Salmon Glacier and I’d planned to go up today as the weather was supposed to be the best for my time here. However, I woke up to find clouds obscuring the mountains and flowing down to the valley. When I spoke to John at Meziadin he said he’d ridden through the cloud and it was clear and sunny by the time he got up to the glacier, so I was hopeful for the same. 

 

Back across the border and this time all the way through Hyder, which seemed to be mostly borderline abandoned. Although it did feature a Trump shrine including a full size mannequin and a banner that said ‘Trump was right’ - about what it wasn’t clear. 

 

I stopped off at a bear watching observation deck, although sadly no bears to be seen. There were lots of salmon making their way upstream which was cool to see, but also a little morbid as they die as soon as they have spawned so there were also lots of dead fish in the water. Hung around for an hour or so but with the bears seemingly having had their fill I carried on up towards the glacier. 

 

Once through the active mining area it turned into a really nice climb. However, as I entered the layer of cloud I began to fear that all the effort would not be rewarded with a view to match. Got to the top and was still very much within the clouds as other people, who had sensibly driven up, joked about what a lovely view it was. I did receive lots of admiration and congratulations for getting up to the top on a bike though. 

 

Got out my sandwiches for a rather sad picnic and then the cloud began to break revealing patches of the glacier before closing up again. Each time it did so it was met with suitable excitement from the gathered crowd. It made the experience in some senses more magical as if this mighty ice sheet was keeping its full allure under wraps. Before I started the descent I did get some really good views which had made the trip worthwhile. 

 

On the way down, the cloud had also cleared in other areas so I was able to see the lower tentacles of the glacier which were not visible from the top. Three hours up, was about 40 minutes down and I stopped in again at the viewing platform for another stint - but still no bears. 

 

I decided I’d go out for dinner to the only real restaurant in town which is attached to an oddly nice hotel, which somebody has clearly put a lot of money into. It served Mexican food and was staffed by Spanish speakers - all of which seemed very unlikely given the location. The food was great, although I probably didn’t need the baked Brie as a starter and a burrito. Left feeling very full.  

 

Back at camp, the friendly motorcyclist had now been replaced by a group of canoeists from Smithers. One of which was originally from Vancouver Island so gave me some suggestions. The tenting area at campsites is a great place for meeting all kinds of people.