The Stewart-Cassiar Highway
After my break in Whitehorse, I continued on the Alaska Highway to Watson Lake. Shortly before reaching Watson Lake, the quieter and more scenic Highway 37 begins, also known as the Cassiar Highway.
Whitehorse to Watson Lake
After a two-day break, I met Richard and Ulli, whom I'd met through the ADFC's bike-sharing service, and headed to the supermarket. We needed to stock up for two days. Being inexperienced bikepackers, they initially bought the same things as me. Afterwards, we picked up some delicious bagels I'd discovered on our rest day before leaving the city.
Just a few kilometers south of Whitehorse, we made our first stop at a Yukon River canyon. On the first day, we rode in a team of three, drafting behind each other and rotating every few kilometers. This took the fun out of riding for me, as I was constantly focused on the rear tire of the rider in front and couldn't even stop for a quick photo. So, starting on day two, we met up every 20 km for a short break (1. energy bar, 2. lunch, and 3. apple).
Cycling Basti
We spent the first night at a small lake because we didn't like the campsite just before. So our planned daily 80 km turned into 100 km. In the evening, Forrest from Australia, whom we already knew from the hostel in Whitehorse, came by on his bicycle.
The night was very cold. Richard had a thermometer with minimum and maximum temperatures, which showed us 0.5°C in the morning. We continued on to Teslin to the nearest supermarket. There was a touring bike parked at the picnic table next to it. Lasse from Munich, who is also cycling to Patagonia, had started out in the wrong direction for an hour that day and watched a World Cup match at the supermarket, so he wanted to continue his journey. We stayed at the campsite there and treated ourselves to a burger for dinner.
The next few days until Watson Lake brought mosquitoes and rain. We ended day 37 at the only place within reach, according to iOverlander or RollingAround, but it had so many mosquitoes that we had to walk around to get food and otherwise only survived with head nets. Day 38 had our only stop planned: the Continental Divide Lodge. However, we had to use a construction site pilot car pick-up truck to get there 😅. In the restaurant, we had the chance to dry off a bit and met Omarr and his partner, who have been cycling north from Brazil for over two years.
Many thanks to all my supporters ❤️ Jamil, Johannes, Lucas, Peter and Barbara, Carmen, Helga, Michael The pizza that led to the creation of this blog post can be found at the end of the blog entry.
The rain wasn't constant, so it wasn't too cold and we didn't get too soaked. That evening, the only rest area with two toilet blocks within easy reach was a campsite. We commandeered one of them for cooking and only had a short break to pitch our tent. As you can imagine, it wasn't the best night.
Day 39 brought us to the junction with the Cassiar Highway, but since we still needed to go to the supermarket, we had to drive another 10 km on the Alaska Highway to Watson Lake. There, we hiked through the Sign Post Forest, restocked our supplies, and cycled a few kilometers back to a campground with a kitchen shelter and a stove. Even though sleeping in it isn't allowed, it's still nice to dry off by the stove and pack up dry in the morning.
Cassiar Highway
Supply options
After being asked on Instagram ( @cycling_basti ) about the aid stations along the route, here's a brief summary:
- Teslin and Dease Lake are well-stocked. You can get pretty much everything there.
- Iskut is about half the size. You can definitely find something, but you have to be more creative.
- In Meziadin Junction. It's just a gas station with chips and cream cheese, but no bread, sandwiches, or instant noodles.
- Bell 2 only has chips, ice cream and coffee.
- Jade City has free coffee and tea; a few kilometers further on is the Vines&Puppies accommodation which puts out baked goods, but it might be empty...
- Tatogga Lodge has very good burgers. Bell 2 and Meziadin Junction Motel also have them, but definitely not as good as at Tatogga.
- Stewart also has a supermarket, but I only heard that.
- Then it'll be back to Kitwanga.
North
Since there's no cell service on Cassiar Highway, I used the morning to call home. Richard and Ulli had already driven to Nugget City for breakfast at the intersection with Highway 37. There they discovered a plaque with other cyclists who had passed through in the past. The shop still had the historical plaques featuring Greg McCahon and Ana Victoria from September 2022 and Dan Cycles the World from July 2023.
Then we turned south onto the Cassiar Highway. 723 km to Kitwanaga. The road was immediately quieter, with no more shoulder and denser vegetation along the roadside. After only 3 kilometers, we reached the border with British Columbia. The motto, "The Best Place on Earth," remained to be seen, as clouds and rain made it no more appealing than the Yukon.
On our first day on the highway, we drove through burned forest, constantly going up and down hills. It was a welcome change from the green forest. After 113 km, we reached the Boya Lake Campground, where Forrest and Lasse were already waiting for us. They had skipped Watson Lake and thus overtaken us. The lake, especially in good weather, has a very turquoise color and is reminiscent of Caribbean islands, just like the pictures we'd seen. That evening, we also tried a new concoction for dinner: instant noodles with a ready-made soup mix and instant mashed potatoes.
Ulli had booked our accommodation, Vines & Puppies, three months in advance so we'd have a proper bed after a week. I hadn't looked at it beforehand but was very pleasantly surprised. The drive there was short, but we had continuous rain and a slight incline. In Jade City, they offered free tea and coffee. Upon arrival, we found a glamping tent, nicely heated, with a rustic hot tub heated by a wood-burning stove. There was also fresh bread and chili con carne simmering on the stove. Richard slept on his air mattress on the floor, and I shared the double bed with Ulli.
On day 42 of my trip, we reached Dease Lake, where the sun finally came out again in the evening. We were even given oranges there. On the way, we met a group of young cyclists and stopped at their support vehicle. They were 40 cyclists from the University of Texas, cycling 4,000 miles to Anchorage in 70 days to raise money for cancer research.
Internet
Since crossing the Alaskan-Canadian border, I had no cell service. It was available almost everywhere in Alaska, but in Canada only in the larger towns. Nowhere on the Cassiar Highway. Every other car or truck had a Starlink antenna, just like every house. You can usually connect for free in restaurants. My tip: some Starlink networks don't have a password! If you've been connected to an open Starlink network and a car with one drives by, you'll suddenly start receiving messages from nowhere. Airplane mode with Wi-Fi enabled also doesn't use much power.
South
After a starry night, though still not completely dark, we cycled to the village of Dease Lake for breakfast. There we took a longer break to recharge our batteries and get internet access. With full stomachs, we immediately set off uphill for 500 meters. This was followed by a 30-kilometer descent, only to be followed by another 280-meter climb, partly on gravel. During this ascent, I noticed that my legs no longer ached from the exertion. In the evening, we reached a free recreation area by a beautiful lake.
On day 44, I was woken up by the chatter of Richard, Ulli, and other campers, all standing by their campers eating toast with jam. They left me one. Ulli was always awake a good two or three hours before me. Sometimes he'd pack right next to my tent, which drove me up the wall. With one or two other issues, I was close to leaving without them a couple of times. Richard was more relaxed, and I got along well with him.
The day was hilly, but we had pancakes for second breakfast next to the supermarket in Iskut, and then a really good burger for lunch 20 km further on in Tatogga. In the evening, we found an abandoned airstrip. There, less than 100 meters from our tent, we saw a large black bear walk by. There were also lots of annoying little biting flies.
On day 45, the weather finally turned warm, and we were able to cycle in shorts and t-shirts. It was one of the nicer days, as the route felt like crossing an Alpine pass. We treated ourselves to ice cream at the Bell 2 Lodge to top off the day. Shortly after the lodge, we came to a rest area by a lake with a swimming platform, which we immediately used. We stayed there for the night.
The night was good, but the traffic noise, helicopters landing at Bell 2 Lodge, and a lawnmower cutting the verges woke me. It was nice and warm again, though, and I reached my 3,000 km mark. We arrived at Meziadin Junction for lunch and had another burger. There, we decided against taking the 100 km one-way road to Stewart and the Salmon Glacier so we could have more time on the Icefields Parkway. We spent the evening at the campground there, enclosed by an electric fence because of a problem bear. After swimming, I also ran into ehxplorer.com from Germany again; I'd already seen them six times on the road. They invited us for a beer.
Before we reached the end of the highway, it was an early day. The warmth in my tent woke me an hour earlier than usual (8 a.m.). So we finished our hike by 2:30 p.m. and were able to spend the afternoon alone in the shade by a lake.
On the last day, it was 31°C and we set off early again. There was a bit more traffic on the highway, but it was still relatively quiet. For lunch at a beautiful lake, I ran out of tortillas with cream cheese, so I had to make instant noodles. At the next gas station, I got some ice cream before reaching the free city campsite in Kitwanga. For dinner, we tried something different: Chinese food (the only restaurant).
Rest day in Smithers
After a quiet night in Kitwanaga, I was longing for a break. We had breakfast at the gas station at the intersection with Highway 16 and then set off for Smithers, the first major town since Whitehorse. 120 km was a bit too much, though. Unfortunately, Trans-Canada Highway 16 was very busy, unlike the peaceful Cassiar. Along the way, we met Jürgen, also from Munich, who was cycling the last leg of the Pan-American Highway from Alaska to Vancouver, covering about 150 km a day. He had cycled from Vancouver to Ushuaia in 6.5 months.
Unfortunately, the rest day in Smithers was a Sunday, so there wasn't much to see, but it was nice to put my feet up, enjoy pizza, and watch Canadian football in the sports bar.
Conclusion
The Cassiar Highway was definitely worth seeing. It was relaxed and peaceful. There were also plenty of places to get supplies, although they required some planning. With all the bears around, I was always on my guard.
In my next blog post, I'll be traveling from Smithers via Prince George and Jasper along the Icefields Parkway to Banff. One of the most beautiful roads in the world.
Those who follow me on the "Live" map know that I'm almost at Banff. That's where the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route starts. I'll try the first section with Naomi, all the way to the border. If I continue on this route, the next blog post will probably be a bit delayed due to lack of internet and time pressure from the weather.
And now, visible only to my sponsors, a picture of my pizza from Smithers. Thank you all so much 😊