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May 7, 2007
Spring is coming to the North (finally!). Although there's still much snow piled up, exposed areas are starting to thaw and the animals are starting to move around. This winter brought lots of snow, so this cow moose and last year's calf have probably had a tough time travelling any distance. They've been frequenting this campsite just north of Good Hope Lake in the last couple of weeks and Scott's caught a glimpse of them from time to time. By the time the tourists arrive, the snow will be gone and the trees growing green and the moose will have moved further back into the wilderness.
May 14, 2007
The town of Cassiar is pretty much gone now, but some remnants of its previous life can still be found. This large piece of equipment still sits quietly in the valley, towering over the snowmobile you see below the boom and cables. If you ever got stuck in deep snow, this would be the beast to lift out your sled! It almost looks as if you could jump in and fire it right up, but it likely would take a bit more than that as it's been sitting silent for at least 15 years now. The Cassiar asbestos mine close in 1992 and the town vacated soon after.
May 21, 2007
This deep blue glacier ice could be thousands of years old. Flowing quietly above Kinskutch Lake, it's relentless in its journey downhill, flowing through anything in its path. Many glaciers can be found in the mountains just north of Alice Arm and Kitsault, the abandoned almost-new mining town (lived in for only a year and a half before the mine closed some 25 years ago). Most people aren't fortunate enough to get this close to a real glacier, but this one was an easy walk from the camping spot just below on Kinskutch Lake. You can't drive here - it's accessible by air only!
May 28, 2007
Steep mountains and snow add up to one thing: avalanche! This small one along Highway 37 near Cassiar isn't quite touching the road, but must have made quite a commotion when it originally roared down the mountain during the winter. Gathering speed as it descends, even a small avalanche will uproot trees and destroy most things in its path. Northern sections of Highway 37 are relatively safe from large slides, but in more southerly areas, such as the Ningunsaw Pass just north of Meziadin Junction, the huge snow falls create many massive avalanches that close the highway each year.
