|
Biking across the border into Hyder, Alaska |
|
1896 Storehouse at Hyder |
It was pouring
buckets today but that didn’t stop us from visiting Hyder, Alaska located just
two miles from Stewart, B.C. We donned
our rain jackets, pants, and boots and peddled our bikes across the border to
the intriguing little town of Hyder. The
rain, mist, and puddles added full measure to the banner overhead – “Welcome to
Hyder, Alaska.” Just inside the border
we noticed a small stone structure and stopped to investigate. It turned out to be a “storehouse” built in
1896 by Captain Gaillard of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He was ordered to investigate Portland Canal
and build four storehouses along the west bank – Storehouse no. 1 and 2 on Pearse
Island; Storehouse no. 3 in Halibut Bay (ruins remain); and Storehouse no. 4 at
Hyder, still seen today. Storehouses 1
and 2 are now on Canadian soil as a result of the 1903 Boundary Tribunal
decision when the Alaska-Canada border was re-established north of Pearce and
Wales Islands. The storehouse in Hyder
is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is maintained by the
Bureau of Land Management.
|
A shop for the tourists, Hyder |
Hyder was
settled by many of the same miners and prospectors that came through
Stewart.
|
Archival Photo, Hyder |
The early pioneers called the Hyder/Stewart
settlement Portland City, but when locals made application in 1914 for a postal
permit, it was denied on the basis that too many U.S. communities were named “Portland.”
The new name of Hyder was chosen in honor of
Frederick Hyder, a respected Canadian mining engineer.
The town’s boom years ended in 1928 when the
mines entered a long decline; around the same time a fire swept through the town’s
business district.
|
The old Trading Post, Hyder |
Today Hyder has a
population of 94 people who are proud of their mining roots and call their
little town in the outback the “Friendliest Ghost Town in Alaska.”
Hyder has several old historic buildings still intact,
plus two old-fashioned general stores, and two Gold Rush-era saloons which help to preserve the
town’s unique character.
It is
interesting to note that Hyder is the only town in Alaska that has no city
police, everyone helps keep a watch on the affairs of the community.
|
A house or shop from Yester-Year |
Hyder is also the only town in Alaska that
uses British Columbia’s 250 area code instead of Alaska’s 907 code because
Hyder obtains all its electricity and telephone service from the Canadian side
of the border.
Our fold-up bicycles came
in handy once again for a four-mile trip north of Hyder where a U.S. Forest
Service viewing platform is positioned along Salmon Creek.
Visitors can watch salmon spawn from July to
September and some visitors are lucky enough to see bear snatching their share
of fish from the stream.
|
Boardwalk Viewing Platform along Salmon Creek |
The salmon run
provides an extensive food supply for bears, wolves, eagles, and other birds
and animals.
We saw plenty of fish but
the bears must have stayed home for an afternoon nap out of the rain.
We watched the fish wiggle through the stream, digging out sand and gravel
to lay their eggs.
After spawning, the
adult salmon will die, returning their nutrients to the creek ecosystem and a
new generation will continue the cycle.
Most Chum salmon spawn in small streams and intertidal zones where they
build nests, called a “redd” which are simply depressions in the gravel.
|
Spawning Salmon |
The female lay eggs in the “redd” and the male
sprays milt on the eggs, after which the female covers the eggs with
gravel.
After emerging from the gravel
as tiny fry, chum and pink salmon quickly migrate to the ocean, while Coho
salmon spend up to two years as juveniles in the stream before migrating out to
sea.
The rain continued to pour down and
never let up; we endured the four-mile bike ride back to Hyder and pulled up to
the check point with passports in-hand.
We must have been a strange sight waiting on our bicycles to cross the
border into Canada.
Another two miles
and we were back at the boat ready to dry off and warm up with a hot cup of
tea.
No comments:
Post a Comment