Up the Cassiar: Smithers to Dease Lake

Well, after two days in Smithers, and one spent retracing my steps to fetch my laptop, I finally continued on my way through the great North. I left Smithers this morning, went west for about an hour on the Yellowhead Highway (16), and then turned north onto Highway 37, the Cassiar Highway. The Cassiar is one of two main routes up into Alaska, the other being the Alaska, or Alcan, Highway. I decided on this trip to go up the Cassiar, and down the Alcan.

Anyway, I had a full tank of gas when I left Smithers, which was really, really good -- because as soon as you turn north onto the Cassiar, there is NO gas. For 200 miles. I mean NONE. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Zero. No gas.

So I traveled for 341 miles before I was able to fill up. And I did pretty well, too, considering I drive a Jeep, which is known for its fuel-INefficiency. I still had almost a quarter-tank when I arrived in Iskut, where I was finally able to fill up, at astronomical prices, given it's in the middle of nowhere.

After getting some gas, I drove for another hour and then arrived in Dease Lake, where I had made a motel reservation. My room here is super-cute -- basically, it's a room in a big log house, and it's quaint and cozy inside.

I arrived pretty early, given that there was NOWHERE to stop in between Smithers and Iskut, so I just drove straight through (BTW, British Columbia has pretty adequate rest stops -- they're straightforward, but clean and safe). I guess I could have canceled my motel room and kept driving, but I have two long days ahead of me now, so I decided that having an early day today was okay by me.

The town is really small (450 people), and I had dinner across the street at the only restaurant in town, Mama Z's. It was a little buffet, and pretty good, but expensive (I guess that's alright, considering it must be hugely expensive to get food out here). My waitress asked where I'm from, so I asked if she lives in Dease Lake. And she told me she lives an hour away, "outside of Iskut".

Outside of Iskut?!? What?!? Really? That little stretch of highway which houses only a gas station and general store? I asked her jokingly if Iskut was the "big city", and she answered, totally seriously, "Oh no, only about 400 people". According to the Milepost, there are only 283 people in Iskut. And she lives outside of it? Where?

Also, the owner, Mama Z, asked me where I'm from. I told her I'm originally from Texas. She pointed on the wall to lots of pictures of visitors to her restaurant. She had several of groups of young adults, who she said came from "Austin University". After we figured out it was UT Austin, and not Austin College (which we discovered, by the way, because she knew the hook 'em horns gesture), she told me that there's a group of students every year from UT which takes a bicycling trip FROM AUSTIN TO JUNEAU to raise money for breast cancer. Last year, they raised $360,000 from the trip -- which is amazing, for sure -- but I still can't get over the fact that they ride their bikes from Texas to Alaska! I can barely even manage this drive, let alone think about doing it on a bicycle....

Tomorrow I leave British Columbia to travel to the Yukon Territory. I feel so cool just saying it: "Yeah, tomorrow I'm going to the Yukon." So phoo on those cyclists; they aren't going to the Yukon, after all, right?