.jpg)
2nd. Avenue West, Prince Rupert, 1994
Intro
“The setting is truly spectacular … set as it is amongst proverbial emerald islands of evergreens arising from the metal-blue ocean like voluptuous green goddess parts.”
With sponsors including Kodak Canada, Rocky Mountain Bicycles, Jandd Mountaineering, and Mountain Safety Research, I set out from Vancouver Island on May 15, 1994, to bicycle through the edge of Alaska, Yukon, and the length of British Columbia. From Port Hardy, on the north tip of Vancouver Island, I caught the ferry to Prince Rupert. There, beginning on May 22, I waited for the ferry to Skagway with a group of fellow travellers at a campsite near the terminal. I’ll let my journal continue the story behind the photo.
Monday May 23/94, Prince Rupert
13:29
I am presently jammed into my little tent [donated by MSR/Walrus] with a variety of my gear and various books and other reading material while the rain pounds the flysheet unendingly, or so it seems since it began sometime early this morning.
Various members of our little group here have drifted in and out of residence under the picnic shelter all morning, eating, drinking, reading, or just staring vacantly out at the rain-shrouded hills.
I just crawled into the tent with the intention of changing into my warm underwear and then perhaps going down to the laundry facility to wash my clothes but ended up snuggling into the warm confines of my sleeping bag — and so the waiting game continues.
23:15
The rain let up for a few hours this afternoon and so I went back downtown to get more food for the coming voyage (tomorrow at 09:00). A couple of Brits have arrived and, thoroughly disgusted with the weather, now a solid wall of pissing rain again, are planning to head back south tomorrow.
The wind is now buffeting the tent and driving the rain harder. The tent, I must say, is proving its worth admirably and is the only solace from this climate. It is now obvious why there is a store on the main street whose only business is the sale and repair of rain gear!
Incidentally, the building and Westend Grocery is still there, skies are still grey 🙂 , but Slickers is no more.
Jeseka - Slickers isn’t gone. Just moved. May 1, 2018 – 6:36 am
Raymond - Ah, thanks for the update, Jeseka. May 5, 2018 – 3:49 pm
Conor Ahern - At least you got to Skagway eventually, as you know I didn’t quiet make it due to an overzealous civil servant. October 9, 2017 – 1:34 pm
Raymond Parker - Just imagine trying to get across now. The last time I crossed from Stewart to Hyder, in 2012 ― no border official at all in ’94 ― I was detained by an overzealous Canadian guard on my return. We’d been across for 5 minutes so I could re-photograph some ruins. I had neglected to bring my passport, assuming wrongly that this remote, isolated fragment of Alaska, served by Canadian banks and telephone, would still be unattended. Turns out this officious %*#! was fond of pulling the same stunt on Stewart residents he knew.October 9, 2017 – 1:50 pm
Conor Ahern - Amazingly I had absolutely no problem at Stewart/Hyder in ’94. Got a photo of the Hyder town sign and went back on my merry way to Stewart, no questions asked. I guess you had to deal with the guy who made people’s lives miserable, not be cause he had to, but because he wanted to.
One thing I did notice a huge difference in, between 1994 and 2004, was the the people in Immigration at Toronto Airport changed their attitude significantly. In 1994 it was a case of “How long to you plan to stay in Canada?”, my reply “About 3 months.” offical’s reply “Have six months!” passport stamped and on my way, simple as that. In 2004 it was a much more involved affair, cash and credit cards checked, a long drawn out affair and eventually got the passport stamped.
The big difference on the journey was that in 1994 I flew First Class, family connections in the airlines got me upgraded for free unbeknownst to me. But in 2004 I had to sit crushed in to “steerage” with the masses, no leg room, no drinks, no snacks.October 10, 2017 – 2:14 am
Raymond Parker - Yup, there was no visible “crossing” in ’94. That’s probably why Hyder was a refuge for all kinds of, shall we say, People Who Just Want To Be Left Alone.
The big warehouse in Stewart (that even stocked presto valve inner tubes) had closed by 2012. Stewart’s economy has always been tenuous. Though there were signs of new tourist enterprises, some of the older establishments were gone or deteriorating.October 10, 2017 – 10:15 am
Susan Carrick - love the old buildings and glad this one is still there. I remember others like it and the little apartments in them that always seemed cosy! Shame Slickers is gone….hard to find a good slicker these days! I’ve not visited Prince Rupert. Is it as clean as these photos make it look??October 9, 2017 – 11:36 am
Raymond Parker - I remember it as a “rough and ready” town, but well-cared-for. I still have a great, industrial-strength sou’wester from my kayaking days.October 9, 2017 – 1:05 pm