2018/07 Arctic Part 3 - Cassiar Mine |
|||||
Dear All,
At the end of Part 2, we had crossed the Northwest Territory and the Yukon on our way home from Tuktoyaktuk. We had loaded up with water and groceries in Watson Lake and were leaving the Alaska Highway and heading south on the Cassiar Highway. We had just crossed into British Columbia and the Cassiar would take us through Northern BC to the Yellowhead Highway.
The Cassiar highway was constructed from the mining roads in the north and logging roads in the south. The main attraction for us would be a side trip to Stewart and the amazing valley of the Salmon Glacier.
We’d hauled our big trailer along the Cassiar Highway back in 2005. It had been muddy and wild with potholes and fissures. I’d looked forward to seeing how 
well the camper dealt with the road, but by 2018 it had been paved and civilized. However, the road was narrow and twisty, with no markings, so it was still an interesting drive.
Thursday July 12th continued
Our surroundings began black. This end of the highway had suffered a monstrous fire in 2017 and although the undergrowth had come back in places it would be decades before the forest recovered. We were glad when we left the black behind and moved back into lush forest.
We found a lakeside spot to camp, a bit close to the road but we didn’t expect much night traffic.
Friday July 13th
It was a drizzly and dark morning, so we made a late start. We met this coyote on the road, the weirdest we’ve ever seen. We assumed it was a cross breed, coyote with some domestic dog.
We took a side road west to look for the Cassiar asbestos mine. The mine closed down in the 1990s, mainly because of the drastically reduced demand for the mineral once its cancer-causing properties became public. 
We drove up a beautiful valley with no clues we were approaching a mine. There were a number of cabins tucked away amongst the trees. Large expanses of red and yellow, almost white, paintbrush lit up the verges. 
The remains of the mine are at the end of the road, protected by a high fence. We didn’t find the ghost town of Cassiar, just the mine buildings and an extensive collection of scrap metal.
There were huge mounds of orange tailings covered with green fuzz of grass. There were probably some interesting rocks in there, but it was not a healthy place to go.
As you can see from the sign, someone’s sense of humour had survived.
On our way out we met another blue grouse. These used to be called fool grouse as they are both curious and defenceless and will almost walk into the cooking pot.