Tag: Wilderness

Driving the Cassiar

My only companion for the drive

Heading back to Montana from Alaska, I decided I’ve driven the Alcan enough. I think it’s been 17 or 18 times, including my childhood trips. I’ve never been on the Cassiar, which is the Western route to Alaska…and much less developed. Why not try a new challenge? I found it much like driving the Alcan used to be in the early years, although it’s paved and in some ways an easier drive than parts of today’s Alcan.

But! There are so many miles of no cell service, signs of civilization are few and far between, and I spent two long days feeling pretty alone. Ah, for want of a Tim Horton’s. And when my trusty phone ran out of battery because I wasn’t paying attention, I lost my route guidance. Didn’t really matter, I guess. There’s only the one road. Just keep following it, nitwit!

By the way, I’m trying to find a name for my travel companion. Any ideas? I plan to take her with me for my upcoming travels.

Silence Is Golden

This was my reward for hiking on the top of a mountain in Alaska.

One thing I’ve always enjoyed about the wilderness is the silence. Well, the wilderness isn’t really silent. But it’s quiet.

There are few places you can go in this country today where you can hear nothing but the sounds of the wild. Even most of our national parks ring with the cacophony of cars, trucks, people, airplanes, and all the other sounds of civilization. But there are rare times when I’ve been able to find that corner of quiet, where the only sound is the wind, the water, the birds.

Last weekend I had the privilege of going on a heli-hike. One of those noisemakers, a helicopter, took a group of eight of us to the top of a mountain and dropped us off for a three-hour hike through the high tundra. For a number of reasons, it was an experience I’ll cherish all my life. One of those reasons was the silence.

Yes, there were eight of us. But all were lovers of the outdoors, and the conversation focused on the experience we were sharing. There were also some opportunities to walk up over a ridge and find a few quiet minutes. The wind carried away the other voices, and the only sounds were those made by Nature herself. Definition of magical: one of those moments when the world seems to expand, when you can look around you and feel a part of something greater than yourself.

I stood at the top of a mountain and looked across the valley, two mountains tied together by a rainbow. I could hear a bird calling, and the wind murmured back. The ground was soft under my boots, a cushion of tundra decorated with tiny alpine flowers. Yes, magical.