to ‘different people. To the
European, north’ could mean

- “-Eskimoes, icebergs and a pole

"sticking in the ice with a sign on
-- it To a ‘Californian, ‘north’
- gould mean Alaska and gaunt
men moiling for gold, right out
-: of a Robert Service poem.
But to a British Columbian,
the north is right on his dorrstep
-and a lot of people live right in
it. ‘North’ in B.C. is that huge
slab of eouniry, slicing the
Province neatly in half along
- Highway 16 from Prince Rupert
‘to the Alberta border and up to
the Yukon. To look at it another
7 way, find Prince George on the
map--looks almost southern,
doesn’t it? And all above that
-ean Jay claim to be ‘north.’
. A vast country. Most of it is
fine for the tourist. Other parts
are not exactly no-no country
but definitely take-care country
unless you are well equipped
‘and have the: experience.
Prince George on Highway 97-

- _»which extends up the centre of -
. ‘B.C. will likely be your jump-

“off point.-You head up the paved

. John-Hart Highway, hitting the .

wilderness within a few miles
toward Summit Lake. Really
not much of a lake, but if you
toss. some soft drink or if you

spit into it, you won’t .know

whether it will drain south for .
* marvellous views of this river

“eanyon and the varied hues of

hundreds. of miles into ‘the
Pacific Ocean at Vancouver in

- the Fraser River or go north .
through ‘the Peace to. the:
Mackenzie and down to the -
. Aretic Ocean, 3,000 miles away.
There's no better way to show _
the kids what a‘ continental

divide :is than right here, A
great watershed, on either side.

The Hart Highway: is 256
_ miles long, through pine and

. Spruce broken by many small |

‘ereeks and the - occasional
" settlement, restaurant, gas and
‘a couple of cabins. "Stopping
places are far apart. in this
country, $0. check your gas

guage.

_ First big event! At Chetwynd,

. .a mill town, turn left, north to
B.C. Hydro’s huge Bennett dam
on the historic Peace River:
This earthen and concrete plug
has built up the waters of. the

_ north to form a lake more than
225 miles long and is by far the

"largest man-made body of fresh
water in the Province. On your
way up you can stop at Moberly
Lake to fish for trout and
grayling. Be sure you have a
fishing license. There is a
camppround beside the lake
with 56 camping sites, '

You can then retrace your
‘path and continue on the Hart
until you reach the Peace River
Country, B.C,’s number .one
grain growing area with scenes
that remind one of the Canadian
prairies or the American
midwest. Elevators grain,
fields stretching away and
away with ripening wheat and

. barley and small farm towns.
On the horizon are the
mountains.

‘North of Dawson. Creek is

Fort St. John, hardly anything

“until the decision was made to’

‘push through the Alaska
Highway to carry war
‘materials north, and the village
‘suddenly burstits britches. Men
‘and machines moved in, and
the place hasn't ‘stopped
. prowing.

- North of the: fort youre on the

famous highway. But a word or:
-itwo, It is unpaved. That means ~

‘Bravel. -There are many people
who’ havent ‘driven tong

: good road, well maintained, "bul

istances are different things _
speeding tires and , in the

_ campsites along the way, all

By Barry Broadfoot
gravel means flying. rocks from

summer, dust. If you can, drive
very early in the morning when
traffic is light. For your own
sake, carry an extra tire, cover
your gas tank with heavy felt or
rubber to protect it from rocks.
And keep a good interval behind
the vehicle ahead, especially
the big trucks that use the
highway a greatdeal. |
There are service stations,
motels and cafes about every 30
miles or so---sort of wayposts—-
and in summer it would be wise.
to book in early. If you’re
camping or trailering, there are
about a dozen B.C. government

excellent with good water
supply.

Don’t forget the Travellers’
Bible: It is the British Columbia
Tourist Directory, a jam-
packed 150-page book free for
the asking at information
booths or by writing the
Department of Travel Industry,
Parliament Buildings, Victoria,

B.C. You shouldn't go anywhere
vithout it,

But we left you back at the
Bennet Dam and the historic
village of Hudson Hope. There
is a good road along the Peace
River to join up with the Alaska
Highway 50 or so miles to the
west, There are some

the rock and river make it a

-natural for color pictures.

-§o. you’re travelled - up
through Fort Nelson---300 miles

-up the highway as measured
‘from Dawson Creek---and then

on another 320 miles to Lower
Post, and a few miles more and

you can say, ‘Hurrah! We made

the Yukon!’ Something to talk
about: at parties, a real
conversational point. It is
amazing how few Canadians

actually travel to the Yukon. So

why not try for the Switzerland

‘of Canada---Atlin? You travel

through old Whitehorse of

‘Klondike fame and on to Mile

$66 and turn south, back into
B.C. and ‘down a gravelled but
good road into Atlin, population
around 250,. which sits. on Atlin

‘Lake and. looks the year round

at some of the finest mountain
views in the north.
Accommodation and such are,
scanty, but they are there. The
folks are friendly and you can
have a ball just poking around
in the hills where old men still
hunt for gold and the remains of
mining ventures are being
taken over by.the bush. Perhaps
a thousand busted dreams in
this country. A relic collector’s
delight.

There’s a boat rental in Atlin
and the fishing is good. Or you
can just cruise the shoreline of
this lake---the largest natural
lake in B.C.---and dream you
are the first on it »So remote it
is, the dream could almost be
true. ;

So back south to civilization.

But don’t let a northerner hear
you say that. He knows he’s
living in paradise, despite 40-
below winters and mosquitoes
that “pick up bulldozer
operators and carry them off to
feed their young.’’ The people in
this country may beef a lot, but
try to persuade them to leave!:

If you-feel adventurous, you
can tackle‘the road to Cassiar;
This is the site of one of the:
world’s most famous asbestos.
mines, up on, top of McDame:
Mountain. Inthe valley is ai

ould.do ccedit
to Illinois or Ontario or Oregon.

Jha

HERALD TOURISM GUIDE

The highway just behind the Bell- Irving River

The gravel road cuts south just
west of Watson Lake. Watch for
ore trucks. They use the road
constantly.

And if you ‘really want a

conversational piece, try for:

Telegraph Creek, It’s no picnic,

but the road is fairly good. Take
your own food and tents and
plenty of gas and actas if you’re
going into real wilderness:--and

you are. The Telegraph Creek:
road cuts off from the Cassiar —

road and goes south to Dease
Lake and then southwestward
to Telegraph Creek, a quaint old
town scrambling along the
banks of the Stikine River, This

is real frontier, and a few well- .

equipped autos. make it every
year. If you want to know just
how far you are from anywhere,
well, the nearest fair-sized town
is down the Stikine River. at

Wrangell on Wrangell Island in.

the Pacific Ocean. Wrangell,
incidentally, is in Alaska.

So, advice.

On the detailed maps you'll
notice plentry of side roads
wandering here and there. For
some reason, communities are
marked on some of these roads
where not. even a trapper’s
cabin stands. Some are
passable only in winter. Some
are gravel and not maintained.
Some. are the remains of well
drilling roads and probably
have fallen into disrepair. Many
canbe dangerous. Keep clear of
dirt roads, for rain means you
are up to your hub caps in nice
squishy and gluey muck. Avoid

dotted lines. They are jeep

trails of maybe 20 years ago.
Always ask advice from
somebody who knows the
country. If you want to go in
back beyond, ask him if . he
would use that road. Go by his
advice. Always.

And now back through >
- you:

Dawson Creek, the wa

came in. Did you have your
picture taken at the famous
Mile O Post in the centre of
town, marking the beginning of
the: Alaska Highway? One
resident estimated about 400,000
‘visitors pass through in a year

_and, “About 99 per cent of them

get theirpicture taken beside
that thing. More pictures taken /
there than of the scarlet-coated ,
Mounties on“Parliament Hill in

Ottaw : :
Serie out, stand up straight,

smile for the camera and join
the club.:

: as06 Lazelle

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