Unique trip to yesterday - By Cherie Thiessen Looking for something a little different? A little out- of-the-ordinary? Tr - aSkeena River ferry crossing. — What's so uni these-ferries? Well, they’re squeeze passengers can stand along the railings Secondly, they don’t have» an engine! These tiny little barges, with the ferry operator’s shed at one side, are held in place and guided along their watery route by a strong set of cables, at- tached to an overhead cable stretching across the river. The lttle ferry uses water-current ower- cheap and plentiful in the Skeena! When the ferry is ready to leave the operator . turns the rudders. They steer the boat against the e about: - ferr TERRACE - Townsman — “4 . Published by Sterling Publishers Ltd. ~ Published every Wednesday at 3212 Kalum St., Terrace, B.C. Serving Terrace, Kitimat, Nass Valley, Stewart and the Hazeltons Crossing the Skeena current, and out It tears, swiftly pushed along by the awesome current. - You may well find yourself with eyes glued to . . the straining cables. Without these restraints the ry would be quickly carried down the river. The speed of the water racing past _ is dizzying, mesmerizing and quite unforgettable. It is a short, but exciting trip. ; Once across the river, the rudders are again applied, breaking the fast-movin ferry, the bows are tuned, and the little barge bumps up against the ramp on- hore. ; ‘The weather-beaten pperator frowns as he tests e wind. “Don't be too long over here,” he cautions. “Wind's coming up. Can't dock when the wind's up. Have to wait -over the other aide till it lets, up,” he warns. This happens quite frequently. ; In this case, ‘over here” is Usk, a tiny little set- flement across the Skeena, 14 miles east of Terrace on Highway 16. It is reached only by this ferry. There’s never a crowd waiting to.cross over on the ferry, and never a traffic problem. There are no roads on the other side past Usk. A long walk along the tracks will take you to the near-deserted town of Copper City,-once a tent town, brimmin with thousands of gold-seekers. Now, a few familles: live there, largely undisturbed except for the daily train to Prince Rupert. Ironically, the train stops ‘at Copper City. Rarely does anyone decend, however, or board it. - Little settlements like per City are found ev: seven miles along this section of railway track, built by the railway to service its trains: Ritchie Dorreen, Pacific, Usk ans Copper City, all lie seven miles apart on the northern side of the Skeena, all primarily deserted. As well as the Usk ferry, one other such crossing is available at Cedarvale, 26 miles further west on the highway. Here, a similar tiny, barge-like ferry takes cars and passengers across fo the town. From Cedarvale, it.is possible to drive up to Kitwanga, or north te Stewart, or west to Terrace. In the winter, when the Skeena freezes, these two ferries are replaced by cablecars, still ferried by the same resident operators. On each side of. the river is a gong, waiting to be struck by potenti passengers. Usually, there’s no need. Once the man spots | you, he'll come across unless you happert to come - by during lunch! And then, you might as well relax and fish, for the f is not in operation. After all, everyone's entitled to lunch! - Once, there were four of these exciting river crossings. Now only these two remain. The building of the bridge at Kitwanga made the little ferry there obsolete, and the ferry further west, that used to dart back and forth to Kitselas and Copper City, is flow permanently idled. Hopefully, these two remaining ferries will be around for some time, and, hopefully, you'll have an opportunity to try them out.