Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Telegraph Creek
Another 100 km /60 mi south we came to Dease Lake and turned west towards Telegraph
Creek. We are intrigued by the idea of traveling 112 km /70 mi into the absolute wilderness
to see “Canada's Grand Canyon” in the Stikine River Valley. Notes from the tourism bro-
chure call this route an “expedition” with “narrow, cliff-hugging switchbacks and steep hills
boasting 20% grades.” We cannot resist.
The first 50 km were dead dull. Just about when we thought the brochure was one big lie
we came on the canyon. It is absolutely gorgeous. Putting it in the same league as Arizona's
Grand Canyon might be over-reaching a tad, but it is worth every kilometre of gravel to get
here.
Remote and peaceful as this area is today, it has been the hub of activity at several times in
its past. As early as the 1830s, the Hudson's Bay Company had already established a trading
post at Dease Lake. Nearby, the tiny town of Telegraph Creek was founded on the gold rush,
the one that began in 1861, more than 35 years before the big Klondike gold rush of 1898!
In fact, British Columbia's largest gold nugget was discovered in this area. Although it's a
ghost town now, the nearby town of Laketon boasted a population of 8,000 in the 1860s.
Search WWH ::
Custom Search