NORTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA - British Columbia: Including the Alaska Highway - page 630

lakeside camping along the Stewart-Cassiar Highway
Gitanyow Totem Poles
Continuing north, you're paralleling what was commonly called the Grease Trail, the route
the earliest coastal people took to the interior to trade their oolichan (tiny oily fish) with oth-
er tribes. At the First Nations village of Gitanyow (also called Kitwancool), 23 kilometers
(14 miles) from Kitwanga, is the world's greatest remaining concentration of totem poles
still in their original location. The oldest, “Hole in the Ice,” is approximately 140 years old;
some say it's the oldest standing totem pole in the world. It tells the story of a man prevent-
ing his people from starving by chopping a hole in the ice and doing a spot of ice fishing.
STEWART AND HYDER
At Meziadin Junction is 335-hectare (830-acre) Meziadin Lake Provincial Park (no re-
servations, mid-May-mid-Sept., $16), one of the most picturesque camping spots along the
Cassiar, including some sites right on the lakeshore. The campground has a concession
selling fishing tackle, and the operator offers guided fishing trips for $60 an hour.