September 17th, 2014
Facts about Dease Lake
In 1837 a Hudson’s Bay Company post, known as Lake House, was created by Robert Campbell on the shore of Dease Lake about 50 km North of the Stikine River and 150 km south of where the present day Alaska Highway passes. The Lake had been named in 1834 for Chief Factor Peter Warren Dease, and would become a major junction for miners traveling to the gold rush in Cassiar (later an asbestos mine). Although the fort was abandoned soon after, the town based around the fort lived on, and was renamed Dease Lake in 1934 by then-Chief Trader John McLeod.
Friendly Faces
Phil and Denise Andrew writes: We met these two in the Dease Lake cafe. They started by asking us a few questions, and then before we knew it we were exchanging stories. They travel Canada in their RV and really like to take their time, visiting every town that they come across. Denise was quite interested in a route that I mapped out for them to take home through the Rockies, and it mirrored a similar route that I used in April on my bicycle. I hope that they have a great Thanksgiving in Algonquin Park with their family.
Cycling Stats
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Today’s Highlights
Andrew writes: Cheeseburgers are always a highlight since they are so few and far between. Internet all day (and all night) at the Northern Lights College.
Cycling Stats
Starting point: Highway Near Dease Lake
End Point: Dease Lake
30.3 km travelled
12.5 km/h average speed
48.8 km/h maximum speed
2:26 time on the bike
What happened…
Andrew writes: Curse that woman! Amanda didn’t set the alarm, on purpose! which meant that we slept in…until like 7am. Not that we were in a rush to be anywhere. We cycled up, up, up and then down, down, down to Dease Lake. I think we spent maybe 3 hours cycling, if that.
Upon entering Dease Lake, we started scoping out wild camp spots. It is a bit harder to camp surreptitiously when in a populated area. I saw a few choice sites, and stored them in the memory bank for later. We came upon what I shall call the ‘town square’. It included a gas station, cafe, post-office and a real-life grocery store. We had lunch at the cafe, and the Wi-Fi was spotty, so we were about to pull the plug on Dease Lake entirely. So much for taking a rest day here, I thought. After shopping for the next week or so ($100 ain’t bad), we started to pedal up the road. We had heard about free WiFi at the Northern Lights College, and so we stopped in to just finish up a thing or three…or four..or nine.
We never seemed to be in too much of a hurry to leave. After the college closed, we just hung out in the parking lot, writing stories, answering e-mails, re-charging devices, re-charging ourselves. It was nice to cook a ‘real meal’ which included *gasp* meat AND vegetables. While it is still a rarity, in about two weeks time I hope to be doing more cooking like this. As I’m typing this, Amanda is setting up our tent out behind the college, and we will get an early start to the morning so that we don’t inconvenience anybody.
The plan for the next 7-10 days is to cycle south towards Smithers, with possibly a side trip to Stewart to view the ice fields there. See you on the flip side!
Amanda writes: